Fancy doing something a bit different for your Christmas dinner this year? Our best-selling kitchen knives and butchers equipment are typically used for the most traditional of Christmas dinners – the humble Christmas turkey – but if you’re in the mood for a change, there’s no shortage of options to choose from. Ham is a popular option; deliciously sweet and salty, it’s already rightly earned its place at the Christmas dinner table. Beef is another alternative, especially as it's highly popular all year round.

If you’re looking for something to really mark out your Christmas dinner as something special this year though, might we recommend…

  1. Pork 

Pork is a natural alternative to serve at Christmas because it’s already saturated with that classic festive vibe, helping it to strike the balance between fresh and interesting, but also not so radical it will undercut the traditional feeling that so many of us love about the festive season. What’s more, you’ve got a whole host of options for preparing it – you can opt for a classic pork belly roast and crackling for example, or slow-roast it. Or perhaps a delicious herby stuffing!

  1. Goose

It can be all too easy to forget that duck is in fact the original festive bird. In fact, it was the go-to choice for Victorian families at the turn of the 20th century. That makes it classic and traditional, but still an intriguing alternative. It’s true that it’s a little more luxurious, with rich and juicy meat and golden crispy skin. Don’t forget though that there’s a little less meat on the bone, so it’s very much one for smaller family gatherings. Personally here at Butchers Equipment, we’d recommend serving it with a smattering of root vegetables – and it goes beautifully well when served with a selection of certain spices, too. 

  1. Duck

The unique taste and hearty texture of duck can bring a unique flavour to your Christmas dinner – literally! Duck has enough flavoursome fat on it to make it the perfect accompaniment to the very best roast potatoes, and it goes very well with festive spices too. It also goes very nicely with citrus, so there’s plenty more creative culinary avenues to explore there. Roast duck with clementines for example. And as the famous scene goes, you can have duck with orange, duck with lemon… or perhaps… Duck Surprise?

  1. Chicken

There’s a reason that chicken tends to be the go-to alternative in so many situations, including Christmas dinner. It’s one of the most versatile meats around, and it’s relatively cheap to boot, which can make it particularly attractive if you’re doing Christmas on a budget (as so many people are these days!). That inherent versatility means there are all sorts of things you can do with it – why not surprise and delight friends and family with a Mediterranean-style pot roast, for example or a farmhouse roast? It’s really all up to you! 

  1. Vegetarian

OK, so we’ve got an extra bonus option for you – but obviously, it’s not technically a Christmas meat in the strictest sense. It’s great if you fancy going a little more rogue with your festive dinner this year; but if you’re planning on doing so, it’s generally a good idea to let your guests know ahead of time with this one. It can all get a bit controversial otherwise! 

Once you’re confident it’ll go down well on the big day though, you can get down to the real bones of the research. When it’s done well, you can achieve some real wonders with it, with all sorts of creative options available to you. There are nut roasts, pistachio roasts, pot roast cauliflower, veggie toad in the hole… 

Those are just a couple of ideas to get you started – we’ll leave the final decisions up to you! Whatever you go for though, you can rest assured that we’ll always have the equipment you need to whip up something delicious for all your Christmas guests to enjoy. We only supply the very best carving knives, butchers knives and chef knife sets here at Butchers Equipment Warehouse, so you can always be confident that we have exactly what you need — and all at the very best prices to boot. Feel free to explore our extensive range of knives, sets and accessories right here on our site, and if you’ve got any questions, get in touch with our experts on 01254 427721 and we’ll be happy to help!