Christmas Feasting

By Helen Stiles on December 14th 2010

Dorset is brimming with gorgeous produce, from plump poultry and succulent meats, to the finest cheeses, vegetables and preserves. Sourcing locally from the producer, farm shop or deli boosts the local economy and reduces food miles; equally important, the big Christmas food shop actually becomes a pleasure rather than a chore. To help with this I have put together some of Dorset’s best, from indulgent luxuries to essential veg. Many producers are happy to supply direct while others sell only through stockists or at markets, so contact the producer to find out where these are.

CHRISTMAS POULTRY
Turkey: For the tastiest bird, go for the bronze variety, descended from the original American wild turkey. When roasting, the trick is to get the legs cooked without drying out the breast meat. I have succeeded in this respect by roasting the bird in a loose parcel of well-sealed heavy-duty foil, opening it up for the last 30 minutes and regularly basting the breast with melted butter. Only stuff the neck end, never the body cavity. Cook additional stuffing separately in a baking dish covered with foil.
Size: 3kg serves 6-7, 4kg serves 8-9, 5kg serves 10-11

Goose: This makes a richly flavoured alternative to turkey and is one of the few truly seasonal birds. When roasting, drain off the fat at regular intervals and save it for irresistibly crunchy potatoes. Goose is terrific partnered with roasted apples, quinces, spiced red cabbage or creamed celeriac
Size: 4kg serves 4-5, 5kg serves 5-7, 6kg serves 8-12

Partridge and pheasant: Ideal for one or two people. Lightly roast and serve with bread sauce, fried breadcrumbs, watercress and quince jelly. Wild duck is another option for one or two. Richly flavoured and quick to roast, serve with a side dish of curly endive tossed with bacon lardons.
Size: Partridge: 1 bird serves 1. Pheasant: 1 bird serves 2. Duck: 1 bird serves 2

Storing: Remove giblets before storing the bird in a dish, loosely covered with foil, on the bottom shelf of the fridge. Poultry can be stored for up to 3 days.
Defrosting: Defrost frozen poultry in the fridge. If space is limited, a cool room or garage will do, but keep an eye on the weather. Sudden changes of temperature can speed up or slow down defrosting. Depending on size, defrosting may take up to 3 days. Allow 10-12 hrs per kg in the fridge, 3-4 hrs per kg in a cool room or garage. To speed up the process, remove giblets and neck as soon as the bird has thawed enough. Regularly pour off any liquid, taking care not to splash worktops or other food. Check that there are no ice crystals in the cavity before you start cooking.

SOURCE IT
Bronze turkey: Claire and Andrew Head, Cedar Organic, Rempstone Farm, Corfe Castle, Wareham, BH20 5JU. 01929 481393 or visit cedarorganic.com
Goose: Michael Coleman, Coleman’s Geese, Hewish Farm, Milton Abbas, Blandford Forum, DT11 0LH. 01258 880277 or e-mail hewish@hotmail.com
Feathered game: Michael Green, Southcombe Farm, Piddletrenthide, DT2 7QY. 01300 348526 or e-mail rebecca_burke@hotmail.co.uk

CHRISTMAS MEAT
Beef : Dorset is home to Longhorn cattle – a rare breed that reputedly made English roast beef famous. Its meat is wonderfully tender and delicately marbled with fat, giving it terrific depth of flavour. For roasting choose a fore-rib or rolled sirloin, or push the boat out and invest in a fillet, perfect for smaller numbers. Remove the meat from the fridge 1-2 hours before cooking to allow it to come to room temperature. Once cooked, leave to rest in a warm place for at least 30 minutes before serving. Essential condiments are sinus-clearing horseradish and strong English mustard.
Size: Single portion: boneless 175g-200g; bone-in 350g-450g

Ham: Kick off the festivities with a Christmas Eve feast of hot glazed ham and zesty Cumberland sauce. A whole ham served cold also makes a splendid centrepiece for a Boxing Day buffet. Personally I prefer to buy a big gammon and cook it myself. I particularly like the Purbeck Larder’s boned and rolled ‘horseshoe’ ham. For a tasty glaze mix melted membrillo (quince paste) with hot English mustard, lemon juice and rapeseed oil. Paint the joint with this during the last 30 minutes of roasting, until the meat is gleaming stickily and slightly blackened.
Size: Single portion: boneless 175g-200g; bone-in 250g-350g

Venison: Always choose a good game merchant and make sure the meat has been properly hung. Adrian Spicer of L & C Game is involved with the entire process from start to finish: shooting, hanging, butchering and selling. Adrian’s favourite is sika, highly prized for its dark gamey meat. For a milder flavour try roe deer or red deer. Wild venison benefits from marinating for a few days in red wine, herbs and olive oil.
Size: Single portion: boneless 175g-200g; bone-in 350g-450g

Charcuterie: An attractive platter of assorted cooked meats is an essential standby. Purbeck Larder are home to the Dorset Charcuterie Company, where butchery maestros Ben and Lee have created an inspired collection of cured meats and sausages, produced on the premises to their own recipes. These include pastrami and cured beef cheek made from organic Longhorn beef, a stunning herb-flecked potted tongue and cheek, and traditional corned beef and spam, alongside continental-style cured meats including bresaola, coppa, pastrami, and duck or pigeon prosciutto.

Storing: Remove wrapping and store raw meat in a dish on the bottom shelf of the fridge, loosely covered with foil. Beef up to 5 days; gammon up to 1 week; whole cooked ham up to 10 days, and venison up to 2 days.

SOURCE IT:
Longhorn beef: Bride Valley Farm Shop, 4 Market Street, Abbotsbury, DT3 4JR. 01305 871235
Gammon and ham: Denhay Farms, Broadoak, Bridport, DT6 5NP. 01308 458963, denhay.co.uk
Dorset Farms, Littlewindsor, Beaminster, DT8 3QU. 01308 868822, dorsetfarms.co.uk
The Purbeck Larder, Bere Farm, Wareham Road, Lychett Minster, BH16 6ER. 01202 625688, thepurbecklarder.co.uk
Charcuterie: The Dorset Charcuterie Company at the Purbeck Larder (see above)
Venison: L & C Game, 8 Court Farm, Buckland Newton, DT2 7BT. 01300 345271, lcgame.co.uk

CHRISTMAS SEAFOOD
December is prime time for Dorset seafood. There are Portland oysters from the Fleet lagoon at Chesil Beach, Lyme Bay scallops and local lobster. Oysters make a magnificent main course for Christmas Eve dinner or Boxing Day brunch. Enjoy straight from the shell with lemon and pepper, or Russian-style with a dollop of thick Jersey cream, a teaspoon of caviar or cod’s roe and a drop or two of very good vodka. Always select those with tightly closed shells, and reject any with open shells that do not close when tapped sharply.
Portion: 5 per person

Scallops make great party food but keep the cooking simple. All that’s needed is a quick sear in a griddle pan. They are great fried with thick slices of black pudding or crispy bacon. If you can, buy scallops live in the shell and select as per oysters above.
Portion: 4-6 per person, depending on size

Lobster makes a luxurious main course for Christmas Day. Simply grill in the half shell and serve hot with lemon pepper butter, or go retro with lobster thermidor: mix the cooked flesh with a rich béchamel sauce, return to the shell and brown under the grill. Lobsters should feel heavy for their size, with no missing limbs. Ideally, they should be kept alive in pots at sea, rather than in tanks in the shop.
Portion: Single portion: 1, weighing about 550g

Smoked fish is ideal for canapés and starters. Bridfish Smokery has a magnificent selection including whole sides of smoked trout, smoked mackerel, kipper fillets and cod’s roe. They also smoke halibut and pollock to order. Worth trying, too, are hot-smoked eel fillets – delicious in a salad with pink grapefruit segments, slivers of celery, a handful of peppery rocket and some toasted walnuts. Smoked fish makes great pâté: whiz in a blender (minus the skin) with an equal amount of unsalted butter, a little cream, a dash of lemon juice, black pepper and freshly grated horseradish.

Storing: Store in the salad drawer of the fridge, covered with foil or wet paper towel. Oysters and scallops, raw: 24-36 hours in shell, 24 hours shelled/cooked: 2 days; Lobster, raw: 12-18 hours; cooked: 2 days in shell. Smoked fish: 2-3 days

SOURCE IT
Portland oysters: Nigel Bloxham, Fleet Oyster Farm and Crabhouse Café, Ferryman’s Way, Portland Road, Wyke Regis, DT4 9YU. 01305 788867, crabhousecafe.co.uk
Lobster and scallops: Davy’s Locker, 28A Dreadnought Trading Estate, Bridport, DT6 5BU. davyslocker.co.uk
Smoked fish: The Bridfish Smokery, Old Laundry Industrial Estate, Sea Road North, Bridport, DT6 3BD. 01308 456306, bridfish.co.uk

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CHRISTMAS VEGETABLES AND SALADS
Christmas wouldn’t be the same without a massive dish of crisp roast potatoes, but swede, celeriac, Jerusalem artichokes and turnips are all worth roasting. If the weather is kind, get the barbecue going! Enjoy a glass of champagne in the sun while you grill some colourful vegetables – vegetarians will love a change from the ubiquitous nut roast. Try chunks of squash, carrot, red onion and beetroot – marinate them in olive oil and seasonings first. Meaty portobello mushrooms are also good. If sprouts are an essential part of your Christmas ritual, slice them finely and stir-fry in an indecent amount of butter with crunchy golden breadcrumbs, a few wisps of lemon zest and some crushed green peppercorns. For refreshing winter salads, look for Dorset-grown oriental leaves such as tatsoi, baby bok choy and mustard greens. Watercress and crisp curly endive are good at this time of year too. Their slightly bitter, peppery flavour go well with rich game birds, goose and fatty meat, and are perfect with smoked fish.

Portion: Vegetables, single portion: about 100g peeled, 175g unpeeled. Salad leaves, single portion: about 25g for a starter with other ingredients

Storing: Brussels sprouts, cabbage, sturdy leafy greens and leeks: up to 5 days in a cold larder, dry shed or garage. Onions, potatoes and other root vegetables: up to a week in a cold larder, dry shed, garage, or a dark, well-ventilated drawer in the kitchen (the fridge is not a good place). Pumpkins and squash: 2-3 weeks in a cool room, 2 months or more in a dry airy shed.

SOURCE IT
Your local farm shop or greengrocers should stock a wide range of locally grown seasonal vegetables and salads.
Root vegetables, pumpkins, squash and leafy greens: Washingpool Farm Shop, North Allington, Bridport, DT6 5HP. 01308 459549, washingpool.co.uk
Mushrooms: Dorset Down Mushrooms, Poyntingdon, Sherborne, DT9 4LF. 01963 220007 or e-mail george@dorsetdownmushrooms.co.uk
Salad and herbs: Bridget’s Market, 32 East Street, Bridport, DT6 3LF. 01308 427096
Watercress: The Watercress Company, Waddock Cross, Dorchester, DT2 8QY. 01929 463241 or thewatercresscompany.co.uk

CHRISTMAS CHEESES
Dorset is home to a phenomenal number of award-winning cheeses. I asked two leading men of cheese, Justin Tunstall of the Town Mill Cheesemonger in Lyme, and Charlie Turnbull of Turnbull’s Deli in Shaftsbury, what they would recommend for a Christmas cheeseboard. Both agree on George and Amanda Streatfield’s Denhay Dorset Drum – a mild but flavour-packed truckle. For a soft cheese they both rate Cranborne Chase’s Gold Hill, a small camembert-style cheese that “oozes over your cheeseboard like a punctured bouncy castle,” says Charlie. Moist and crumbly, Dorset Blue Vinny is Charlie’s choice for a classic blue, while Justin suggests the Windswept Cow’s St Aldhelm’s Blue, a lightly veined cheese with a crumbly texture. For non-cow cheese, Justin opts for Ford Farm’s smooth and smoky Billie’s Smoky Goat, while Charlie favours Annette Lee’s Woolsery English Goat Cheese. Whatever you choose, don’t forget the extras – grapes, celery, biscuits and chutneys.
Storing: Cheese needs a damp and cool environment, preferably a proper larder. If you store it in the fridge, put it in the salad drawer or on the top shelf, wrapped in greaseproof paper. Always let cheese come to room temperature an hour or two before eating, to allow the flavours to develop.

SOURCE IT
Billie’s Smoky Goat: Ford Farm, Ashley Chase Estate, Parks Farm, Litton Cheney, Dorchester, DT2 9AZ. 01308 482580, fordfarm.com
Denhay Dorset Drum: Denhay Farms, Broadoak, Bridport DT6 5NP, 01308 458963 or denhay.co.uk
Dorset Blue Vinny: Dorset Blue, Woodbridge Farm, Stock Gaylard, Sturminster Newton DT10 2BD, 01963 23133 or dorsetblue.com
Gold Hill: Cranborne Chase Cheese, Manor Farm, Ashmore SP5 5AE, 01747 811125 or cranbornechasecheese.co.uk
St Aldhelm’s Blue: Marion Field, The Windswept Cow Cheese Company, Weston Farm, Worth Matravers BH19 3LJ, 01929 439250 or purbeckproducts.co.uk
Woolsery English Goat Cheese: Annette Lee, Woolsery Cheese, The Old Dairy, Up Sydling, Dorchester DT2 9PQ, 01300 341991 or woolserycheese.co.uk

SPECIALIST STOCKISTS
Town Mill Cheesemonger, Mill Lane, Lyme Regis DT7 3PU. 01297 442626, townmillcheese.co.uk
Turnbulls Delicatessen, 9 High Street, Shaftsbury, SP7 8HZ. 01747 858575, turnbulls-deli.co.uk

CHRISTMAS PRESERVES
Dorset has a wealth of small producers creating top-notch preserves, perfect for serving with the cheese and cold meats – look for them in farm shops and delis. Newcomer on the block is Maya Pieris of Four Seasons Preserves. Her Tutti Frutti and Sticky Fig and Walnut Chutneys are particularly fresh tasting, as is the Medieval Spiced Pear Jam – good with cheese or on a Christmas croissant. Forest Products make an excellent Cumberland sauce – perfect with hot glazed ham – while their Mincemeat with Sherry and Rum is a lifesaver for those who don’t have time to make their own. 

SOURCE IT
Forest Products, The Old Hemp Store, North Mills, Bridport, DT6 3BE. 01308 458111, forestproducts.co.uk
Four Seasons Preserves, Parsons Lane, Askerswell, DT2 9EL. 07787 566676

CHRISTMAS TIPPLES
Dorset is home to a pleasing number of real ale breweries, many of which have a special Christmas brew. Scott Wayland of Sixpenny Brewery is proud of his Marley’s Ghost which he describes as “a warming fireside ale, deep-coloured with a full mouth-coating malt flavour and fruit notes to complement.” Hall & Woodhouse’s seasonal offerings are Poacher’s Choice – a dark ale redolent of liquorice and damson, and the lighter Blandford Fly with interesting notes of spicy ginger. Both would be excellent with game dishes, beef, Boxing Day cold meats, and even Christmas cake or pudding. For an alcohol-free festive drink, try Dorset Ginger, made from a traditional family recipe, or mix with whisky or brandy as a spicy winter warmer. The Lyme Bay Winery’s seasonal Mulled Cider is an inspired blend of their award-winning Jack Ratt Scrumpy Cider with festive flavourings of cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, lemon and orange zest. Other seasonal tipples include Mulled Wine and Christmas Mead or the elegantly bottled Blueberry Reserve Liqueur.

SOURCE IT
Dorset Ginger Company, Unit10, Sunnyside Park, Wimborne Road, Lychett Matravers, BH16 6HQ. 01202 618010, dorsetginger.com
Hall & Woodhouse, The Brewery, Blandford St Mary, DT11 9LS. 01258 452141, hall-woodhouse.co.uk
Lyme Bay Winery, Shute, Axminster, Devon, EX13 7PW. 01297 551355, lymebaywinery.co.uk
Wayland’s Sixpenny Brewery, The Diary Building, Manor Farm, Sixpenny Handley, SP5 5NU. 01725 762006, waylandsbrewery.co.uk

CHRISTMAS NIBBLES AND SWEETMEATS
I have fond memories of my mother arranging lovely boxes of Turkish delight and crystallised fruits on top of our ancient piano for everyone to help themselves from. This made me feel Christmas had finally begun. Nowadays our tastes are more sophisticated but even so, snack maestro Giles Henschel of Olives Et Al tells me his Christmas’s have always centred around food to share. “For me, it’s our Smoky Chilli Nuts which we roast right here in Dorset, along with our Moorish olives with cumin, coriander and cardamon. Always my personal favourite and great with cheese”.

    A big tin of biscuits for cheese is another part of the Christmas ritual. Dorset-based Fudges Bakery have a tasty Savoury Nibble Selection which will last you through the holiday. And don’t miss out on their ambrosial Mini Mince Pies.

     Continuing with the ‘mini’ theme, Honeybuns bakery near Sherborne, famous for gorgeous wheat- and gluten-free cakes, has come up with a lovely box of Christmas Mini-Treats – an ideal gift for someone on a restricted diet. Meanwhile, neighbouring Puddings & Pies make irresistible cup-cake-sized Santa cakes, beautifully decorated and wrapped in cellophane. Owner Ed Cunningham says they are made with dried vine fruits, mixed peel, spices and sherry, and “a sprinkling of Dorset magic”.

SOURCE IT
Fudges Bakery
Pineway Business Park, Station Road, Stalbridge DT10 2RN
Telephone 01963 362402
www.fudges.co.uk

Honeybuns
Naish Farm, Stony Lane, Holwell, Sherborne DT9 5LJ
Telephone 01963 23597
www.honeybuns.co.uk

Olives Et Al
1 North Dorset Business Park, Sturminster Newton DT10 2GA
Telephone 01258 474300
www.olivesetal.co.uk

Puddings & Pies
3 Hyle Farm, Sherborne DT9 6EE
Telephone 01935 817373
www.puddingsandpies.com

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