Christmas Dishes from Around the World
Christmas tables look very different from Denmark and Iceland to Puerto Rico, Macau and the Philippines. These recipes are dishes that cooks in each country make for Christmas Eve or the Christmas season, from crackling roast pork and smoked lamb to sauerkraut soup and steamed corn parcels. Each recipe explains where the dish fits in the holiday and how to make it at home.
Flæskesteg: Denmark's Crackling Roast Pork for Christmas Eve
A recipe for flæskesteg, the Danish Christmas Eve roast, made with skin-on pork belly, coarse salt, bay leaves, and cloves. Scoring and salting for crackling, why the skin side goes down in hot water first, baking at 200 °C then 230 °C, and checking the internal temperature.
Hangikjöt: Icelandic Smoked Lamb with Creamed Potatoes and Red Cabbage
How to cook hangikjöt, Iceland's salt-cured, smoked lamb, from a ready-made roll. Covers cooking time by weight, cooling the meat in its broth, uppstúfur (a white sauce with potatoes), sweet-sour red cabbage, how to look for the meat abroad, and the Christmas history behind the dish.
Kapustnica: Slovakia's Christmas Sauerkraut Soup
A recipe for kapustnica, the sauerkraut soup that is essential to Christmas and New Year in Slovakia, made with pork spare ribs, smoked sausage, dried porcini, prunes and paprika. Covers layering sourness, smoke and a faint sweetness, checking that the pork is cooked through, and regional differences.
Kutia (кутя): Ukraine's Christmas Eve Wheat Berry and Poppy Seed Porridge
A recipe for kutia, the first dish eaten at Ukraine's Christmas Eve supper, made with wheat berries, poppy seeds, honey, and walnuts. Its role in the meatless twelve-dish supper, the custom of bringing it to godparents, how to grind poppy seeds until they release their "milk," and the dried-fruit drink uzvar.
Pierogi Ruskie: Polish Dumplings Filled with Potato and Cheese
A recipe for pierogi ruskie, the Polish classic filled with potato and cottage cheese. Covers handling hot-water dough, the moisture in the filling, boiling without splitting the seams, regional fillings and the Christmas table, ingredients that get you close to the original elsewhere, and freezing and reheating, with clear landmarks for first-timers.
Verivorst: Estonian Blood and Barley Sausage
How to make verivorst, the Estonian sausage of pig blood, barley and pork served at Christmas with sauerkraut and lingonberry jam. Covers finding food-grade blood and casings, gentle poaching, baking, and checking for 75°C at the center, along with how the recipe was built and where Estonian versions differ.
Köttbullar: Swedish Meatballs with Cream Gravy, Mashed Potatoes and Lingonberry Jam
A proper recipe for Sweden's national dish, köttbullar. Allspice and nutmeg in a beef-and-pork mix, a creamy gravy, buttery mashed potatoes and lingonberry jam, with the history from Charles XII to the Christmas julbord.
Tourtière: Quebec's Spiced Meat Pie
A recipe for Quebec's festive tourtière, built from a fragrant pork and beef filling and made in a home kitchen. Covers the Montreal and Lac-Saint-Jean regional styles, the role of allspice, a crisp crust, storage and substitutes, including what to buy and what to skip.
Pernil: Puerto Rican Slow-Roasted Pork Shoulder with Crackling
How to make pernil, Puerto Rican style: pork shoulder marinated overnight in garlic, oregano and citrus, roasted low until tender, then finished hot for crisp skin. Includes substitutes for skin-on pork, storage, and ideas for leftovers.
Tamales Recipe: Mexican Steamed Corn Dough Parcels
How to make tamales, Mexico's steamed wrapped dish. Masa harina, corn husks, a red chicken filling, wrapping, steaming time, substitutes, storage, and the causes of failure, organized so you do not get lost in the kitchen.
Hallaca: Venezuela's Holiday Banana-Leaf Parcels of Corn Masa and Stewed Meat
Hallaca is Venezuela's festive dish of corn masa and a meat guiso wrapped in banana leaves. Covers wrapping, simmering times, annatto oil and substitutes.
Guyanese Pepperpot: The Black Meat Stew of Guyana
Guyanese pepperpot is a black stew of beef shank and pork simmered with cassareep, eaten with bread on Christmas morning. Covers cassareep substitutes.
Cayman-Style Beef: Slow-Cooked Shredded Beef in Its Own Fat
How to make Cayman-style beef from the East End recipe published by the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism, scaled to a quarter batch for a home pot. Covers rendering the beef's own fat, the difference between seasoning pepper and Scotch bonnet, a long covered low simmer, shredding, how Christmas beef varies from household to household, and safe cooling and reheating.
Tacho: Macanese Christmas Stew of Pork, Chicken and Cured Meats
Tacho is the Macanese Christmas stew of chicken, pig's trotters, lap cheong and pork skin. How to layer the pot, join the two broths and pick swaps that work.
Embutido Recipe: Filipino Steamed Meat Roll for Celebrations
Embutido is the Filipino celebration meat roll of ground pork, steamed with egg and sausage inside. Covers steaming time, 71°C internal heat and storage.
Filipino Spaghetti: Sweet Banana Ketchup Sauce with Red Hot Dogs
Filipino spaghetti pairs banana ketchup and tomato sauce with red hot dogs and cheese. Covers browning the meat, reducing the sauce, storage and quantities.