PrintFor Christmas: Are We Talkin' Turkey Or Cookin' a Goose?
Christmas is less than a week away, which means it's time for my mother and me to resume our annual debate: Is it too soon for another turkey dinner?
I say yes. Thanksgiving was barely a month ago, and my memories of the meal (unlike the half bag of cranberries in my fridge and the shriveled sweet potato in my vegetable drawer) are still fresh. Not to mention the fact that I ate leftover turkey sandwiches for days afterward.
For the upcoming holiday feast, I think a roast beef would be perfect, particularly when rubbed with fresh herbs, studded with garlic, and finished with port sauce. Lobsters, in their festive red shells, would also be lovely. Or why not try our hands at preparing a true Christmas goose?
My mother disagrees.
You can have meat or seafood any old day, she argues, and my father wouldn't touch a roast goose with a ten-foot pole. Nothing looks quite as festive or impressive on the table as an enormous turkey, and the daylong ritual of preparing it is one that brings our family together in the kitchen only twice a year. So what if those occasions happen to be back to back? Besides, we can always change up the sides: brussels sprouts with bacon instead of green beans almandine, mashed potatoes with Parmesan instead of buttermilk.
So, Serious Eaters, what do you think? Surely I'm not the only one who feels she needs a bit more of a break before busting out another bird. Or do you side with my mother that it's high time for Turkey II?
At least we can always agree on one thing: dessert. There should be two of them, and we each make one!
About the author: Lucy Baker is a graduate student in the writing program at Sarah Lawrence College. Before returning to school to pursue an MFA, she was an assistant cookbook editor at HarperCollins. She lives in Brooklyn and is currently obsessed with all things fennel.
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40 Comments:
too soon for turkey yet again! I'm fixing a small standing rib roast. only two of us, but the leftovers are wonderful! of course I fix turkey year round so its not that big a deal to me. Why not suggest a small turkey as well as whatever else you would like to try, that way those burned out on turkey can always choose something else.
huney_bumper at 9:06AM on 12/19/07
more turkey.
not enough leftovers from thanksgiving.
more turkey.
intheyearofthepig at 9:09AM on 12/19/07
Since I generally feel that once a year is too often for turkey, twice a year most definitely is! Every few years I think it's nice to revert to the christmas tradition of a turkey, but generally I relish the opportunity to get a couple of ducks, a goose or a nice big ham. And yes, I know you could have those at any time (though ditto a turkey!), but I just don't....
sarahdlr at 9:19AM on 12/19/07
Thanksgiving is for turkey; Christmas is for ham and oysters.
jennews at 9:21AM on 12/19/07
I'm just curious as to how many people really like turkey, as opposed to those who tolerate it only at Thanksgiving. If you serve turkey year round why not try something a bit different? A standing rib roast sounds wonderful and perhaps a small turkey breast on the side as well for those die-hard traditionalists. maybe next year you can do away with second turkey altogether.
RichardCrystal at 9:25AM on 12/19/07
I'm sure that we'll have a turkey, or at least a breast. But, I usually associate ham with Christmas. Turkey is for Thanksgiving, totally.
commonculinarian at 9:37AM on 12/19/07
Go for the goose. Try Julia Child's recipe for goose stuffed w/ prunes which in turn have their own little delicious farce in them.
doglover at 9:55AM on 12/19/07
I love turkey. Thanksgiving is my favrite meal of the year and i would regualarly request it for my birthday dinner when i was small. That said, i've never even considered turkey for Christmas. Christmas is a pork roast, after the lasagna, of course.
VerasTastyFreeze at 10:01AM on 12/19/07
If only it was just Christmas I needed to worry about. It's a small crowd this year only fourteen, down from last years nineteen-we are doing:
Standing rib Roast on the 23rd
Cassoulet on the 24th (a tradition)
A goose and a turkey on the 25th
Leftovers--if there are any on the 26th
And bracing myself for the next big crowd on the 31st!
waterbaby at 10:25AM on 12/19/07
Mom's doing a beef wellington for Christmas. We weren't married to turkey for Christmas while growing up. More often than not the main protein was a standing rib roast, but I remember at least one goose too.
Amandarama at 10:33AM on 12/19/07
I like turkey for both, but am not married to the idea. I've never has goose, so that might me nice, and any kind of beef or seafood would be good, too.
I think my love for turkey is a default, though, because the second string is usually ham or pork roast, and I'm just not a fan. I'm not against all pork products, however, and if there was a bacon-themed Christmas dinner, I'd be first to the table.
Kerosena at 10:36AM on 12/19/07
I'll agree to Turkey on Thanksgiving but for Christmas I think that you should crank up the festivity to another level. Bring on the roast beast or anything else that is deeper in flavor than Turkey. I think that you should feast on something that is local to your area. If you live in Denver like I do then Lobster is lovely but not as "keeping with tradition" as beef, buffalo, lamb or venison. Elk tenderloin with wild mushroom ragu would make me much happier than yet another plate of Turkey and gravy. Goose/duck is good too but for this holiday I tend to go for critters with 4 feet. I dunno why.
Bunnyman at 10:42AM on 12/19/07
I vote for turducken!
TIGirl at 10:45AM on 12/19/07
Turkey. Was too sick to cook on Thanksgiving, wound up making Greek (well, sorta) lamb burgers with oregano cheese fries. I cooked goose two Christmases ago, took one bite, and said never again. We did get some lovely fat to cook with out of it, though.
BaHa at 10:54AM on 12/19/07
I'm doing a standing rib roast, it should be delicious!
Thought about a goose, but it was shot down quickly by others.
Ham is for Easter and turkey is for Thanksgiving, that's how I roll.
jd7979 at 10:59AM on 12/19/07
Something not turkey. The nice thing about that on Thanksgiving is that it's such a rare thing. Having it all again a month later is never as good or as special as Thanksgiving was. Especially since there are so many other great foods to pick from! Standing rib is my personal favorite.
simprini at 11:02AM on 12/19/07
Since I have multiple houses and multiple families, I don't get the wear and tear turkey burnout. There's always something a little different.
Dad's wife is a firm believer in turkey for Thanksgiving and beef for Christmas. Not sure if it will be standing rib roast or tenderloin, but it will be roast beast for sure.
Mom is turkey for turkey day (mostly). There's the occaisional ham (southern family roots, delicious holiday ham), or even a pork loin roast recently. One year we each had individual cornish hens on our plates with wild rice stuffing. Same for Christmas. There has been Christmas goose, roast beast, etc. etc. etc.
I like the variety. The 'tradition' part for me is about the meal for sure, but has become less about the center piece main course.
kitchengeeking at 11:05AM on 12/19/07
i've never cooked a goose before - so very tempting...
cook eat FRET at 11:32AM on 12/19/07
My MIL insists on turkey for Thanksgiving and Christmas, but since everyone likes dark meat we get stuck with all this leftover white meat. (blech) I would LOVE to have lobster or roast beast for Christmas (or a pork roast rubbed with oregano and garlic!).
susanova at 11:38AM on 12/19/07
Lobby lobby lobstahs!
kdjmom3 at 11:40AM on 12/19/07
I have cooked a Christmas goose for over 20 years. I look forward to the wonderful crispy skin and slightly oily yet tender meat all year long.
Plus, I end up with close to a quart of goose grease that I use to fry potatoes, eggs, and what all throughout the year.
Make 2007 the Year of the Goose!
vonroach at 11:54AM on 12/19/07
I'd go for the goose, but then I'm not a turkey lover. One year I made roast duck. Last year we had short ribs. This year it's spaghetti carbonara. We like to mix things up in our house - no such thing as a Christmas favorite!
theminx at 12:00PM on 12/19/07
I love turkey, Thanksgiving is usually my 3rd of 4th bird of the season but Christmas is not a time for poultry or beef, it's a time for Ham. A spiral ham is the key to the holiday, preferably with a nice sugary glaze on the outside. It's ideal for the holiday especially if you have time for the dinner Christmas eve because ham with Christmas breakfast is excellent as well. It makes great sandwiches later on and is a total departure from all of the other holiday feasts.
Happy Eating!
Topslakr
topslakr at 12:23PM on 12/19/07
I have a nice crowd to feed, so I'm doing a standing rib roast and a capon. I've never done a goose, maybe I'll try one next year. But maybe I can't wait that long for potatoes fried in goose fat!
ride&cook at 12:27PM on 12/19/07
We ferried a huge prime rib roast for 1300 miles after Thanksgiving. It is now defrosting slowly in the refrigerator. We go a long way for a butcher we can count on; we tried half a dozen one fall before we found one we really liked. There will be a heritage turkey and a heritage ham for the week following. They have come from other parts of the country as will the smoked fish and bagels for Christmas brunch. Definitely not eating locally for the last week of the year: tradition and taste buds rule!
islandexile at 1:00PM on 12/19/07
we always have duck for christmas
yi at 1:25PM on 12/19/07
We will have ham for christmas and beef or pork loin for new years day.
A pasta in their someplace. I don't want to see any more fowl for a little while.
JerzeeTomato at 1:31PM on 12/19/07
Not a fan of turkey, so Christmas is seafood gumbo, made with Thanksgiving turkey stock.
CrispyGirl at 1:55PM on 12/19/07
Goose always sounds good in theory, very Chaz Dickens and all, but in practice, I find it much too rich and kinda greasy. We've done ham the past couple of years because there's so much food that you can put it out on a buffet and people can eat what they want. This year, Dad's lobbying for rib roast, so we're going old school: rib roast w/roasted potatoes and veg, and yorkshire pudding.
haneway at 2:07PM on 12/19/07
My family and friends usually get together over ham for Xmas. I'm one of the few that actually really likes turkey, so that only happens during Thanksgiving usually. Or perhaps when I'm in town another time.
wunami at 2:40PM on 12/19/07
"A goose! A goose! Let me touch it!" - our arcane Christmas Carol reference, this time of year - I usually make goose with my mother in law's apple dressing, and sauteed spinach on the side, but we'll have to choke down a standing rib roast at my uncles this year. It's a dirty business, but someone's gotta do it. Maybe goose for New Year's Eve?
sarajane at 3:19PM on 12/19/07
I'll go with you, Lucy: either the roast or the goose would be nice. I think we usually do a Christmas ham at my parents' house because of the whole "just had turkey" issue.
Adam Kuban at 3:41PM on 12/19/07
I finally rebelled against the turkey again and started insisting on prime rib. Everyone loved it, and now it's the new thing, as long as I'm there to cook it.
thepictsie at 4:49PM on 12/19/07
We never have turkey for Xmas. We often have a standing rack of beef ribs with Yorkshire pudding, that's a pretty traditional one. This year we're doing goose.
seyo at 5:23PM on 12/19/07
Turkey is for Thanksgiving, prime rib with Yorkshire pudding is Christmas and lamb is Easter.
windjunkie at 8:54PM on 12/19/07
An Alsatian Christmas with a large platter of sauerkraut, sausages, dumplings, ham, etc., Riesling, apple & cranberry strudel, and a few more things that I can't remember (my mom is the self designated holiday chef). The table looks just as impressive and it is also something we don't eat any old day during the year. My mom did this about 15 years ago for the first time, at first we all grumbled heartily about the loss of our Christmas Turkey, but by the time we'd finished dinner we were ready to make a new tradition!
waterreflecting at 10:41AM on 12/20/07
I'm still tired of turkey, having had it in sandwiches and soup after two thanksgivings (I celebrate both Canadian and American Thanksgiving). Since we're doing a low-key Christmas, I can't do goose (too big). So I've decided on a duck roast, with a couple of veggie sides.
Kurisu at 1:54PM on 12/20/07
My go-to for Christmas is a standing rib roast (or a nice dry-aged prime rib eye roast if we're doing a small group). But, our only Christmas tradition is to do something untraditional, at least every other year. We've often been found in the supermarket in the late afternoon on Christmas Day, searching for the ingredients for some random craving that's struck. One year it was hot pastrami and swiss sandwiches (took four markets before we found a little pathetic chunk of pastrami). Another year it was SOS aka chipped beef on toast (that chipped beef is hard to find in the first place, much less just before closing on Xmas). And growing up, some version of Mexican food was frequent (inescapable in So Calif). But the thing my Mommee made most often was her famous lasagne. MMMmmmmmmm.
Anyway. I might make a small turkey to accompany the roast for new D-i-L as she's not a huge meat fan.
LoCo at 1:56PM on 12/20/07
Who the hell cooks up a goose anymore?
DanielJ at 3:51PM on 12/20/07
LOL!! Daniel, that was funny.
Actually I have a buddy who cooks a goose sometime throughout the year and I insist it's really a duck. And another thing, forget the turducken. I can't prepare anything the name of which begins with those 4 letters.
RichardCrystal at 9:12AM on 12/21/07