To cook a chicken on Christmas day?

[StarsUponThars]

I can buy a higher welfare chicken for less £ than a lower welfare turkey. And it will be lovely.

Who me?

No, wasn't thinking of you cod.Doesn't matter to me anyway, it's all round.

Reeported her

My mum makes this amazing chicken with rice and potatoes.
I was really tempted, but then we decided to have rib of beef.

We always have chicken - it is much moister and tastier than turkey. Chicken wins hand down.

Cheap meat badly cooked, regardless of what it is, is never going to be as good as good quality meat well cooked. [And the prize for the Biggest Statement of the Bleeding Obvious 2013 goes to....]

I wonder if so many people dislike turkey because they've never had a decent high welfare bird cooked with real care. My turkey isn't dry and tastes terrific. I use Delia's method so it will be smothered in butter and streaky bacon, stuffed with pork, sage and onion stuffing and most of the cooking is done inside a big foil tent. I love chicken too, but for Christmas we like a change, so we're having turkey. It's a free range one, and it's the single most expensive lump of meat we have all year, but that's part of Christmas for us. We don't have all that much meat so I'm happy to pay extra to get decent quality.

We always had chicken when I was growing up. It was not an everyday food then (1960s/70s).

Was going to be chicken but OH came back with a massive beef rib roast from ALDI at a really cheap price. _ And I saw a lovely piece of posrk in Tesco this morning- OH loves a bit of crackling.

I think that a problem with high welfare turkey for people, London might be that it doesn't take nearly as long to cook as the ordinary stuff, so it ends up tough. And the cooking instructions on supermarket ones never take this into account. I use a fan oven, anyhow, so don't need the "plus 30 minutes" or whatever, when cooking most meats (unless slow roasting) but I can safely take another half hour off a supposedly 3 hour free range turkey and it'll be cooked to perfection.

Well mine is Waaaaaitrose organic crn fed free range chicken so there! Don't know how nicely it will be cooked but I guarantee it will be well done

I am a veggie, we live in Qatar. I used to work in the ministry of agriculture here briefly. I spent £20 on a free range chicken from Holland in Carrefour and my husband said it was outrageous. I invited him to visit a processing factory and then argue

I play the qatar.

Crikey...what went on here? Anyhoo...just got my chicken out to defrost...getting excited now. Two more sleeps!!

I think everyone should eat what they enjoy most rather than the traditional turkey. A turkey is a must for one member of the family, so we've bought a turkey breast - two are having this, two are having salmon. My brother-in-law's family have never had anything but chicken so a popular choice for the five of them.

Theo, totally agree with spending that little bit more on a bird which has had some sort of comfortable life.

And cod, what's a qatar? Sorry if I'm a bit thick

They are having chicken. Don't eat meat but back in the day bloody hated turkey it tasted like a shoe if I remember rightly.

Don't like Turkey here, since I started hosting Christmas I've never had it. We've had partridge, duck and goose on different years depending on how many people we are cooking for. I do love goose but it's duck this year since we have no visitors on Christmas Day itself.

I love roast beef but that's for New Years Day.

I cook lamb for Christmas. Turkey doesn't taste like anything.

Slightly off topic, but do you guys have any ideas for incorparating chicken and ham (and sprout-BOAK) leftovers into a "fork supper" style buffet. That's my plan for the 27th.

And /please/ explain to me what a qatar is? Feel like I've missed something!