Christmas Dinner.
It’s Christmas time, that one time of year when the whole family gets together. A table that normally seats 6, now seats 10. The cook is always stressed out making sure everything is going well, while waiting for everyone to secretly judge the food.
Being out in China it has been a little hard to have what you would call a traditional Christmas dinner. The ovens are too small, the turkey is hard to get and knowing what to search for. Can’t search for parsnips, they are white carrots, can’t search for brussel sprouts, they are little cabbages. Learning these things and changing how we cook.
I get the idea of having a big bird on the table and carving it up for everyone to see. The difference is the turkey is bigger than the oven here. So I had to go another way. Looking online, watching videos and reading recipes, soon sous vide was the way forward. Poaching the turkey in a low temperature water bath.
This has had the best results I've found as all the flavor gets sealed in. It does take a lot longer, but I think it’s worth it.
When it comes to ham, you just have to do it yourself. There are guys that sell them but its a lottery and an expensive one at that. So again, had to do the research and figure out how to do it. Found my pork butcher, getting him to cut things a bit different for what I need. It was a challenge but totally worth it. Getting to control the whole process, it gives a much bigger sense of pride.
The Roast Potatoes, one thing that is a must as Christmas. Potatoes here are just potatoes. No one is asking for Maris pipers, or Queens or Comber. You just get what you get. That has caused a real struggle at times. The best method I’ve found is the triple cooked chip method from Heston. When I do this, I get the best “Roast” potatoes I’ve had. Is it cheating? of course. Is it worth it? oh yes.
Thats a little low inside the cheats and methods I use to make Christmas dinner when I don’t have the full use of a British style kitchen. It is not the most traditional style Christmas dinner, but it gets pretty close and i’m happy with that for now.
There will be a few shorts coming out around cooking the turkey and other Christmas food. Please keep a lookout for them. Other than that, Merry Christmas from everyone here at Ding Cooks. We hope you and whoever you are celebrating with have a great time.
Merry Christmas.