In today’s Pricewatch column, Conor Pope tastes four varieties of Christmas pudding, and gives the highest rating to Aldi’s Specially Selected version. This is handy to know, as I will need to get a small Christmas pudding for our Christmas dinner, but have no intention of tasting it myself. I’m really not a fan of Christmas pudding or Christmas cake, and will probably make a chocolate cake for Christmas dessert, but there is likely to be complaining from the older generation if Christmas pudding is not on hand. What do you think of Christmas pudding and cake?
Pricewatch also has a feature on Christmas turkeys, and some interesting facts come out of the article: turkeys are available from Lidl for as little as €10.99. An informal poll showed that most people don’t mind spending a bit extra on their Christmas turkey and many will still be buying free-range or organic this year despite tightened budgets. And did you know that Safefood have an iPhone app that helps you to calculate the cooking time for your turkey?
What kind of turkey will you buy? I’m in agreement with the majority that Conor Pope refers to: I only buy one turkey every couple of years, so it’s not really an extravagance to buy a good quality one. I’ll be getting a free-range turkey crown for about €35 from my local (and excellent, although not cheap) butchers, Ennis Butchers in Rialto.
Monday 14 December, 2009 at 2:23 pm
No turkey here. I think turkey is just overrated. It’s dry and rather bland, no matter how high quality the bird. I would rather splash out on game (mmmmmh, venison stew!), free range guinea fowls, or even an organic or wild whole salmon. This makes a nice centrepiece and rings a change from turkey
Monday 14 December, 2009 at 2:32 pm
Dry and bland verging on slightly bitter. I just don’t get it at all. Who would want to eat turkey outside the month of December? Down with Christmas turkey, I say: the traditional Irish Christmas dinner involved goose or maybe duck. That said, I’m a lone voice in my household, so I’ll eat the stupid bird anyway.
Monday 14 December, 2009 at 3:08 pm
I haven’t eaten meat in 15 years but when I saw what Delia did to a turkey on her Christmas special… It was so juicy you could see it bubbling under the skin!
Monday 14 December, 2009 at 4:56 pm
Careful sourcing of the turkey and of where it has been living and what it has been eating, can give a great result, coupled with roasting the turkey with muslin over it, as Darina Allen suggested years ago. The meat is lovely and succulent and the dark meat of the bronze turkeys has a rich, slightly gamey taste. I agree that guinea fowl and venison can be lovely, but if you are cooking for a crowd it’s hard to beat a turkey. And of course there’s the turkey curry a few days later…
Monday 14 December, 2009 at 4:57 pm
And it’s impossible to get a legal wild salmon at this time of year.
Tuesday 15 December, 2009 at 10:51 am
Theres just the two of us so theres no point in getting a turkey. We’re having loin of venison. Mmmmmm.
Tuesday 15 December, 2009 at 5:13 pm
+1 for ennis’s in rialto being utterly awesome. The mother picks her’s up in various places, depending on size (there’s less of us then there was, and leftovers arent so well loved after 3days).
We made awesome turkey in my friend’s only year. Push butter up under the skin and baste it regularly. Unreal