‘Tis the season to start sharpening your knives and preparing your butcher shop for the Christmas rush! You’ll likely have already started planning your seasonal offerings and organising deliveries with local farmers.

In Lancashire, we’re a bit spoiled for choice when it comes to selecting great meat to have as Christmas dinner! We’ve got access to lamb, salmon, pork, beef, goose, grouse, rabbit, turkey, chicken, and even duck.

But, with all of this choice, you might be wondering how can you help your customers choose the best meat for their Christmas dinner?

Goose

Nothing says traditional Christmas dinner like a roasted goose with all the trimmings! And if your busily preparing orders or taking orders for December you might be wondering what advice you can pass along to your customers.

One excellent tip you can pass along is to have a sharp knife! Much like you use day-in and day-out it’s important for your customers to have the right equipment at home. Due to the size of the goose and the amount of fat you’ll probably be butchering it with a longer and thinner blade, than you may use for other fowl — you can pass this handy tip right on to your patrons!

Another thing people should know is to save the goose fat. While most of it will be used to cook with the whole goose itself you can use any extra to make tasty roast potatoes and parsnips.

Duck

Another popular type of meat for a Christmas dinner is duck! Most whole ducks tend to serve about 4 people — it’s important to keep this in mind when helping customers select the best meat for their meal.

And if your customers are trying to buy local for their Christmas meal, it may be worth recommending Goosenargh which is a breed of duck local to Lancashire. As you may have some in stock or a connection with a local farmer.

The important thing to remember with duck is people should select if they’re looking for something with less meat but a strong flavour.

Beef

Simple, clean, and relatively foolproof!

UK-Butchers-Beef (1)

Your customers might be looking for something that is decadent without being a wholly traditional Christmas meal. In that case, you may be able to direct them to your large selection of beef products.

Some customers might be a bit wary of cooking poultry or wildfowl depending on their oven and cooking skill. Luckily, beef is a resilient and hearty choice for all range of skills and abilities.

Many shops, including yours, may supply a selection of aged bone-in ribs, roasting joints, beef wellingtons, fillet steaks, rolled rump roasts, or even a ready to cook rib of beef. You can even read our guide on how to help your customers choose the best roast for their specific tastes.

And as a general Christmas butcher shop tip, it may be helpful to amend or add signage or stickers to include a portion guide for beef roasts, chickens, ducks, geese, or turkeys. For example, putting a sign next to a 5kg goose that reads, “Serves 6” or a 5kg turkey that reads, “Serves 10” — can be a simple and effective way for customers find exactly what they’re looking for without needing to look it up online!

We sell a range of carving knives and butchers knives that are perfect for helping you during the busy Christmas season! If you have any questions or need advice, please give our friendly team a call on 01254 427721.