Commentary by Mark LaFay
A favorite Christmas movie around our house is “Elf.” Early in the movie, as the narrator tells the story of how Buddy the Elf came to be at the North Pole, Santa is shown giving a pep talk to the elves about how great Christmas is, and now they get to start working on next year’s Christmas.
That is about how it feels this week after Thanksgiving.
I hope you had a great Thanksgiving. Now, it is time to start planning Christmas! Much like I do not prefer roasted turkey for Thanksgiving, I do not prefer ham for Christmas. Call me a rebel, but it just doesn’t get me super excited, and so I would like to propose three center-of-the-plate proteins for Christmas that are not ham.
Standing rib roast – Also known as prime rib, the standing rib roast is the ribeye with bones removed and then tied back on. This allows for bone flavoring, with easy removal for serving. I like to lightly season, vacuum seal and sous vide at 130 degrees for 18 hours, then rest, baste with egg whites, roll in cracked pepper and sea salt, sear off in a pan and rest for a few minutes before serving.
Whole roasted duck – You can’t go wrong with whole roasted duck. Maple Leaf and Culver Duck are two duck growers and processors in Indiana, and they produce superb duck products. Get a whole duck or two, score the breasts with your knife just enough to break the skin and get to the breast meat, dust with garlic powder, paprika, salt and black pepper. Don’t coat it, just dust it. Roast in the oven and finish by glazing with something fun. Orange goes great with duck. Try a homemade glaze with orange and cranberry juice as ingredients.
Porchetta – This is a hefty undertaking, but it is lights out. This is skin-on pork belly. The skin is separated from most of the belly, the rib side of the belly is heavily seasoned, sometimes stuffed, and then it is rolled. The skin is only used to wrap around the outside of the roll and then it is tied. Slowly roasted, then finished under the broiler, or basted with 380-degree frying oil until the skin puffs up like a pork rind. Slice and serve. Give this a try!
