For the first time I bought Christmas meat from the butcher and …

[AlternativePerspective]

There is bloody tons of it. 😱😱😱usually I am of the “let’s just do a roast dinner but with turkey and pigs in blankets,” persuasion, but this year I decided to buy a turkey breast and a ham. Thought I’d do ham in coke on Christmas Eve and then roast the turkey breast Christmas Day, serve with some ham, pigs in blankets etc.

Except I have vastly over-estimated the amount of meat, and now I have enough to feed the 3 of us for .. well, I’m not even sure.

So short of inviting another 50 people round for dinner, wtf am I going to do with it all?

Can you freeze some of it?

We're in the same situation as we were hosting, but now have covid - massive ham, doings for Christmas lunch plus ridiculous amount of cheese arriving. We're never going to eat it all.

Is this a trick question? Because I always fall for them …

How much exactly did you buy?

You can freeze some. If we end up with too big a piece of ham we cut it in two and freeze one half.

Pigs in blankets can also be frozen.

With the turkey we always eat lots as I love turkey sandwiches for days after Christmas. After that we do a turkey and ham pie and a turkey chilli.

This is the pie recipe I use - it’s really good - www.bbcgoodfood.com/user/148298/recipe/turkey-ham-pie

I usually bag up surplus cooked meats and bung in freezer. Turkey can be defrosted for a curry or use up Turkey and ham for Turkey and ham pies.

Assuming this is genuine, you eat some of it with your Christmas dinner, then for the next 2/3 days you have:

cold cuts and pickles etc
some of the ham with chips, eggs, salad, pineapple etc
turkey curry?
ham and/or turkey sandwiches
pasta bake with ham/and or turkey in it

On Monday, slice up whatever you have left and freeze it in meal sized portions for the 3 of you. Then you have ready cooked turkey or ham for a quick way to another roast dinner, or meals similar to the above.

@LiterallyKnowsBest

Is this a trick question? Because I always fall for them …

Ooh that ham pie looks excellent.

Erm, why wouldn’t it be genuine? Am a regular poster, been here for decades, although it’s the first time I’ve been accused of being a troll. Not entirely sure what trolling about ham would achieve though?

If you've only bought a Turkey breast, surely it's not that much?? I would Cook all of it then freeze what doesn't get eaten in portions to add to curry, pie etc in the new year although I can't imagine there'll be that much left

Ooh I’m interested in what it looks like/how much you paid for it all? If you wouldn’t mind sharing?

We normally get a single giant turkey breast from a local farm, even though there's usually only two of us.

About 2 kilos of just turkey, would probably serve at least 10 for the main event, but we have the leftovers in the next couple of days and then freeze at least half of it.

OP, I think people are wondering if it's a trick question because the answer seems so obvious. Eat what you can for the main meal, have a couple of days of leftovers and then freeze the rest. When we have Christmas dinner, realistically, there's loads of leftovers, but then I don't have to cook anything for at least three days. Nothing gets wasted btw.

Only 3 of us here too. I am doing a large chicken instead of turkey tho and ham. You said you'll cook the ham Christmas eve, I do the same. And we have ham sandwiches that night. Full dinner Christmas day. Then on Stephens day I am making chicken and ham vol au vonts. Along with plenty of sandwiches Christmas day/ Stephens day I don't imagine much will be left. There was a good bit one year and I froze it, it done two Sunday lunches during the year.

I always aim to get enough meat to do most if not all of
Cold meat with bubble and squeak
Ham egg and chips
Turkey and ham pie
Turkey curry
Turkey fajitas

Some leftover turkey ideas I cook ever year:
Boxing Day lunch Asian turkey salad www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/turkey-recipes/leftover-turkey-salad/
Dinner a turkey and leek pie www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/turkey-recipes/turkey-and-sweet-leek-pie/

We also have sliced turkey with chutneys and cheese for evening nibbles if the mood takes us!

That’s what Boxing Day was invented for -cold meat left overs! Yum!

Just popping on to sing the praises of Campbell's condensed chicken soup as a pie sauce. I usually add a tiny bit of lemon or white wine and perhaps a bit of milk. Super quick.

For scraggy bits of turkey, why not chop them up and mix them with some chopped tinned tomatoes, spices and black beans in enchiladas.

Turkey/Swiss Cheese and ham probably makes a mean toasted sandwich!

Our local Indian twigged some years ago that people wanted to make leftover curries so it sells a few of its curry sauces without meat and veg in.

Don't underestimate how long it takes to cook ham in (full fat) coke. I'd cook it earlier in the week if you can (and I always seem to underestimate the amount of coke needed).

Freeze it
Cook it and give some away

What else would you do with it?

Didn’t you notice how much you were purchasing?
If the price was vastly more expensive than you usually pay then that’s usually an indication of how much your buying, surely?

Cambells asparagus condensed soup (if you can get it) makes a superb sauce for turkey as a pie , jacket potato or crepe filling.

Roast Turkey and ham with trimmings on day 1. Then:
Cold Meat, pickles and bubble and squeak or chips.
Turkey and ham pie
Turkey curry
Christmas pie (include leftover roast potatoes, roast veg veg, gravy, pigs in blankets with some of the meat)
Turkey, stuffing balls and cranberry makes a lovely pizza topping
Turkey and pesto pasta
Sandwiches
If you have any bits leftover after that you can boil the rib cage for soup and use any scrappy bits of meat in a stir fry.

I did a ham at the weekend and there was loads left. Had some on a sarnie on Monday and put the rest in a soup - ham, carrot, celery, leek, red lentils and a tin of cannellini beans - was just what we needed on a cold day like today.

Just freeze it. I don’t understand why people struggle with this on here.

Ooh bubble and squeak

@HalloHello

If you've only bought a Turkey breast, surely it's not that much?? I would Cook all of it then freeze what doesn't get eaten in portions to add to curry, pie etc in the new year although I can't imagine there'll be that much left

I thought that the first time I ordered a turkey crown from a butcher.

Picked it up on Christmas eve. It was the size of a dustbin lid.

@OGenkiDesuKa

Just freeze it. I don’t understand why people struggle with this on here.

I see a lot of comments on here that seem to suggest that a fridge freezer is too aspirational for most people.

But I'm not sure I know anyone who doesn't have one, and this is people that are far less affluent than the average Mumsnetter.

Didn't have a freezer in my old flat. I thought that having a cooker and fridge was slightly more important (very small kitchen with no space for any more appliances).

And before the suggestion of keeping one in the living room or bedrooms comes, I quite liked being able to get from the door to the bed/chair. Small kitchen, small bedrooms, small living room. Small flat.

Most people do have a freezer though, its an unusual situation to have no freezer.

How much meat have you actually bought?