Disappointed With Turkey

We had an extra large chicken from Tescos.

The family said it was good. Not keen on turkey really.

To be honest, it’s all just a glorified Sunday dinner to me.

Sometimes have beef, the previous two years have been at DS’s home and he has cooked either steak or salmon, I chose salmon.

Ooh salmon sounds like a great idea. My DH liked the sound of that too.

Yes Calendargirl it's just a glorified Sunday dinner to me too..lol

Moonwatcher1904

Ooh salmon sounds like a great idea. My DH liked the sound of that too.

Perhaps make Samnon Coulibiac, it's a lovely treat.

I was not a fan of turkey, even before we became vegan and am thrilled to never eat it again - I well and truly miss good salmon.

I have stopped buying Turkey for quite a few years , we used to get them from a work colleague who had a small holding and they were delicious, but when they stopped doing them I could not find one that tasted as nice. Last year we had roast pork and this year we had a boned and stuffed guinea fowl , which is just the right amount for 2/3 people which is perfect as I don't want much leftover. We ordered it from a company called : The wild meat company , and I have had one ordered from them a few years ago , guinea fowl is tasty like a good quality chicken. Will definitely have one again.

This year we had pork which we did Italian style (Porchetta). Our Butcher butterflied it for us and we stuffed it with herbs, thyme, sage, rosemary and fennel. It was delicious and we cut the rest up and froze it in gravy ready for another meal.

Because we have a large Thanksgiving celebration, which always includes turkey, we rarely have it at Christmas.

We had venison this year. It was excellent. Previous years we’ve had salmon, stuffed squash, a very rich mushroom bourguignon, an amazing feta stuffed shoulder of lamb,

We buy our turkey from a local farm and have never been disappointed. It is a must have for us. Delicious and moist hot or cold.

My DD and her partner don't like turkey and every year they have something different. I'm sure last year I recall they had mutton. They have meat that I never thought of buying. Perhaps my taste buds have changed with age.

This year we had a rolled turkey breast roast. It was lovely. As an alternative we often have a goose, and one year we had a couple of ducks.
With ducks or geese you really only have enough meat for Christmas day.

I usually cook turkey and beef as some of our family group of 10 aren’t keen on turkey.

My Gc couldn’t quite believe me when I was telling how my maternal grandparents used to post us a fresh turkey from their small farm in Ireland when I was a child in the 60s. Rolled up in brown paper and tied with string. My Mum would watch out anxiously in the few days leading up to Christmas for the postal van. It always arrived on time and amazingly we never once had food poisoning despite not owning a fridge.

One year on its journey from rural Ireland by train and boat the brown paper became damp and torn and the legs were poking out when it arrived 🦃

I get my turkey from a local farm and it’s always lovely. Moist and flavourful.
The last few Christmas’s I’ve applied a dry brine rub to the turkey 2 days prior to cooking , which has added to the flavour. I also do a ham as my ac prefer ham and use the stock for pea and ham soup .

We had Beef 🥩

I don't like breast meat it's a bit bland for me. We had turkey leg which my husband boned, rolled and stuffed. So tasty and lovely gravy.

Leg of lamb- never disappoints.

We often have Beef Wellington. A bit fancier than plain roast beef so good for a special occasion like Christmas.

I prefer turkey to anything else but no-one else does so I ordered it twice when I was out for a meal and we had beef and local lamb on Christmas Day.

Eastern Europeans I know always brine the turkey, Tenko and it is always moist.

We have a side of salmon in the freezer, I'll look up that recipe, Norah.

Grannynannywanny I love your turkey story. That must've been hilarious to see it's legs poking out of the parcel.
Thankyou for all your comments. I'm now definitely looking at salmon for next year. We have a fishing port up the road where you can get plenty of lovely fresh fish.

We had three Guinea fowl for our Christmas dinner this year. Our seven year old granddaughter calls it special chicken.

In the ‘70’s my DH worked in the offices of a local factory.
At Christmas, only the chosen few were given a free turkey. One of the company chauffeurs would be sent out with a car, the boot stuffed with the birds and it was like something from an 007 film, as he would arrive at a chosen address, check out the venue, inform the resident of the gift, grab the bird from the boot and dash into the house with it!

This year I had turkey crown from a well-known supermarket beginning with T, it wasn't half as good as a less costly version bought at Farmfoods last year! The meat was chewy and very dry, not much of it either.

If you want flavour then it has to be free range and slow growing.

Last year we had a chicken which was fine. This year, a small turkey crown type joint from M&S serves 2-3 which was perfect for us. A few slices next day with jacket potatoe, salad etc. no lingering leftovers thankfully.

We had a turkey crown from Sainsburys and it was moist and delicious
It's the luck of the draw I guess