Muddy . Believe it was one the preserve of the wealthy and the traditional Christmas bird was goose.

the important word in that sentence being ‘was’. Traditions can change. If most people have eaten and do eat turkey at christmas then its impossible to say turkey at christmas isn’t traditional. You can instead hark back to earlier traditions but it quickly gets difficult to find food to put on your plate. If turkeys aren’t traditional then neither are many of the other things on your plate – like those pesky new-fangled new-world potatoes.

We thought about goose for a change, were appalled at the cost and reverted to Turkey. Feeding ten so had to keep some kind of check on costs,,

Drac – Moderator
Turkey isn’t traditional.
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Bollocks to that – I’m 46 and had it every year since ever, that’s traditional enough for me. Saying that I prefer a good curry but wouldn’t want to do that on the 25th.

There are records of huge turkey drives from Norfolk (Bernard Matthews ancestors?) to London in the mid C16th, over 10’000 birds in one drive. I suspect at that level of availability turkey may have been on more tables than just the rich elite.
Eating turkey is at least as traditional* in England as in the U.S. for a celebratory meal.

*Doesn’t mean its actually nice to eat of course.

No turkey here, mushroom en croute with sour cream and mushroom sauce plus lots of veg. 😀

If I was doing lunch it wouldn’t be my first choice.

Unfortunately it is the in-laws again this year. Lovely people, but very functional cooking. Generally end up with a Turkey too big for the oven and I have seen it come out looking like it has been cooked in the vacuum of space. Light side approaching incineration, dark side still pulsing flesh. Leftovers get put out on the dinner table all day on boxing day, then get recycled. I get very nervous.

Vegan here…so no.

Goose here, like an edible turkey.

I’m with molgrips in my love of turkey. I also can’t wait for the endless round of turkey sandwiches with pickled red cabbage afterwards.
But Mrs W is a veggie and we are doing our duty this year and will be at the mother in laws this year.
So the bonus (just about) will be akee and salt fish for breakfast followed by fried snapper/jerk chicken/curry goat with rice and peas later. Hoping that one of the uncles pops in and insists on making guiness punch! Its no wonder Caribbean men have health issues. I can feel my arteries stiffening in anticipation.

Will be 4 generations at our house this Xmas, so “traditional” turkey it is.

We would normally have beef fillet too, but none of the others like it rare, and it’d be a criminal waste to overcook it!

Coq au Vin. Or goose. Haven’t made my mind up yet.

CaptainFlashheart – Member 
Goose, as per. Can’t wait.

I was guessing that!

On thanksgiving our host served some amazing ham instead of turkey which had my wife thinking about alternatives for Christmas eg beef Wellington. But she was quickly corrected 😉 by the rest of the family!!!

Venison Wellington for me, assuming I can get all the ingredients ordered this weekend. It’s only my sister and me so a roast bird, especially turkey, seems excessive.

Either goose (6th year running) I think, or an Aldi 3 bird roast (yes really) coming in fresh a few days before christmas

Nope, pesky-tarians in our house. I think I’ll do Nathan Outlaw’s excellent sea bream with vegetable nage.

Like this but with some turned roast tatties to go with it…

venison, marinated for a couple days beforehand, usually from local-ish game butcher (er…)

lovely.

We are going to be doon sooth for Christmas day ,and the relatives have informed us that it shall be Ham on the menu 🙁 .
We are going to have our own turkey dinner when we get back home 😀

Well we’re having turkey ( I can’t talk my family out of it) but I’m in charge of the kitchen so I’m doing a slightly alternative Spicy themed Christmas dinner. Turkey with a honey and chilli marinade, roast potatoes in rapeseed oil, paprika and chilli. Carrots roasted in honey and chilli with a rich chilli, fennel seed and turmeric gravy. Followed by an India style dessert ( haven’t decided what yet though). I’m quite looking forward to Christmas dinner for once.

We are doing roast lamb, it would have been curry or pizza but my nan is 96 so curry was a step too far

MrsPs family are veggies and as we’re at their place this year they get the run of the kitchen. So I’ll be outside bbqing something for the carnivores.

I’m cooking so I get to choose:

Home-smoked salmon blini
Roast haunch of venison with juniper gravy and pomme dauphinois
Home made Christmas pudding with proper custard

Never cooked Turkey at Christmas and neither did my old man, we always had game and I have diversified into rib of beef or leg of lamb. A well cooked turkey is good though, but it’s a finicky thing to get spot on and frankly ICBA.

Have those who don’t like Turkey had overcooked frozen battery farmed shite rather than a nice free-range organic bird?

I’ve cooked turkey for the last three years and it’s been spot on, dead easy to cook, like chicken but nicer, as long as

a) it’s at room temperature before you stick it in
b) you put butter and sage leaves between the skin and the breast meat
c) don’t bloody stuff the bejesus out of it
d) you leave it to rest for at least an hour, 90 mins is fine and give you time to cook the potatoes

Did a goose the year before that and the smoke from the fat filled the kitchen (although made great roast potatoes).

I do have half a deer in the freezer though so that’s tempting but I reckon it’s harder to cook well than a turkey and I want an easy life on Christmas day 🙂

Have those who don’t like Turkey had overcooked frozen battery farmed shite rather than a nice free-range organic bird?

We only ever have turkey that has been cuddled from birth. It’s not as nice as goose, or even a decent chicken.

Did a goose the year before that and the smoke from the fat filled the kitchen (although made great roast potatoes).

If you had problems with smoking fat from your goose then you weren’t tipping it out often enough.

I do have half a deer in the freezer though so that’s tempting but I reckon it’s harder to cook well than a turkey and I want an easy life on Christmas day

I wouldn’t use frozen venison for Christmas dinner, just as I wouldn’t use frozen turkey. Cooking it really isn’t difficult though. Just bard a haunch with some fat or streaky bacon and roast it. Use a meat thermometer to tell you when it’s done.

Gah, conversation with the Mrs played out as such:

Her indoors: shall we have turkey this year? seen as it’s the first time we’re cooking.
Me: Hmm, I’ve never had turkey on christmas before. It was always gammon and chicken back home, tradition.
Her: Ooh, gammon, can you do a honey roast gammon? …and a turkey?
Me: we’re cooking for 5, it’s gammon and pigs in blankets.
Her: *crestfallen look*

I thought that was the end of it, but not 2 hours later: “it’s ok, i’ve asked mum (MIL) to bring a turkey!”

👿

I like the venison idea.

Vegan here…so no.

Just out of interest, what are you having? I’ve cooked plenty of vegan stuff, but never anything that would qualify as a celebratory meal.

It’ll be roast duck here, with a proper giblet gravy. Always been a bit of a turkey sceptic, although I have tasted done very well. I’ve always found it tricky to get right; tends to be a bit dry. Duck and goose are much more forgiving.

We will probably have a Capon – nicer than turkey and a more manageble size.

Goose for us. It’s become our year-end treat to ourselves if we’re actually able to spend Christmas at home (instead of spending the whole time driving between sites seeing relatives)

Not sure what I’m doing Christmas day!

So it’ll be Pheasant if at home as my housemate is a Pheasant/Partridge/Turkey/Chicken farmer. Neither of us like Turkey but his Turkeys are soo much nicer than anything in the shops.

We’ll be in the Lakes in our little caravan so we’ll probably do a roast – maybe just chicken thighs for 2 of us with potatoes (boiled and roast), carrots, sprouts (love ’em), parsnips, pigs in blankets. Beer to serve. Telly afterwards. Win.

Haven’t done Turkey for a few years now.

This year is a Spanish theme.

Heuvos rancheros for breakfast (I know it’s Mexican, but close enough).

Various tapas to start, slow roast leg of lamb (or goat if I can get it) with a bean stew, and churros with chocolate sauces for pudding.

I love turkey, but the kids are still young and fussy so we’ll just give them something they’ll eat and we’re getting some frozen ready meal roast dinners. It’ll mean the mrs can have a rest in the morning too, instead of faffing about in the kitchen like the lays few years.

Bollocks to that – I’m 46 and had it every year since ever, that’s traditional enough for me

I’m 40 and not had turkey at Xmas for 18 years at least and often didn’t as a kid.

As kids, we used to go to the grandparents for Christmas. They were friends with a guy who ran a turkey farm and he always gave them a massive turkey.

It meant turkey every day for a week. Sandwiches, cold roast, turkey stew, casserole. God it was awful.

So when they became too old/ill to really ‘do’ Christmas, it was quite a relief. We normally have venison now but we’ve had pheasant or duck on a few occasions.