This Christmas is Philip Cranston’s 39th working the shop floor at Cranstons and as a keen cook he’s in charge of his own family’s Christmas dinner – we thought we’d catch up with him and ask for his top tips for a successful Christmas feast……..
What are your plans this Christmas Philip?
When the last customers leave the shop and I’ve thanked our staff for working so hard yet again, it’s head home to enjoy a relaxed Christmas with the family.
It depends how many we have for Christmas dinner whether we have a goose or a turkey. There’s not as much meat on a goose but the flavour is so good especially that crispy skin.
I’ve picked a bottle of wine, La Cerise from St Chinian for the table. It’s made from a lovely blend of southern French grapes, we may need more than one!
I don’t have a sweet tooth, so after than main course the highlight is a great local cheeseboard – I’m particularly enjoying Torpenhow Organic’s Park House Cheddar and Thornby Moor Dairy’s Cumberland Oak Smoked at the moment.
When the day is all over I can look forward to Boxing Day, with nothing pressing to do but enjoy some fresh air and all those lovely leftovers when we return from a good walk.
What about the Christmas turkey?
As a quick rule of thumb if you are ordering a whole bird allow 500g per person. If you are buying a boneless breast joint or any other joint then 300g per person should suffice. Some poultry items are in short supply this year so order early to avoid disappointment.
When carving any whole bird, it’s best if you can, remove the leg and whole breast first. This makes it easier and allows you to carve the breast across the grain into slices – this is much easier than carving it intact.
Remember to get your knives sharpened by our teams early in December – our butchers are run off their feet Christmas week so might groan if you present knives for sharpening then!
What if I don’t want turkey for my Christmas dinner?
If you aren’t a huge fan of poultry then you could consider switching to a tender and flavoursome joint of beef or a big roast of pork with crackling – who doesn’t love crackling?
Another popular alternative is a whole horseshoe of gammon, which provides endless tasty cold cuts. Gammon’s so easy to cook, any cooking novices entertaining this year can’t go wrong with this and it’s a guaranteed crowd pleaser.
If you’re budgeting more carefully at the moment, our Christmas Cushion is a tasty and great value alternative to a whole bird that will generously feed four adults. Our sausagemeat garlands are also brilliant value for money if you are looking for tasty sharing food.
