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

yummy

they’re definitely insane, or not thinking about what day it is.

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.

Only if you don’t cook it properly. That said, I did roast duck last year and will probably do the same this year.

yawn, dry ol’ crap.

Just pop out for supplies for everyone. I think they’re open Christmas day

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.