christmas meal ideas

[WhoreLex]

Yes, I know its early but shhh!

Anyhow, I'm having the family over to my place this year and amthinking about the menu atm.

We normally do goose, (been 10+ years since we last had turkey), I was thinking of doing something different:

Wild Boar, has anyone cooked it and if so what was it like?

[tomTVR]

We tend to have turkey, bit of a tradition in our house.

[steveo29]

the normal turkey, with a roast chicken, then you get a turkey stuffed with chicken, duck then another small bird an then stuffing from marks an sparks.

[Watch-Collector]

Wild Boar is nice but quite a heavy meat. Why not try Suckling pig instead?
Watch-collector

[i want an aero]

we had goose last year, fantastic. will be doing it again this year

[rlw]

I had grilled squid for Christmas eve dinner on Lanzarote many moons ago - you will find it hard to get less traditional than that (or more unpleasant if cooked badly...)

[dougc]

Its been venison at Casa dougc for the last 3 or 4 years. Might mix things up a bit this year.

Never cooked a Goose before. Is it a tricky job? Am I going to spend most of Christmas day basting rather than drinking red?

[smiller]

Do a trio of meats: turkey, venison, and pheasant.

Worth the effort, trust me (I wasn't doing the cooking BTW. Just the eating)

[Cotty]

How about a nice pok joint

[thegreengoblet]

Free Range Duck Breasts for the last 2 years. Quite pricey, but my kids love them over Turkey.

[alman]

How much would a suckling pig generally cost?

[prand]

Lots of fat on a piglet. be warned. crackling tho...

[bazking69]

Turkey and gammon all the way.

[Nefarious]

I get my Geese from a place called Seldom Seen Farm - they have a stall at Borough market, but will courier stuff to you.
I've had their three bird roast (Goose, Chicken, Phesant, IIRC) which I can heartily recommend and I belive they do a five bird one as well.

If you want to go way leftfield, what about doing a side of venison in a dutch oven (dig a pit, make a fire, add big rocks, add meat, bury, return 6-10 hours later).

Edited by Nefarious on Wednesday 17th September 18:21

[steveo29]

alman said:

How much would a suckling pig generally cost?

look on here

http://www.thehungryhog.com/

[Gruppe1875]

steveo29 said:

the normal turkey, with a roast chicken, then you get a turkey stuffed with chicken, duck then another small bird an then stuffing from marks an sparks.

So so so so good ... makes for awesome leftover sandwiches too!

[Don]

weLex said:

:
Wild Boar, has anyone cooked it and if so what was it like?

Yep. We get Wild Boar from Laverstoke Farm. Not only is it delicious but it was reared by an ex-F1 driver (Jody Schekter). How good is that!

The meat is much darker than pork and there is a good deal less fat under the skin. Which means you get the most wonderful crackling off it really easily.

If you aren't doing goose - a leg of wild boar should really do the job. Make your own apple sauce. I would serve a full-bodied white wine like a Meursault with it - or a good Aussie Chardonnay (Henscke "Lenswood" would be fab).

You MUST NOT OVERCOOK IT. Goes dry. Blurgh. If you go over slightly a good gravy will help but it's best not to.

[WhoreLex]

interesting

I've got a decent sounding recipe for a leg of pork with sweet pears I wonder if that would work with boar?