What’s In A Traditional British Christmas Dinner?

People look forward to Christmas all over the world. In English countries, apart from the beautiful streets and scenic spots during this season, one thing to look forward to is the Traditional English Christmas dinner. Whether you are a traveler or not, you should give it a try.

British Christmas Dinner Menu

1. Turkey: The main course of a traditional English Christmas dinner consists of Turkey. People purchase a frozen turkey before thawing it, roast it in the oven for a couple of hours. After this, they add garnishes and sauces. Viola! Your turkey is ready to be carved. Some people may also have geese, duck or a pheasant.
2. Pigs in Blanket: Another popular part of the traditional dinner are pigs in a blanket. These are tiny sausages that you have to wrap in bacon and can act as a side dish to the turkey.
3. Stuffing and Roast potatoes: These two dishes are important for the traditional English Christmas dinner. Cut the roasted potatoes into small squares and put it in the oven with olive oil and herbs of your choice. Make sure the edges become brown before removing them from the oven. Popular stuffings used by the English are herbs such as rosemary. Another popular stuffing is sage and onion.
4. Gravy: You need something with the turkey, right? The gravy comes from the dripping of the turkey when the turkey is cooked. These drippings are then mixed with wheat flour. Add salt and pepper to this mixture. Pour this gravy over the turkey and the stuffing to enjoy!
5. Yorkshire Pudding: One of the original dishes from England is the Yorkshire pudding. The components of a Yorkshire pudding include eggs, milk and flour. Yorkshire Pudding is traditionally served with roasted beef, however, it is part of the traditional English Christmas dinner also where it is served with Turkey.

The Sauces

1. Bread sauce: Many families from England make bread sauce as a part of their Christmas dinner. This contains bread crumbs which are accented with spices. You can eat the bread sauce with the turkey and the stuffing.
2. Cranberry Sauce: We cannot talk about the traditional English Christmas dinner without mentioning the Cranberry sauce. Rinse cranberries, boil them with sugar and make your own cranberry sauce at home!

Desserts And Drinks

1. Christmas pudding: Christmas pudding is popular among people from all over the world and it is worth the hype! It is made from dry fruit, brandy butter and served with alcohol on top. People make their own choices of dessert but Christmas Pudding is most traditional to the English.
2. Mince pies: Another side dessert are the Mince pies. These are tiny pies filled with raisins and cranberries. It also has chopped nuts and spices along with cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar. Bake the pies and add sugar as icing. These taste well with a glass of wine or tea.
3. Mulled wine: One of the staple festive drinks for the English is, mulled wine. To make the mulled wine, you need hot wine and spices. It tastes excellent in the winter because it gives warmth.
4. Winter pimm: It is a drink made from Pimm no.3. Winter pimm is brandy based and has flavors like orange and caramel. You can also add slices of apple or warm apple juice. Apart from this there are regular drinks such as wine and beer which are served during the dinner.

Conclusion

This is what a traditional English Christmas dinner consists of. The combination of all this adds to the warmth families feel celebrating Christmas when it is served on the dinner table at Christmas.