The Story of the Christmas Turkey

Did you know that last Christmas the UK consumed around 10 million turkeys altogether over the festive period? That's around 76% of UK families serving up a roast turkey as their main Christmas meal.  But where did the tradition of roasting and consuming this particular bird come from? 

Well, it was explorer William Strickland who brought back the birds from the New World in the mid-1500s, and King Henry VIII was the first monarch to enjoy eating them. Before that, the general meat of choice tended to be goose, boar and pheasant and at Lidgates we certainly serve a lot more than turkey, including:

Rib Roast. Real old world roast beef trimmed in the continental style for easy carving. Self-basting and cooked on the bone to sustain that very special succulence and flavour for which this grass-fed, naturally reared beef is so renowned. The bone adds a sweetness to the meat.

Contre Fillet. The eye of the sirloin is trimmed, boned, rolled and garnished with a thin covering of natural buttery fat for basting. This famous cut is lean and very easy to carve. Juicy and tender with a long flavour.
 

Leg of Lamb. Our lamb is sourced from trusted farms and estates to ensure the best quality meat. Whole legs of lamb are prepared in the traditional manner. A leg of lamb feeds 5 to 6 people
 

 

Honey roasted Ham. We cure and cook all of our hams from pork supplied by free-range and organic farmers. These hams come Honey Roasted in our own Glaze.