PRODUCT : Donald Russell alternative Christmas Roast

Donald Russell Butchers are one of Scotland’s finest butchers and they are helping to make your Christmas dinner the stuff that foodie dreams are made of.

Their butchers know that every roast they cut and tie, every beef wellington (here’s my recipe for Beef Wellington that I made with their fillet steaks), every chipolata hand wrapped in bacon, could be gracing your Christmas table; and they treat each cut with extreme care and attention. It’s the quality of the meat and the presentation that sets Donald Russell Butchers apart.

Now I have to admit that most Christmas dinners for me have at least two roast meats; more than likely lamb and either gammon or beef; plus there is always a turkey leg that no-one really eats except the next day on a sandwich.

When Donald Russell approached me and asked if I would like to try an alternative roast, I jumped at the chance and after browsing their catalogue, available in print and online, I decided on Guinea Fowl. There was also partridge, pheasant and duck to choose from. These are most certainly not poultry or game that I would normally consider for Christmas Dinner.

The Guinea Fowl Paupiette with Chestnut Crème comes two per pack (£22 per pack of two) with a rich chestnut stuffing and topped with a 'marron glacé'.

These paupiettes arrive frozen and you can cook them straight from the freezer or defrost thoroughly before cooking. They take approx 20-25 minutes from defrosted or 40-43 minutes from frozen. Pop them in an oven set to 210 degree for a fan oven or 190 degrees for non-fan, gas mark 6.

Let’s get this Christmas Dinner underway.

First I started with prepping the veg. Peel the tatties and cut them into similar sized pieces to the size of roast tatties you prefer. Get them on the boil as these will take the longest out of all the three veg to prep and cook.

In the meantime, add a little olive oil to a baking tray and get it in the oven. You’re heating up the oil to chuck in the al dente potatoes to get them crispy and turn them into the best roast tatties.

Next peel your carrots and again cut them into similar sized pieces. I like to roll cut mine. Pop them into a pan of salted water ready to boil closer to the finish time.

I bought ready washed and trimmed brussel sprouts so all I have to do was cut them in half and place to the side.

I popped the paupiettes on a baking tray with some olive oil on the bottom. You can of course line it with a baking sheet so it doesn’t stick.

You can also choose to cut or keep the string on. I prefer to remove the string when they are cooked, just to ensure that they retain their shape.

Once your oven is hot and reached temperature get these guinea fowl in the oven for the correct amount of time.

The tatties have been on the boil for about 10 minutes and are still slightly hard in the middle. I drained them and shook them up a wee bit to make the edges a little rough. Carefully removed the pan with the oil from the oven, and gently tossed the tatties in, coating them in the sizzling oil before returning them to the oven.

Excuse the steamy photo, but once the carrots are cooked and still piping hot, drain them, place in a bowl and drizzle with honey. The honey melts and turns into a silky glaze to cover the carrots.

To keep warm, I place in the bottom of the oven. Again leave these close to the end of cooking time as they don’t take long to cook.

Up next was the brussel sprouts, and I was cooking these with bacon or lardons. I cut the bacon up into small pieces and fried until crispy. In the meantime, I had blanched the brussel sprouts.

Once the bacon was crispy and well cooked, I added in the brussels and fried them off in the bacon fat with the bacon pieces. It all adds to the flavour. These don’t take long to do so try to leave these to the last 10 minutes or so.

20-25 minutes or so, and the guinea fowl is ready. I removed them from the oven and let rest for around 5-8 minutes. This allows time then to make the gravy and pop the Aunt Bessies Yorkies (sorry I don’t make yorkies!) in the oven.

Everything was ready and time to plate up! I sliced it up roulade style, cut into thin slices on an angle.

Don’t you just love my gravy jug! (hehehe). Pour the deep rich gravy over the top and tuck in.

The guinea fowl filling of chestnut creme and minced turkey is rich and quite earthy as most game flavours are. The bacon offsets the earthiness with its saltiness and makes for a very nice different taste to a Roast Dinner. It was super easy to cook, almost the same as cooking a chicken but it comes with a deliciously stronger flavour and meaty punch.

I found that two of these is quite a lot for one person and would recommend one each - but that depends on how hungry you are and if you like your veg.

The rich flavour of British game marries beautifully with sweet, fruit stuffings or would go down well with a lovely cranberry sauce or fruity chutney. The guinea fowl is also available with fig creme stuffing or wild mushroom stuffing.

If you still can’t get over the tradition of turkey but would like to try something a little different this Christmas, why not try the Half Turkey with Chestnut and Sultana Stuffing or the Mini Three Bird Roast with turkey, duck and chicken.

Donald Russell Butchers have you covered for every aspect of Christmas from Christmas Dinner, to breakfasts, to Christmas Eve nibbles, and pies for New Years Day. They stock delicious desserts from Christmas Puddings to Fruit Crumbles to Fish such as Scallops and fillets of Halibut to providing every side dish imaginable - goose fat potatoes, Christmas vegetables, pigs in blankets, braised red cabbage…. the list goes on.

Have a look at their Christmas Catalogue and choose what you fancy. They pack it up and deliver it straight to your door, with next day delivery available for a £2 surcharge. You can order online or on the phone. Their packaging is either biodegradable ecobox or a reusable coolbox - the choice is yours.

Whatever your roast choice for Christmas Dinner, I hope you have a great time. Just remember not to spend too much time in the kitchen, its about spending time with your loved ones that’s more important. Luckily Donald Russell make it easy to cook Christmas Dinner and have done most of the hard work for you!

Merry Christmas!

Donald Russell Butchers www.donaldrussell.com/christmas-dinner