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So I'm cooking Christmas Dinner this year for family, in the past it's always been Turkey, but I fancy a chance this year and am thinking about Lamb, (had venison last year when it was just hubby and me) but as it's for more than just the two of us, would it be wrong to ditch the Turkey?
Thought's please?
Wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong.
Wrong.
Anyone who says otherwise is wrong. Gammon... yes, beef... maybe, birds stuffed with birds... fantastic.
If someone comes along and says it sounds
they're definitely insane, or not thinking about what day it is.yummy
Get a good quality turkey and you can't go wrong.
You may well hack off your guests if you serve something different!
Have what ever you want !!
We are having a bird within a bird within a bird within a bird
Sounds yummy.
Anything but turkey.
I have done lamb before, but good alternative to horrid dry turkey is a succulent Goose - with added benefit of tons of goose fat to make superb roasties for rest of the year 😀
sounds good, turkey is crap.
As long as you've got loads of pigs in blankets, anything would be fine by me 😀
Turkeys good though. With about 3 different stuffings. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Could just eat that now actually
Ditch the dry old bird and go for lamb and chicken....
I avoid turkey at all costs.
We always have beef, a ham and a free range chicken. Don't work about the Turkey tradition as it's Turkey isn't traditional.
turkey is crap.
Only if you don't cook it properly. That said, I did roast duck last year and will probably do the same this year. Year before I did goose.
Goose or duck FTW!
Lamb butties with cranberry sauce whilst falling asleep to Dr Who?
Not going to work, is it?
Have lamb this weekend instead 🙂
I have demanded from Mrs North that, if we're having people round at Christmas, we're doing fish.
I've yet to eat this fabled well cooked turkey - it's evidently a skill only reserved for the finest Michelin-starred chefs and not joe punter.
[i]Only if you don't cook it properly. That said, I did roast duck last year and will probably do the same this year. [/i]
yawn, dry ol' crap.
Just pop out for supplies for everyone. I think they're open Christmas day
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INNIT? 😀
It's been years since I had a dry horrible turkey, all the ones I've had over the last couple of years have been really good, like the best roast chicken but better.
But lamb sounds nice.
Always been a bit disappointed with farmed goose, very fatty, smoky oven, smoky fat flavour, not much meat for the cost. Prefer wild goose but you have to know someone who shoots to get one and they are too variable (some are nice, some taste of the estuary) for Christmas day.
But hey, have what ever you like, it's your dinner, it's not "wrong".
Oh, and can we all clear one thing up (before I come out in hives):
The meal taken in the middle of the day is not dinner, it's LUNCH..!
It's no good buying a cheap frozen bird from Tesco. Go for Bronze free-range. Bring to room temperature and when cooking keep covered but baste regularly. Uncover for last 1 hour then let bird stand. Don't have oven on too high a temperature either.
The Goose is a good idea or the bird within a bird within a bird... we have roast chicken about once a week anyway so I was wanting something a bit more special. The Venison last year as amazing, but don't want to eat the same as last year this year.
We always eat in the evening, so I was right in when I said Christmas Dinner!
Gammon and Beef are planned for Boxing day... thanks for giving me some ideas!
We are having a bird within a bird within a bird within a bird
Ah, the 'inception' lunch...
Nowt wrong with lamb. Turkey is fowl 😀
I'm thinking of an altogether more regal bird. One with an extremely fervent, some may say forceful, interest in religion and a raging uncertainty about it's own sexuality. It may be difficult getting it into the oven though - they can break your arm you know.
+ rip the legs off and cook them separate.
Eat whatever the hell you like. Who the hell cares if everyone else has turkey? Geez, some people attach far too much value to what everyone else thinks.
Personally, I love roast turkey, but whatever you like.
😆
Looks like its A&E for you Christmas day Mitch
The bird within a bird thing is just wrong, and it reminds me of the old 'razzle pile up'. 😳
Best Christmas dinner I've ever had was last year, Beef Wellington.
😀
I'm having a slow roasted crocodiles cock served with with carrots and legumes.
Why not?
I'm bored with the "traditional" xmas thing after having endured 36 of them to date, so I was delighted to see an advert in our local Bangladeshi place for a three course xmas meal for £24.95.
Bangladeshi cuisine for xmas? Hell yes.
We are having a bird within a bird within a bird within a bird
Pah, quail inside a micropig inside a lamb inside a goat inside a cow inside a buffalo.
We haven't had turkey for years.
My grandparents always used to get a massive turkey from some local farm, the result being that they'd end up eating turkey for the next 3 weeks. Madness. Once they got past the age of actually being able to look after themselves, things got a lot easier!
Pheasant, duck or venison for us.
Well, rather than the fundamentalist muslim bi-curious swan, and my previous likening of the bird in bird thing to a razzle pile up, this stuffing a creature inside another creature has, I must admit, whetted my appetite. Now, I just need to find an old lady that's swallowed a spider ...
I was quite happy to ditch the turkey and go with the Danish tradition of duck and pork.
If people want turkey that's fine, but can't believe how many people have turkey because it's 'traditional' even though they're not that keen on it.
Xmas day? Only one possible thing to eat.
Steak.
Sounds good to me.
But the lamb butties would surely have mint sauce or redcurrant jelly, no?
OP, you might want to get a vote on the lamb, just in case...
And christmas dinner is christmas dinner no matter what time you have it. Lunch indeed. Whoever heard of christmas lunch or christmas tea?
my sister served venison and told her kids that it was Rudolf
leg of lamb marinated in a bottle of wine & lots of garlic over night .
yummy & slightly side on from your standard roast.
If people want turkey that's fine, but can't believe how many people have turkey because it's 'traditional' even though they're not that keen on it.
When I was about 16-17, I worked at a local Sainsbury's part time and ended up working on Christmas Eve. It was very funnny watching people literally getting into fights over the last few scraps of turkey left in the freezers, people running round the shop panic buying.
😆
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Sounds good to me.
But the lamb butties would surely have mint sauce or redcurrant jelly, no?
Mint yoghurt!
Wrong. Lamb neither looks nor tastes like turkey.
people running round the shop panic buying
I worked nights stacking shelves in Tescos in the run up to Christmas once. The night of the 23/24 we had lots of panic buying. I remember someone asking me if we had any more pigs in blankets and when I replied we were all out she asked what would she do? I suggested that she could buy chipolata sausages and bacon and make her own, she looked at me like I was insane 🙂
Eat what you want, there's no laws that say otherwise. Will probably have a curry for dinner or a canadian goose (tastes a bit like swan) 😛
I've had lamb for xmas dinner before as I'm not really a fan of turkey (well not huge dry ones that my mum cooks). This year I'm doing Xmas dinner and we're having duck.
I had Christmas in Denmark last year and had a duck course and a pork course (and about 10 other courses).
Any meat is good meat 😀
I'll be eating another one of Mummy's fabulous roast Christmas dinners - it will be turkey as she's very traditional - at 91 she's allowed to be!
Lamb why not just make lots of slits in the meat and stuff in Anchovies, garlic & Rosemary Yummy!
Have what you want. What ever is a special meal for you. **** the traditionalists.
OP has said she is cooking for other people, some people are more traditional than others. I did shoulder of lamb last Christmas day in the slow cooker, but told the people who were coming that was what we were having. That way there are no surprised faces, and people who were looking forward to Turkey. This year, I fancy doing ham, egg and chips, all home made 🙂 I don't really get tradition.
About time people dropped the whole American Thanksgiving Turkey thing at Xmas, in the UK. If you really want to go 'traditional', then get a goose. Or a duck, if there's just a couple of you. Duck is delicious.
If you think turkey is 'traditional, you may as well have a McDonalds, cos that's about as 'traditional....
Bangladeshi cuisine for xmas? Hell yes.
Why not? How about a nice lamb curry? 😀
As others have said; have what you want. If you're cooking for others, either they're grateful of the effort you're making for them, or they can get lost, as far as I'm concerned.
I'm with you on that. Turkey is a crap meat to have any day of the year, sod tradition not celebrating some dudes birthday just giving people presents :roll:! Bring on a lamb and beef combo I say
Get some salt-marsh lamb, that stuff is excellent - we got £25 worth as part of Christmas lunch last year but it didn't go far between 12 people, so we had a load of turkey & gammon as well.
Tasted lush after being cooked in the slow cooker.