The BC Poultry Association is predicting the province will face a shortage of turkeys for Christmas this year, due to the impact of avian flu.
The association said the industry was hit hard by the disease in November and there could be 20 per cent fewer turkeys available for the holiday season, driving up prices for consumers.
But while turkey dinner with stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy might be the norm in Canada and the U.S., the world’s more than two billion Christians – and hundreds of millions of non-Christians - celebrate Christmas with a variety of foods and traditions.
With the turkey shortage this year, it’s a great excuse to take a break from the big bird and try something different, connect with your family’s history and roots, or dive into the culinary traditions of another culture.
ROAST GOOSE
Before turkeys were introduced to Europe from the Americas, roast goose was the bird of choice for Christmas dinner throughout Western Europe.
Goose continues to be a popular alternative to turkey in places like the U.K. , Germany and Austria. According to the British Poultry Council, Britons eat a quarter-million geese each year at Christmas. The average goose serves six people, making it perfect for smaller family gatherings, or could supplement a ham or other protein for the main dish.
If, like me, you’ve never cooked this finicky fowl, don’t worry. Britain's top celebrity chef, Gordon Ramsay, has you covered with his recipe for a perfect British Christmas goose.
For a Germanic take on this holiday tradition, try food blogger Jennifer McGavin’s recipe for Weihnachtsgans – German Christmas goose.
Swap out one bird for another and keep the usual side dishes, or embrace the change and serve your goose with traditional British, German or Austrian side dishes and deserts.
HAM
Baked ham is a familiar sight at Canadian holiday dinners, so it makes for an easy and accessible substitute for turkey.
Ham is forgiving to cook and will appeal to most of the family’s fussy eaters. But let’s face it, plain ham can be pretty boring and will have your guests reaching for the jar of mustard.
This recipe for a three-ingredient balsamic-dijon glazed ham is ridiculously easy and will make you look like a master chef at Christmas. Be sure to slice a cross-hatch pattern into the ham using a knife, to allow the glaze to sink in and spread the flavour into the meat.
In Sweden and other parts of Scandinavia Julskinka Christmas ham, is often the centrepiece of the Julbord – a buffet-style Christmas dinner, consisting of hot and cold dishes.
Julskinka is cooked, coated in a mustard and breadcrumb glaze, then cooled, sliced and served cold. A buffet-style Christmas dinner sounds like a casual, low-stress way to feed a crowd. Try your hand at some traditional Scandinavian side dishes, or serve with a selection of your favourite finger foods.
Filipino Christmas traditions combine Spanish colonial traditions with local flavours and ingredients.
Jamon or hamon is a dry-cured ham served with a pineapple juice glaze. It’s often served during the Noche Buena feast on Christmas Eve, along with a wide variety of other traditional Filipino dishes including rice cakes (bibingka and puto bumbong), spring rolls (lumpiang ubod), noodle dishes and more.
BEEF
Roast beef or prime rib are also common feature of holiday dinner menus, especially in the U.K. A classic Christmas roast beef pairs well with the majority of the sides served with turkey in North America.
Or kick it up a culinary notch by making beef Wellington – beef tenderloin wrapped in pâté, duxelles (a finely chopped mushroom mixture), parma ham and puff pastry. The pâté and duxelles absorb the juices of the meat as it bakes, and ensure the puff pastry stays crisp and flaky.
SEAFOOD
Around the world, many Catholics abstain from eating meat on Christmas. However, fish doesn’t count as meat and thus seafood dishes play an important part of many Christmas feasts.
The Feast of the Seven Fishes, also known as La Vigilia, is a popular Christmas Eve tradition among Italian Americans and has its roots in southern Italy. Italian American food blogger Cara Mia Cipolla says her family’s version was an hours-long, multi-course feast including dishes like shrimp scampi, linguini with clams and mussels, baked clams and halibut, lobster risotto balls and more, followed by coffee and cannolis for dessert. But other traditional dishes include spaghetti alla puttanesca, scallops, shrimp or other Italian seafood dishes.
In Poland and the Czech Republic, fried carp is a main feature of Christmas dinner. Czechs keep a scale from the fish in their wallet for good luck.
PIEROGIES, PASTA AND MORE
Speaking of Polish Christmas traditions, in Poland, Ukraine and other parts of Eastern Europe, Christmas Eve dinner is big affair.
In both Poland and Ukraine, Christmas Eve dinner – called Wigilia in Polish and Sviat Vechir in Ukranian, is a 12-course affair. The 12 courses either represent the 12 months of the year or the 12 Apostles, but either way it is considered rude and bad luck to not eat at least a bite of all 12 courses.
Common dishes include borscht (a beet soup), kutia (a dessert of cooked grains flavoured with honey, fruit, wine and more), gołąbk (cabbage rolls), a vareity of carp dishes, sauerkraut and, of course, pierogies (the spelling is often shortened to perogies in Canada).
Pierogies, also known as varenyky or by other names throughout Eastern Europe, are a great way to turn inexpensive ingredients into a delicious holiday main course. But if you are going to make pierogies the star of your holiday feast, grabbing a bag of cheddar and potato ones from the frozen food isle doesn’t cut it.
Homemade pierogies just taste better, and can be filled with a range of savoury and sweet fillings, including sauerkraut and mushrooms or sweet cherries and fruit. But you can’t go wrong with a big plate of potato and cheddar pierogies, fried in onion, bacon or sausage and topped with a dollop of sour cream.
Throughout Italy, every region has traditional pasta dishes which play the starring role during Christmas festivities. Pick a pasta type, and probably some part of Italy eats it at Christmas.
In many parts of Latin America, tamales – a stuffed corn dough dumpling steamed in corn husks or banana leaves - are a big part of Christmas celebrations.
Closer to home, it wouldn’t be Christmas for many French Canadians without tourtière, a spiced meat pie filled with ground pork, beef or other meats, along with onions and sometimes potatoes. Traditionally served with an assortment of pickles on the side, this Canadian classic makes a perfect Christmas Eve dinner that can be prepared in advance.
There are no shortage of festival and tasty options to explore, and for even more ideas check out this list of non-turkey Christmas ideas by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver. Or, do what the Japanese do, and pick up a bucket of fried chicken and just relax on Christmas.
