How to cook the perfect Christmas roast

It’s not just about the turkey

For some of us, Christmas lunch just isn’t, well Christmas, if it isn’t a roast with all the trimmings. Even if it’s 35c outside. And while turkey is arguably the festive roast of choice (unless you’re a vegetarian/vegan), there are plenty of tasty alternatives.

Here, we look at the contenders vying to take centre-stage on your plate this Christmas and get some tips on how to make it a roast to remember. 

 Talking turkey

We can thank our ties to Britain for Australia adopting the festive Turkey tradition. And, although Henry VIII was the first British monarch to add turkey to his – presumably vast – festive feast, it wasn’t until the 1950s that it became a staple on the Christmas dinner table. 

But the big bird isn’t without its critics. So how can you avoid dry, flavourless poultry?

• Stephanie Alexander prefers to roast a turkey roll – a deboned and pre-stuffed bird. It comes in a ‘stocking’ which is then basted and cooked until it’s still a little moist. 
• For maximum succulence, Gordon Ramsay stuffs his turkey with onion, lemon and garlic and then massages more lemon, garlic and parsley butter under the skin. 
• Adam Liaw dials up the flavour by filling his bird with Scarborough Fair stuffing full of parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme and bastes it with a hot orange glaze.
• If you’re feeding a crowd, Jamie Oliver recommends buying two six kilo turkeys instead of a 12 kilo one, because the science behind cooking a bigger one makes it tougher (along with the meat!)

What if I don’t like turkey?

Why not consider lamb, pork or beef? 

Although it’s associated with Easter, lamb is a winner at Christmas too. Try fragrant Syrian-style roast lamb which is slow-cooked with allspice, garlic and rosemary and served on a bed of basmati rice with slivered almonds. 

If you fancy some pork on your fork, Nigella Lawson’s rolled stuffed loin with rubied gravy is a festive showstopper (although even Nigella admits the prep is fiddly!) Her tip is to ask a butcher to open up the joint which is covered in a cranberry and bacon stuffing and then rolled up.

For the ultimate Christmas roast beef, serve a whole sirloin with roast vegetables and Yorkshire puds. The trick is to score the fat and then brown on a high heat before the joint goes into the roasting dish. 

Help! I don’t eat meat

You can still have your roast (and eat it) if you make it a nut one. Why not try?

• Anna Jones’ ‘best-ever’ cranberry and pistachio nut roast is like a savoury upside-down cake, with a moist mushroom risotto base and sticky cranberries on top. 
• Use tofu to give creaminess and slivers of sweet potato and toasted pine nuts to add crunch to this vegan nut roast. 

What about KFC?

Yes, you read that right. KFC is huge in Japan at Christmas. So if the thought of cooking a roast is too much, why not go to the beach on Christmas Day and then have a lazy Japanese-style Boxing Day lunch courtesy of KFC (there’s a new branch at Chatswood Interchange). At least they’ll be no arguing over who does the dishes.