Turkey or beef? Goose or duck? I know, I know: it’s gravy and side dishes that matter on Christmas dinner table, rather than the hunk of poultry or cattle. But we’d better decide soon and order the beast, or else make do with a scrawny chicken.
Turkey is the common choice but tricky to cook well. Duck is excellent for a small crowd, ditto goose; the latter though blindingly expensive. Beef is often a favourite but don’t forget venison: sustainable and slightly less pricey. Or you could go for game birds and roast a few braces of partridge: tender and not too gamey. And finally, how about Italian style roast porchetta?
Here are my 10 failproof Christmas roast recipes.
So how to get the bird right? The secret is to brine it. Soaking it in a salty solution for a couple of days will guarantee a juicy and succulent roast. The logistics are, to be fair, a little daunting: finding a bucket large enough to house the turkey in the brine, and space in the fridge. But the outcome is worth it!
Brined Christmas turkey
RECIPE
Go smaller: the turkey breast, boneless, stuffed and rolled makes the roast that is easy to roast, easier to carve, with no waste (drumsticks that nobody wants). Homemade chestnut and mushroom stuffing is to die for, and for once it’s inside the turkey!
Stuffed turkey breast roll
RECIPE
While we’re on stuffed meats, consider guinea fowl or a brace of them, cheaper than a free range chicken. That recipe needs a butcher who will debone the birds (unless you’re a dab hand at butchery), but stuffed with fruity and spicy filling, it will make an exquisite roast. Another easy carve as well.
An incredible roast sirloin cooked at an incredibly low temperature. First seared in a pan, the joint is then cooked for a couple of hours (or longer, depending on the size) at 80-100C. If you have a digital probe that can go in the oven with the meat, you’re laughing. Otherwise, start testing after an hour. If you haven’t got a meat probe, buy one.
Rib of beef on the bone is the most traditional roast in my view. My recipe has failsafe roasting times calculated by weight, plus great recipes for gravy and Yorkshire puddings as a bonus.
Venison can be as good as beef, if you handle it correctly. This recipe is 100% reliable: salt the meat for a day, then brine it for another day and you’ll be amazed how quickly it will roast. You can skip the chocolate sauce at Christmas, I’ll forgive you.
So there it is, perched on a pear tree, ready to be grabbed and go into the oven! Partridge is reasonably easy to roast, wrapped in bacon to keep it moist, and a larger bird will feed two people easily. You can serve it with pears as well!
Crisp skin, tender meat, never dry, not too huge, self-basting, spiced and glazed - whole roast duck is truly a glorious roast. It has a wonderful spice rub applied before roasting, and a honey-soy glaze for basting halfway through the roasting time.
Roast duck with spice rub
RECIPE
For a cosy Christmas dinner, perhaps for just the two of you (or just the two meat eaters), goose breast is the dream solution. It is seared in the skillet then transferred to roast in the oven. Served with fruit and raisin topping, it certainly is a special treat.
Roast goose breast with apples
RECIPE
Make like the Italians and serve porchetta as a festive main. Traditionally, porchetta arrosto is the whole or most of a pig, boneless and stuffed with herbs. I don’t go the whole hog but prepare it with pork collar (aka neck or shoulder), the easiest cut to handle.