What to cook for Christmas Dinner.

[blazinfire]

Hey guys,

I'm trying to come up with a non-traditional type meal for a Christmas Dinner. Probably wont pick up a prime rib roast like I wanted to. Pretty expensive here. Normally we will either do a Christmas ham or a turkey dinner.

Not really sure where to go from here. The missus requested duck, I've cooked duck before, but it was one of the frozen ducks you can buy from walmart. I've only cooked and ate a duck once which was cooked on the WSM. It was pretty darn good but the price didn't seem very worth it.

Also considered making a good meatloaf but meatloaf is a regular meal for us.

I did see walmart had rack of pork in store. That could be a possibility, but the family isn't that big on pork. I love it but I can't get the rest to eat much pork LOL

Any good ideas? Whatever it may be I'm looking for something a little easy on the wallet but different

 

[smoke ninja]

I can get boneless rib roast for under $9/lbs. A 6 lbs roast feeds 6 easily. Costco is usually pretty good.

Don't know if its in budget. Boneless feels like a better value. If be hard pressed to buy a whole rib myself.

 

[cyberstrategist]

I'll have to agree with Ninja. A rib roast is good eats. I'd get bone-in though since I'd make stock with them afterwards. They make a mighty good stock after being seasoned and on the rotisserie for their time...mmmm.

 

[HawgHeaven]

We're doing a non-traditional Christmas dinner. Yes, there will be ham, except added to the mix is meatballs-n-gravy, baby back ribs, wings, and whatever sides we come up with. All buffet style, got lots of family coming over. Nothing fancy this year, just comfort on a paper plate... :mrgreen:

 

[daninnewjersey]

You guys eat fish? Some really good salmon dishes are pretty easy to prepare, and you can make a nice presentation pretty easily.

 

[Wornslick]

Sometimes we have crab legs and shrimp for our Christmas dinner.

 

[cowgirl]

My favorite Christmas meal is surf and turf. Doesn't have to something very costly.

 

[cowgirl]

Not sure how many people you are feeding, this worked for 5 of us.
Sometimes each person picked their favorite meal for Christmas dinner. Some picked steak, some picked chicken breasts, some picked pizza. It wasn't very expensive and everyone was happy with their favorite meal.
The prep wasn't as bad as you'd think, everyone pitched in.

 

[FattyMcFatty]

Talking about "non traditional", we are doing smashburgers on the blackstone with...

 

[mattmountz94]

Christmas Eve we usually do surf and turf and then xmas is pretty simple. Usually stuff in crock pots as most of us are visiting different houses the entire day. Turkey bbq, soup and apps is whats on the menu this year

 

[BillN]

Talking about "non traditional", we are doing smashburgers on the blackstone with...

If I could get away with it that sounds pretty darn good to me.

 

[FattyMcFatty]

If I could get away with it that sounds pretty darn good to me.

Yeah, wanted to fire up the pit but due to some "family issues" the "spirit" is not really there and the head decision maker (my mom) said burgers, I said well if that's what you wanna do then I'm atleast going to make some tasty ones. Not gnna ruin my x-mas dinner if I have a say

 

[dadsr4]

I'm doing a leg of lamb.

 

[Gadragonfly]

I guess it depends on what "dinner" means. In the South dinner could be your noon meal with supper being the evening meal. If dinner is at noon you could move it up an hour or two, call it Christmas brunch and smoke a couple of fatties, cook bacon and eggs, maybe sausage gravy, a casserole or two - french toast casserole and maybe a shrimp & grits casserole. This is sounding better and better, I may have to do this.

 

[m-fine]

We now do appetizers and finger foods to increase variety. We also make everyone bring a dish to spread the workload. Reception was very positive from day one and the crowd gets bigger every year so people must like it.

In the past we have done goose, turducken, suckling pig, beef wellington, saddle of lamb, and ham among other things.

 

[m-fine]

I guess it depends on what "dinner" means. In the South dinner could be your noon meal with supper being the evening meal. If dinner is at noon you could move it up an hour or two, call it Christmas brunch and smoke a couple of fatties, cook bacon and eggs, maybe sausage gravy, a casserole or two - french toast casserole and maybe a shrimp & grits casserole. This is sounding better and better, I may have to do this.

I might do that for breakfast before the guests arrive! :mrgreen:

P.s. No biscuits?

 

[cats49er]

In our house tradition is strong.It will be turkey,dressing,ham ,country ham, potatoe salad,candied yams,sweet peas,mac & cheese,collards,cranberry sauce,devil eggs,sausage dressing,assorted pickles,cornbread,yeast rolls,spoon bread,and of coarse assorted home made pies,cakes,and candies. This is just the way my old family has done my entire life. We eat left overs a couple of times,then it's time for some fish or BBQ.

 

[jermoQ]

Smoke a chuckie and slice or pull to make Sammies with a side of a jus. Grill up some new potatoes and make a bacon and cheese potato salad.

OR

Deep fry potato slices or fries, then top with some cheese curds, melt those on top of the fried, top that with some smoked pulled beef and then pour some beef gravy over that. Sort of a change up on poutine.

 

[cullenbranson]

Quiche is simple, delicious, and can be extremely cost effective. If chickens knew how much they could really charge us for that high quality fat and protein, I'd be ruined!

You can get as creative as you want with them. Smoke them, bake them, whatever. I like them as simple as with swiss only, or kitchen-sink-type quiche.

Good luck!

 

[weave1499]

I agree that smoked Chuckies are an inexpensive non traditional Xmas dinner that should be delicious. Also, If you search on food network for Emerils stuffed beef tenderloin, the stuffing recipe is awesome, and you don't need to put it in a tenderloin if that's beyond budget. Put it over some less expensive steak (london broil is affordable and good for larger numbers if you have guests). Substitute shrimp or even lump crab or imitation crab for the lobster in the stuffing to keep costs down further and make prep easier. Bernaise sauce packets come out great too, no need to make it from scratch. Here's the link:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/...f-tenderloin-with-bearnaise-sauce-recipe.html