Meaty Centerpiece Ideas for a Holiday Feast
Recipes to make holiday entertaining look and feel easy.
Brisket is a traditional cut for Jewish holiday menus, but it has also become a favorite in my own family for our Christmas celebration. As the cook, I love brisket for its make ahead and reheat preparation. It tastes even better after spending the night resting in those incredibly delicious cooking juices. After all the work during the holiday season, I like to spend Christmas morning with my feet up on the couch rather than in the kitchen.
I have some funny and fond memories of holiday brisket cooking, like the year I caught my parents’ oven on fire. The fat from a massive 12lb brisket I had decided to bravely braise while we slept spilled over, despite my best efforts to carefully remove the hot liquid-filled roasting pan from the oven the next morning. The house got so smoky, but the brisket was one of the best ever. Or the year that I knew I’d be getting an instant pot for Christmas (to date, best gift and favorite kitchen appliance ever), so I stubbornly refused to make the brisket in advance because I couldn’t wait to show everyone how quickly it could be cooked with my new gadget. And it worked! I started cooking around 2pm and dinner was on the table at 6pm.
Remember that brisket and other slow braising cuts, like beef shanks, chuck roast, or lamb shoulder all fall into that category of make-ahead, reheat-friendly cuts. In my opinion, these are the most perfect types of recipes for making entertaining during the holidays look and feel easy.
Happy holidays and have fun cooking!
XX – Heather
I love this recipe from Bon Appetit for pot roast brisket with harissa and spice. The Bon App team reached out to me back in 2020 to consult on translating the original U.K recipe for a “boned and rolled beef brisket” into a cut that U.S. shoppers could more easily find. I love that this recipe would easily translate for chuck roast and other pot-roast-friendly cuts. The deep, warm chili spice of harissa is a favorite flavor of mine, and I really love the NY Shuk harissa paste we carry in our butcher shops, which would work nicely for this recipe. Once the harissa is in your pantry it also makes a great marinade (thinned with a bit of olive oil) for roast or grilled chicken.
Melissa Clark’s recipe for Korean Chile Braised Brisket, from her cookbook, Dinner In An Instant (my #1 instant pot cookbook recommendation if you’re looking for gifts for the cook in your life), is a fun twist if you’re not married to “traditional” flavors for a Hanukkah or Christmas feast. Made with the recommended side dish of Kimchi slaw (find Food & Ferments kimchi stocked in our butcher shops) it is great simply served with rice, or even better, as the fixings for a taco party.
However, this recipe is more importantly my go-to guideline for quantities and cooking times when improvising on braised brisket in the instant pot. Personally my family loves my now “famous”, spice-rubbed brisket braised in a combination of dark beer and tomato with a lot of onions. And yes, after you brown the meat and set it up to braise, a 5lb piece of brisket will cook under pressure in just 90 minutes.
If you’re looking for other ideas for cook-ahead cuts, lamb shoulder is a great one. Everyone loves the Zahav lamb shoulder recipe (I’ve never cooked this at home, but many of you have returned to the butcher counter with stories of great success). I really like this recipe from Food & Wine for Slow-Roasted Lamb Shoulder with Shallots and White Wine served with lemon-oregano gremolata. The bright, light, citrusy flavors are a delicious contrast to cut through the rich, fatty flavor of the slow-cooked lamb shoulder. Creamy polenta made from our favorite Castle Valley Mills yellow grits would nicely round out this menu.
If you’re not the braising type, or are still dreaming of a cut that will impress your guests when you carve a perfect, juicy roast just in time to set the table, I’d highly recommend a leg of lamb. Lamb legs are incredibly flavorful and tender when roasted to medium-rare. The children in my family still say that lamb leg is their favorite “steak” I’ve ever made. When it comes to recipes, I don’t mess with success much. Rosemary, garlic, and olive oil, with some lemon zest if you’re inclined, is the most perfect pairing to me. This cooking school article from the Kitchn has great tips for preparing a lamb leg, and when you’re ready to cook, this classic recipe for leg of lamb with garlic and rosemary will take you there.
And, yes, I’m excited about lamb this season! The whole animals we are currently receiving from our partner farmer at Gobbler’s Ridge farm are some of the most beautiful we’ve ever seen thanks to a steady Fall diet of grass and hay.