# If Thanksgiving = Turkey, Christmas =? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [November 26, 2021, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-thanksgiving-turkey-christmas/954959 "2021-11-26T00:56:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2021, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-thanksgiving-turkey-christmas/954959/81 "2021-11-30T01:24:39Z")
Every Ralphs or Safeway has some lamb out here. To me- Meh. Twice the cost of good roast beef and not quite as good. However, if I am served lamb that is done perfectly at a friends house, I do ask for seconds. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2021, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-thanksgiving-turkey-christmas/954959/82 "2021-11-30T01:34:36Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > Myself, I’ve tried cooking a boneless leg of lamb myself, and while it was . . . fine? I couldn’t spend the time and money dialing it in when there are plenty of other tasty meat creatures that aren’t nearly as finicky or expensive (duck breast, duck breast, and oh yeah, duck breast) Lamb chops are dead easy. So is rack of lamb. And at least around me, a little cheaper than duck breast. Duck breast is awesome, but my husband is happy to eat lamb and grumbles at duck, so i eat a lot more lamb than duck. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2021, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-thanksgiving-turkey-christmas/954959/83 "2021-11-30T01:40:00Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I make a seafood paella that has shrimp, clams, mussels and Spanish chorizo. A few years ago, I didn’t have time to go Christmas shopping, so I stayed up late on Christmas Eve to make a big batch of paella that I put in a container and gave to my landlord (a Greek immigrant to Canada) as a present _in lieu_ of a bottle of wine. He and his friends loved it! Lamb, I have no problem in finding at Metro or Food Basics. (The big pieces are all frozen, of course.) And yeah, cooking meat with the bone in makes a world of difference. I’ll never understand what the big deal is with deboning! ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2021, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-thanksgiving-turkey-christmas/954959/84 "2021-11-30T01:57:24Z")
@FlikTheBlue - around here, the major megamarts carry boneless leg of lamb infrequently, but almost always have individually sealed lamb chops, and rarely (around Valentines and Easter) prepped rack of lamb. @puzzlegal - Yeah, chops are easy, but that was something my father made rarely as well, but he tended to overcook them, so they have less fond memories for me. Now if the store had, say, inch thick chops to work with, I’m sure I could cook them to a lovely medium rare without the risk, but the only ones that I seem to fine are normally far less. And I rarely buy the pre-packed duck breasts, because it’s a lot better value to buy a whole frozen duckling for around 2.49/lb US and have duck breast, duck drumsticks, and then slow or pressure cooked duck broth with the carcass and thigh meat. And I respect that you love your husband, but he’s just … wrong. But like I can talk, my wife doesn’t eat meat because she doesn’t care for the taste, a realization that she came to after years of having me cook a steak for her that was butterflied and well done to cook the ‘meat’ taste out. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2021, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-thanksgiving-turkey-christmas/954959/85 "2021-11-30T02:02:33Z")
I guess I’m lucky. We have a turkey farm 5 minutes away, and my buddy has sheep browsing his property. I help him butcher his lambs and take one home with me. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2021, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-thanksgiving-turkey-christmas/954959/86 "2021-11-30T02:14:46Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > Yeah, chops are easy, but that was something my father made **rarely** as well, but he tended to **overcook** them, Come on, make up your mind! 😀 (bolding mine) ---
**Author:** ![Steven\_Maven](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steven_maven/32/3272_2.png) [@Steven\_Maven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steven_Maven)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2021, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-thanksgiving-turkey-christmas/954959/87 "2021-11-30T02:19:41Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > My father had relatively few dishes he was good at, but about 3 times a year (often for Passover) he’d cook a whole, bone in leg of lamb IIRC that’s what The Torah says you’re supposed to eat with Seder dinner. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2021, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-thanksgiving-turkey-christmas/954959/88 "2021-11-30T02:39:05Z")
🙄 → @needscoffee Okay, it’s a fair cop. Although, in my defense, I can barely claim to have a mind anymore! I also had that coming after my snark at the title of the post previously listed about “Santanic Nazis” in the Pit. Okay, back to the thread. While my family would be historically more of the Ashkenazic traditions, it is not an uncommon Passover meal, as @Steven_Maven was suggesting. However there are (as always in our faith) arguments about whether lamb as a main dish is appropriate rather than the symbolic shank. For me, Passover is a holiday that is based around a significant meal, explicitly similar to Thanksgiving, which however is largely shorn of it’s religious elements. Both justify the extra cost and labor of a leg of lamb. Still, at the time, it would have been my father, mother, brother, cousin and his wife, generally plus 2-3 close family friends of the faith. A party worthy of a leg of lamb! For just me, a lamb chop as suggested by **puzzlegal** is probably the best fix, if I can find one that suits. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2021, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-thanksgiving-turkey-christmas/954959/89 "2021-11-30T03:20:24Z")
If it’s a small animal, you can sometimes get them cut with two ribs to the chop. But I’ve recently discovered rack of lamb. Such an easy roast, and so easy to cook it medium rare. I cook for three, though. A rack would be a bit much to cook for one. Yeah, i bought a duck breast once. But i can buy the whole duck for about a dollar more than just the breast, and i like the rest of it. So i always buy a whole duck, even though the breast alone is a little easier to cook. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2021, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-thanksgiving-turkey-christmas/954959/90 "2021-11-30T03:40:51Z")
We never had lamb growing up (in Minnesota), but I decided a few years ago to try it for Easter. I followed a recipe, but it turned out really really rare; even though perhaps it was cooked perfectly, it looked like something most of the people at the table wouldn’t touch. So I had a quandary - cook it more and perhaps overcook it? or serve it rare and have squeamish guests? Since lamb isn’t in my wheelhouse, I don’t want to try making it again. Perhaps I should order it at a decent restaurant that knows how to cook it. Another reason I won’t serve lamb is my wife’s brother was in the Army in Kuwait in the first gulf war. When he walked into the house, he could smell the lamb cooking and almost left. He said it was something that was so common in Kuwait and he acquired a real distaste for it, even the smell. (We had enough other dishes that day that he didn’t go hungry, but he didn’t try the lamb.) ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2021, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-thanksgiving-turkey-christmas/954959/91 "2021-11-30T03:53:35Z")
> [@JohnGalt](#): > > When he walked into the house, he could smell the lamb cooking and almost left. He said it was something that was so common in Kuwait and he acquired a real distaste for it, even the smell. My father-in-law couldn’t abide lamb after having being served mutton too many times at the boarding house he lived in post-WWII. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2021, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-thanksgiving-turkey-christmas/954959/92 "2021-11-30T05:10:53Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > My father-in-law couldn’t abide lamb after having being served mutton too many times at the boarding house he lived in post-WWII. According to that Epicurious article I linked to earlier, that was apparently not an uncommon reaction from vets returning home from Europe after WWII, and helped contribute to the decline of lamb in the American diet. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2021, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-thanksgiving-turkey-christmas/954959/93 "2021-11-30T05:20:25Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > and helped contribute to the decline of lamb in the American diet. Sadly! I love lamb, and was dismayed when my kids didn’t care for it. Lamb chops were a staple of my Chicago area childhood. Nowadays, in the Seattle area where I am, it’s really a niche item. Time to go get some chops! ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2021, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-thanksgiving-turkey-christmas/954959/94 "2021-11-30T05:39:31Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > “Jewish Christmas” - a movie followed by Chinese restaurant or take-out. We’re not Jewish, but we have a tradition of Chinese take-out, inspired by A Christmas Story (you’ll shoot your eye out, kid!). We tend to have a somewhat fancy Christmas Eve meal, but what it is varies from year to year. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2021, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-thanksgiving-turkey-christmas/954959/95 "2021-11-30T09:06:39Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > It’s not nearly as common here in the U.S. in general anymore, likely for some of the same reasons that goose isn’t – it doesn’t lend itself as well to large-scale farming operations. Really? Lamb is eaten by the bucketload across the world, and the Australians and New Zealanders don’t seem to have an issue with intensive sheep farming. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2021, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-thanksgiving-turkey-christmas/954959/96 "2021-11-30T09:08:23Z")
> [@JohnGalt](#): > > We never had lamb growing up (in Minnesota), but I decided a few years ago to try it for Easter. I followed a recipe, but it turned out really really rare; even though perhaps it was cooked perfectly, it looked like something most of the people at the table wouldn’t touch. So I had a quandary - cook it more and perhaps overcook it? or serve it rare and have squeamish guests? Since lamb isn’t in my wheelhouse, I don’t want to try making it again. Perhaps I should order it at a decent restaurant that knows how to cook it. You can treat lamb like beef and serve it rare, but most people prefer it medium-well. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2021, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-thanksgiving-turkey-christmas/954959/97 "2021-11-30T12:42:54Z")
> [@JohnGalt](#): > > but it turned out really really rare; even though perhaps it was cooked perfectly, it looked like something most of the people at the table wouldn’t touch. So I had a quandary - cook it more and perhaps overcook it? or serve it rare and have squeamish guests? There’s another option, one I’ve taken advantage of when in your shoes. Serve it bloody rare, but dine by candlelight. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2021, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-thanksgiving-turkey-christmas/954959/98 "2021-11-30T13:03:43Z")
Turkey. Hey, I love turkey. LOL ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2021, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-thanksgiving-turkey-christmas/954959/99 "2021-11-30T14:04:10Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > Lamb is eaten by the bucketload across the world, and the Australians and New Zealanders don’t seem to have an issue with intensive sheep farming. What does a large-scale Australian or New Zealand sheep farm look like? In the U.S., “factory farms” for meat animals (particularly pigs and chickens) tend to pack the animals in, and feed them grain. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2021, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-thanksgiving-turkey-christmas/954959/100 "2021-11-30T16:38:19Z")
Well I’m no sheep farming expert, but some of the largest sheep stations in Australia run to 5 million acres. It’s certainly not a cottage industry. I think the US is a bit of an outlier in its aversion to lamb. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-thanksgiving-turkey-christmas/954959.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-thanksgiving-turkey-christmas/954959.md?page=6)