Christmas is nearly here – it’s Turkey week at Big Barn

Have your organised your Turkey, Goose, beef, ham or veges for the big day yet? There’s a huge movements with the UK towards supporting local farmers who offer real, additive free, high animal welfare, free range meat direct from their farm. Take a look at our brilliant suppliers at Local Food map or Turkey map.

You know by now that it’s not a food week at Big Barn without some facts, so here’s our Christmas meat facts:

• Goose, was the traditional Christmas dinner in the UK with farmers herding their gaggles in to the cities to sell live to butchers.  Turkey seems to have taken over as the favourite festive centrepiece but like all modern food, avoid the factory farmed commodity that may have traces of anti-biotics and bad fat!
• There are so many local free range turkey and goose producers over the UK who are now well and truly into their season, with many hanging their birds to improve texture and flavour.
• While the media tell us the turkey can be a healthier choice of meat goose makes your roast potatoes perfectly. I would say a free range goose is far healthier for you than a factory farmed turkey.
• In the UK we consume approximately 10 million turkeys.

The big feast for the family

• About 76% of families in the UK will serve up a turkey as the centre piece of their festive meal.
• In Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol (1843), Bob Cratchit had a goose before Scrooge bought him a turkey.
• Prior to the turkey tradition Christmas fare included roast swan, pheasants and peacocks. A special treat was a roast boars head decorated with holly and fruit.
• On average, British women do not attempt their first Christmas lunch until the age of 34.
• Henry VIII was the first English king to enjoy turkey and was considered a luxury until the 1950’s when refrigerators became commonplace.

When you head off around the world Christmas foods do start to look a little different.

• In Sweden the Christmas feast consists of a smorgasbord of caviar, shellfish, cooked and raw fish and cheeses.
• In Ukraine they prepare huge broths brimming with meat for Christmas Eve rather than Christmas day.
• In Germany they tend to have a game feast on Christmas day, usually wild boar or venison.
• In Jamaica Christmas dinner usually consists of rice, gungo peas, chicken, ox tail and curried goat.
• In Italy Christmas dinner last for more than 4 hours with 7 or more courses.
• In Austria a typical Christmas dinner would consist of braised carp served with gingerbread and beer sauce.

So if you are looking for a great Turkey this Christmas use our special Turkey map to find your local free range turkey direct from the producer.

In most parts of the country you can order now for Christmas delivery. Or you could pay now and collect your turkey and meet the farmer, so you can get the full story of how your turkey has been reared.

Once you have organised your Christmas meal centrepiece you can use BigBarn to get all the best trimmings and some brilliant presents.

Wishing you a very merry Christmas from all of us at Big Barn!