Martinská hus: roast goose legs with red cabbage and lokše

Tip: tap a step to mark it as done.

1. Prepare the legs

   Pat the legs dry and trim off the excess fat around the edges. Prick the skin in several places with a fork, taking care not to pierce the meat; this lets the fat drain out better during roasting.

   Rub the legs on all sides with the salt, caraway, marjoram, and crushed garlic.

2. Roast covered

   Preheat the oven to 160 °C (325 °F). Place the legs skin side down in a roasting pan, add 200 ml of water, cover with a lid or aluminum foil, and roast for 90 minutes.

3. Roast until tender

   Turn the legs skin side up, spoon the pan juices over them, and roast, still covered, for another 45–60 minutes, until the meat pulls away easily from the bone. An older goose needs longer.

4. Finish until crisp

   Uncover the pan, raise the temperature to 200 °C (400 °F), and roast the legs for another 20–30 minutes, until the skin is crisp and golden brown. Keep pouring the fat that renders from the legs into a bowl; you will use it for the cabbage and the lokše.

5. Prepare the red cabbage

   While the legs are roasting, remove the outer leaves and the core from the cabbage and cut it into thin shreds. Finely chop the onion.

   In a pot, heat 2 tablespoons of the goose fat, sauté the onion until translucent, and add the sugar; let it caramelize slightly. Add the cabbage, vinegar, caraway, and salt, stir, and pour in the water.

6. Braise the cabbage

   Braise the cabbage, covered, over low heat for 40–50 minutes, stirring occasionally. Halfway through, stir in the apple, coarsely grated. The finished cabbage is tender and sweet-and-sour; adjust to taste with sugar, vinegar, or salt.

7. Boil the potatoes for the lokše

   Boil the potatoes in their skins until tender, 25–30 minutes depending on size. Peel them and let them cool completely. With warm potatoes the dough would need more flour and the lokše would turn out tough.

8. Make the lokše dough

   Grate the cooled potatoes on the finest side of the grater or press them through a potato ricer, add the salt, and gradually work in the flour until you have a supple dough that does not stick. Divide it into 8 equal pieces.

9. Cook the lokše

   On a floured board, roll each piece into a thin flatbread about 22 cm in diameter. Cook it in a hot, dry skillet or on a griddle without any fat for 1–2 minutes per side, until it has brown spots.

   Brush the finished lokše right away with goose fat, stack them, and cover with a kitchen towel so they stay soft.

10. Serve

    Place a goose leg on each plate, with red cabbage and the lokše folded into quarters alongside.

Tip: Wrap leftover lokše in plastic wrap so they do not dry out. Warm them briefly in a dry skillet before serving and they will soften again.

This recipe was translated from the Slovak original: Martinská hus – pečené stehná s červenou kapustou a lokšami