Need Christmas dinner protein idea

[spinbaby]

I'm ready for Christmas dinner, but it looks like family is coming here, so I'm looking around for ideas for the main course. Definitely not turkey because we just did that and I'm not wild about ham. Maybe I could attempt standing rib roast or a goose--nothing like ruining a great chunk of protein for the holidays. Rack of lamb sounds doable but not everyone likes lamb. Any ideas out there?

[Kali]

1. beef rib roast

(I need the money)

[greatauntoftriplets]

7. That's what we'll have Christmas Eve.

Wish we were having it Christmas Day, too.

[elleng]

2. Roasted whole fish!

http://www.nytimes.com/video/dining/100000002605587/whole-roasted-fish-with-mushrooms.html

Sorry, joking! No idea really. Duck?

[MyNameGoesHere]

3. My alternative is usually Goose

but this year I am all in with Wild Boar. Just getting tired of the same traditional protein year after year. Even considered Emu or something slightly exotic. Of course with my bunch they will yap because it isn't venison. They're so predictable.

[cbayer]

4. Standing rib roasts are oh, so delicious, but oh, so expensive.

Racks of lamb are great and can be cooked to suit the preferences of individuals, which is nice.

Trader Joe's sells frozen racks that are really, pretty good. I do not like their non-frozen, marinated ones at all.

Leg of lamb can be a wonderful alternative and less costly. Served with some homemade mint sauce, lamb gravy, potatoes, carrots, it's a feast.

If you want to stay fiscally reasonable, I love pot roasts - beef or pork. I recently made a pork shoulder that I cooked for hours and it was really delicious. It's also easy on the teeth for any family members who may be having that kind of issue.

[woodsprite]

5. My aunt used to always do lasagna, Italian sausage and meatballs.

They did their traditional "Christmas" dinner on the 24th. She said she could easily get the tree/presents wrapped for her family of 7 before Xmas Eve, but reserved Xmas day for playing with the kids and fussing with all the "some assembly required" items.

It turns out we're not having anyone over on Xmas day (it'll be just hubby, myself and 2 teens). We're going to use Xmas day to bake/decorate cookies for our friends and enjoy our presents. Dinner is going to be a roast done in the crock pot. Family will come over on the 26th to exchange gifts and we'll have "picky" food all day (appetizers/dips, sandwiches, salads, xmas cookies, drinks).

[Major Nikon]

6. Standing rib roast is always a good idea

Usually around this time of year I can find a bone-in rib roast for around $6 per lb and figuring 1 lb per person usually comes out about right. The great thing about a rib roast is as long as you don't overcook, it's hard to go wrong. There's a number of tricks for making a rib roast, but if all you do is coat it in vegetable oil, salt and pepper the outside, and slap it in a 350F oven til a remote meat thermometer reads 135F as close to the middle as you can get, then let it rest for 20 minutes or so, you'll get good results. After resting, the roast should come up another 5-10F depending on how big it is. This will give you about medium rare in the middle and progressively more done as you approach the ends. If all of your guests prefer medium or better, take the roast out at about 150F and let it coast up to 160F. Again there are a number of other tricks, but if all you do is this it will still be brilliant.

If you want a cheaper option, you can go with a pork shoulder roast which should run you about $1-1.5 per lb. Inject it with a marinade (include some liquid smoke if you want smoke flavor) about 8 hours prior to cooking, put it in a slow cooker on top of some cut up root vegetables (potatoes, onions, carrots, etc.). Use a meat thermometer and cook to 190F if you want to slice and 205F if you want to pull. Wrap in foil for 2 hours before pulling or slicing. Skim off the lard and run an immersion blender through the rest to make a gravy. Do all of this a day ahead and reheat when it's time to eat and your life will be easier.

[Jenoch]

18. I have to disagree with you about the temperature of the beef.

If you pull the roast out at 135 it will rise to at least 145 or more likely 150 which is well done. I cook beef rib roasts to 125 in the center and then some of the meat is on the rare side of medium rare and the ends are usually well done and the rest is medium rare. That old thing that rare is at 140 is not accurate.

[Major Nikon]

19. It depends on a number of factors

It depends on whether you allowed the roast to come up to room temperature before cooking. It depends on your oven temperature. It depends on the moisture content of the meat. It depends on the size of the roast, and it depends on how long you allow it to rest before slicing. The link at the bottom of my post shows what doneness levels look like for various internal temperatures, which matches my experience with temperature and doneness.

[sir pball]

25. A large well tempered roast is going to come up at least 10 degrees

A full-blown rib roast set out for at least four hour prior to cooking should be allowed at least a half hour to rest and be pulled a minimum of 10 degrees below temp (I allow 15), also assuming it's been conventionally roasted at ~350 degrees. Of course, if you use proper technique and sear the meat, then put it into a 250-degree oven, you can pull it at 5 degrees below temp and get a much more consistent internal doneness. Takes like twice as long but quite worthwhile.

[Major Nikon]

27. Sometimes I get kinda geeky with temperature and meat

I actually have a datalogger and have charted the thermal journey of different cuts of meat (although I have yet to do this with tender cuts like rib roasts). What is fairly unique about rib roasts is they are a tender cut of meat that has a lot of internal fat. Although I haven't cooked a rib roast up to the high internal temperature range of say 190F or so (and hopefully never will), I would expect it to behave in a similar fashion as cuts like brisket and pork shoulder roasts that barbequers like to cook. For these cuts you get a stall at about 150-160F. This is because the moisture from the rendered fat is creating an evaporative cooling effect on the meat itself. The stall may (and usually does) last for hours. Then the temperature starts to rise rapidly again and you get a narrow window of opportunity where the meat is at the perfect temperature. Now I like my rib roast medium rare, but many people in America freak out over what they perceive as undercooked meat and like their meat cooked to an advanced state of doneness. While 160F may not be the ideal temperature for a rib roast, it's still far from cardboard at this stage which might be the case for other tender cuts. My (untested) theory is that you would have to cook a rib roast for a very long time past the ideal stage of doneness to turn it into cardboard. For this reason I think a rib roast is the ideal cut of meat for someone who wants to try a beef dry roast because it's far more forgiving than other tender cuts.

[denverbill]

8. I also vote for the standing beef roast.

Yes, the roast is expensive, but the whole meal will still be less expensive than dinner at an average restaurant.

Oh and don't forget to make Yorkshire pudding with the beef drippings while the roast is resting!

[cbayer]

9. I totally second the Yorkshire pudding.

Now that's some good stuff!

[spinbaby]

13. I'm leaning toward roast

I've never done a standing rib roast and am a bit worried that I'll somehow ruin a really expensive hunk of meat.

[Major Nikon]

15. If you have a decent meat thermometer it's hard to go wrong

It's very hard to ruin a rib roast unless you severely overcook it. They have so much fat inside that even if you cook them well done unintentionally, the meat will still be pretty moist. If you undercook it whereby the center pieces are very rare (and your guests don't like rare), you can slap each slice on the grill or a hot skillet for a minute or two on each side and you'll still be a hero.

I like the remote thermometers that have a digital readout that stays outside the oven. China-mart, Target, Bed-Bath-Beyond, etc. all sell them. Just make sure the tip of the probe is as close to the center as you can get it. When using a remote thermometer, it's actually easier to cook a roast to a specific doneness level than it is a steak. Upthread I provided specific instructions, but just remember to take the roast out BEFORE you reach the doneness level because the internal temperature will continue to rise another 5-10F after you take it out and while the roast is resting.



http://www.certifiedangusbeef.com/kitchen/doneness.php

[denverbill]

24. Completely agree with Major Nikon.

Things like turkey are tougher because the breast and thighs cook at different rates.

With a beef roast, as long as you don't overcook it, you are always fine. If you undercook it, throw it back in the oven for a while, or you can even pan sear pieces if one person hates rare meat. As long as you stay within range of the perfect temp, you are fine. 5 degrees either way isn't going to ruin it. Digital thermometers are nice as well, but I've used analog ones as well and they work just fine. They might slow the cooking a little as you have to open the door to check the temp, but otherwise they are just fine.

[grasswire]

10. How about a pork roast stuffed and rolled?

Cut it so it's long and flat, then stuff it with some dried figs and cranberries and nuts and some fresh herbs. Roll it back up, tie it with string, baste with EVO and herbs, and roast.

[spinbaby]

14. I was eying a crown roast of pork

Found some pictures and recipes on Pinterest and it does look impressive, but like the standing rib roast, it's something I've never done before and don't know if I should experiment for Christmas dinner.

[grasswire]

17. you know, Martha probably has a video of doing various roasts

...from her Cooking School TV series. I know that I have seen her doing the stuffed pork roll. And she's a very, very good teacher. I'll check youtube later to see what's out there.

[Warpy]

11. Goose is OK, but there's less meat than you'd think on a large bird

You could also do twins, either duck or capon or even one of each, duck giving you duck fat which is the perfect thing to fry potatoes in. Or you could get really fancy and do one Cornish hen per person.

Nowhere is it written in stone that there has to be one enormous chunk of meat that everybody shares.

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

23. Goose is also bloody expensive

Expect to pay about $50 for one.

[Warpy]

28. I know, it was an experiment at a pot luck Thanksgiving many years ago

and we were all surprised by how little meat there was, relative to its size.

Ducks are a much better value and they give you DUCK FAT.

[Good without a god]

12. Tenderloin roast is always good

but pricey. I've done Cornish game hens too, but not for more than 6 people.

[Lucinda]

16. I would probably keep it simple and do roasted veggies with pork tenderloin.

Simple, delicious, and not too time consuming.

[winter is coming]

20. +1. n/t

[elleng]

21. Beef rib roast, video:

http://www.nytimes.com/video/magazine/100000002597753/holiday-feast-beef-rib-roast.html

[littlewolf]

22. crown roast? or a nice pork loin roast?

we are either going to have a glazed ham, or steaks on the grill.

[Sanity Claws]

26. Caribou (reindeer)

I found it in Canada. I don't think it's easy to find in the US.

[japple]

29. Roast pork with dressing on the side. Pork is so versatile and goes well

with so many flavors. If my family weren't doing traditional turkey, I would do a garlic studded pork loin with sage, pecan, cornbread, sausage, celery, onion dressing. I am sure that whatever you come up will be delicious. Trust your gut!!

[csziggy]

30. There are a lot of videos on YouTube for stuffed pork loin

Depending on the number of people and time available, pork tenderloins might be a good option - for one thing, there is less prep time involved.

Pork tenderloins are very amenable to any type of seasoning and a wide variety of side dishes.

[Tab]

31. Rib roast or salmon

We've never put a lot of stock (no pun intended) into Christmas dinner. I know some families do. We're just going to have cheese and crackers and a heated spiral ham. But if I was going to make it more formal I'd go for a well-made salmon (only works if you know how to make salmon) and maybe light noodles and a salad.

[Tab]

32. Once we did flying reindeer

You can grill-sear them and finish them in the oven.

The trick is to catch them.

Skip the ones with the red noses. People have an odd affection towards them. I usually leave the noses off anyway.

- t