I'm cooking two Christmas dinners this year; one dinner for Diane's side of the family on Christmas, and then another dinner for my side of the family the next day. I'll be cooking a Rotisserie Ham on day 1, and a Rotisserie Prime Rib on day 2, and I'll be doing both with a side of rotisserie pan potatoes.
*My goal is to spend time with my guests, not with the meal. I'm trying to rein in my "if it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing" impulses. I've sent out a call for help from the rest of the families, and they've responded in a big way. I think I'll just have to fill in a couple of things.
**Yes, I'm trying to hold myself back. I'm making a grill-smoked side of salmon a day ahead that I can use as an appetizer for both dinners. Oh, and some green beans; recipe coming tomorrow. And…no, stop, that's enough. See? There I go again.
My tip for Christmas? Cook your Christmas roast on the grill. When I'm having people over, the space in the oven is always at a premium.
*Unless you're one of those lucky people with two ovens in their kitchen. My grandmother had them, and now I understand how important that was to feeding our crowd on holidays. Someday, when I remodel my kitchen, they will be mine. Oh yes, they will be mine.
Moving the roast outside leaves the oven free for side dishes, so they don't pile up waiting to be cooked or re-heated. And it doesn't hurt that grilling on Christmas will impress your guests. Particularly if it's snowing.
Dad Cooks Dinner Christmas Roast Recipes:
Here are some suggestions for a grilled Christmas roast:
Rotisserie Beef Tenderloin with Shallot Herb Butter and Horseradish Cream
Rotisserie Boneless Pork Loins, Brined and Maple Sugar Glazed
Rotisserie Turkey
Don't have a rotisserie? You can still use my recipes - set the grill up for indirect cooking, put a drip pan in the middle, put the grate back on the grill, and cook your roast over indirect heat, turning halfway through the cooking time. If that's not specific enough instructions for you, then here are some good sources of grill-roasting recipes:
Good sources of Grill Roasting Recipes on the web:
Stephen Raichlen's PBS show, Primal Grill: [primalgrill.org]
Primal Grill recipes, season one
Primal Grill recipes, season two
(Or get one of his many cookbooks. How to Grill is a great introduction to grill roasting)
Weber grills has a couple of different recipe resources you can use:
Weber.com recipes [weber.com]
WeberNation recipes and grilling videos with Jaime Purviance [webernation.com, free registration required]
(Or get one of their many cookbooks, like Weber's Way to Grill)
Merry Christmas, everyone! And good luck with your Christmas dinner!
What do you think? Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.
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MikeV @ DadCooksDinner says
@AYOTG:
Thanks! The advantage to this tip is it helps even if you're not organized - it's one less thing in the way.
A Year on the Grill says
great tips, so organized.
Just going to be my wife and I this year, and we are still working on the menu