Another Christmas thread - FOOD!

[bassybill]

I know you Americans are fond of your turkey at Thanksgiving, but what are you eating tomorrow? Same again? Other poultry? Or a different option?

Here at Bassy Bill Towers we will be enjoying duck for lunch tomorrow. How about you guys?

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Roast ham and turkey!
+ Roast potatoes and other veg

[Marcus Johnson]

Prime rib.

[Phalex]

It's gonna be Ham, my sisters awesome baked beans, seven layer salad, mashed potatoes, and a whole lot of cookies and pies. Also lots of eggnog and other such beverages.

I think a nap will be in order sometime tomorrow!

[Pilgrim]

At Thanksgiving and Christmas I smoke a turkey for the family. I have a smoker in the back yard, and there's a 20-pound turkey waiting to go in it. Our Christmas dinner is pretty similar to the one we have at Thanksgiving, but mainly because my family is NUTS about smoked turkey the way I do it.

Since my daughter and her boyfriend hunt, I also have a (Canadian) goose to go in the smoker this year. That will be interesting - never smoked a goose before. I also have 20 bratwurst ready to go on the smoker. I smoke them for an hour, then put into a freezer bag and store in the freezer. They microwave quite nicely.

Smoking is cooking over low heat (225-275 degrees) for an extended period while heating with high quality charcoal and wood which adds flavor to the meat by its smoke. For a 12-15 pound turkey, getting the breast meat over 170 degrees takes 4-5 hours. For the 20-pounder I'm doing, it will take 6+ hours.

I normally brine a turkey overnight before smoking. I have a large food quality plastic bucket for that purpose - two gallons of water in it is normally enough to submerge a turkey. To each gallon of water, I add 1 cup solt, 1 cup brown sugar and about 1/2 cup maple syrup. This brining solution adds flavor and helps the meat retain moisture while being smoked. I build a good bed of coals using charcoal bricquets, then apply damp wood to the charcoal - it generates the flavor and smoke. I really like apple wood, but hickory or mesquite are also very good. This year I happen to have mesquite (native wood to Texas and the southwest) so I'll use it.

Here's a typical smoker, similar to mine. The fire is built in the small box to the left, and the smoke and heat flow left to right and out the chimney.

[jady]

My mother in laws crappy cooking

Seriously, it's a crime................

[jsbass]

leftover pizza

[Sonic_Death]

Originally Posted by jady

My mother in laws crappy cooking

Seriously, it's a crime................

I know of another crime that can solve your problem

[DaveDeVille]

... i love it !!


beef tamales
pork tamales
homemade chili
cornbread w/ jalapeno
iced tea
big red soda

[buzzbass]

I'm making "Holiday Pot Roast"

1 Take any Eye Round roast and dredge (coat) it in sugar.
2 Drop into a pre-warmed dutch oven, on top of the stove
3 Brown all sides well, until they develop a slight brown crust(the sugar really helps with this)
4 When meat is evenly browned......add wine vinegar, 8oz of whole fresh cranberries, the mashed up peel of one large orange, 1 cup of OJ, and cayenne pepper to 2 sups of water. Add this entire mixture to the meat in the dutch oven.
5 Simmer for 10 minutes, on top of stove
6 put lid on dutch oven and place the entire pot into an oven, preheated to 400*. Cook for 90 minutes.
7 pull the lid off and cook for another 20-40 minutes, depending on how you like your beef done.

It tastes a bit tart, hot, & sweet.....all at the same time. My new twist, that I'm trying this time, is to substitue a piece of beef tenderloin(filet mignon) for the eye round.

[Vandelay]

Originally Posted by david meissner

... i love it !!


beef tamales
pork tamales
homemade chili
cornbread w/ jalapeno
iced tea
big red soda

Yes, that's pretty much our family's traditional Christmas dinner also. Homemade tamales, rice, and misc. sides. Good good stuff!

[Marcus Johnson]

Originally Posted by david meissner

... i love it !!


beef tamales
pork tamales
homemade chili
cornbread w/ jalapeno
iced tea
big red soda

Whoa! Gotta love that menu.

[iamlowsound]

Tomorrow we are having duck and on boxing day we are having turkey.

lowsound

[Jeremy Crockett]

Originally Posted by iamlowsound

Tomorrow we are having duck and on boxing day we are having turkey.

I had no idea that pugilism had it's own holiday!








































Bet you never heard that one before...













yes... I know...

[manicbassman]

Bacon & egg sandwiches for breakfast at my place... I'm loading the breadmaker up now for a fresh loaf first thing...

turkey with all the trimmings round at my daughter's place in the afternoon...

watch the Queen's Speech then fall asleep during the afternoon film and probably get woken with a start by my grandkids jumping on me...

supper... probably a TLT sandwich washed down with some nice homemade beer...

[Ericman197]

Mostly Italian takeout:

Veal parm., chicken parm., house salad, chicken francaise, eggplant rollatine, and a mystery tray! What could be in it? No one knows.

[jimb213]

right this second I'm eating a pumpkin soup my sister-in-law made. It's kinda like a pumpkin pie soup, but not so sweet.

We have tamales my parents brought out from san antonio.

There's dad's homemade chili cooking on the stove right now.

I think we're having turkey tomorrow night.

And the family tradition egg & sausage casserole for breakfast tomorrow.

[Passinwind]

Lasagna tomorrow. We'll do duck for New Year's Day.

[bassybill]

Sounds like a lot of you American folks don't go for turkey at Christmas the same way we do (or you do at Thanksgiving). I would guess about 80% of non-veggie families in England will have turkey tomorrow. Sounds like more variety in menus over there.

Are tamales a popular choice for Christmas lunch over there across the whole USA or just in the South?

[Chunk-O-Funk]

Originally Posted by bassybill

Are tamales a popular choice for Christmas lunch over there across the whole USA or just in the South?

Must be a southern thing. I don't see to many tamale eaters this time of year in these here parts.



I'll be doing a glazed ham.