the arrival of december brings with it the incredible and beloved Christmas holidays, and with them a parade of typical dishes of the Christmas season. Between them, it is given the tradition, on Christmas Eve, of eating baked turkey, which can never be missing at dinner. However, very little is known about the genesis of this dish and why turkey is eaten at Christmas. Something quite curious considering that it is customary in several countries in America and Europe. Therefore, join us in Supercurioso to learn more about the origin of the Christmas turkey.
It is ideal to first know the origin of Christmas or Christmas Eve dinner. Although today it is very common to see how in America and Europe the Christmas holidays are celebrated with a family dinner, accompanied by a tree full of lights and colors where gifts of Santa Claus At his feet, it is a UK tradition popularized 200 years ago.
We have to go back to the 19th century, when Christmas became a custom celebrated by most of the British. Everything, as a result of an illustration of Queen Victoria with her family posing around a Christmas tree.
It didn’t take long for every household in the UK to copy this tradition.which actually comes from Germany, the country of origin of Prince Albert, husband of the Queen.
Little by little, the December season became a party time and the perfect setting to be with the family in an atmosphere full of exquisite dishes, drinks, happy songs and many special gifts. In short, the perfect excuse to get together and have a good time playing, dancing and telling great anecdotes from the past. All of that represents the true meaning of Christmas.
In Christmas, the turkey is very present in the dinners of several countries of America and Europe. The tradition is to prepare it in the oven to taste it at Christmas Eve dinner, where it is generally accompanied by salads, rice, boiled potatoes or applesauce.
Similarly, it is also the case that some families choose other alternatives based on chicken or pork. However, the turkey always ends up being the main character of the traditional turkey dinner. Christmas. It is even part of the Thanksgiving banquet, which is part of the usa culture and Canada.
The history of the Christmas turkey dates back to the time of the Aztecs. Subsequently, The custom of eating this dish during the Christmas season was brought to Europe by the Spanish conquerors.
It is necessary to clarify that the Aztecs did not celebrate Christmas as such, like many of the pre-Hispanic cultures. Their festivities were in honor of the winter solstice, which began a new cycle. These celebrations were known as Panquetzalizlit, where the triumph of the god Huitzilopochtli over the goddess of the moon was commemorated. During these times the turkey was already consumed, although it was not a typical dish of the celebrations.
To better understand why turkey is eaten at Christmas, it should be mentioned that the bird was introduced to the Spanish during the Conquest. At that time, it was renamed as guinea fowl, and then with the name it is known today (turkey), given its similarities to the peacocks that were popular in Asia.
Why was this bird chosen among the others?
The origin of the Christmas turkey and its inclusion is not by chance. The Christmas tradition of consuming this dish in America and Europe is because it is one of the largest birds among all species. In addition, the time for it to fatten is much shorter compared to other birds.
So much so that its weight can reach 10 kilos, making it the ideal dish to fill all the mouths of a Christmas dinner. Some of the turkey is even left over and lasts for several days after Christmas Eve, which makes it possible to prepare other turkey-based recipes. Thanks to that, it has a special place in the history of Christmas in general as one of the main dishes of many cultures.
Now that you know why turkey is eaten at Christmas, you probably really want to prepare it. Due to the long history that it has, and that has been part of many cultures, today there are many ways to make this dish.
Many families choose to implement their own touch to make the recipe more personal and taste it in the best way. Others choose to follow tradition and the most common recipes, which is not a bad thing. Here we bring you a simple Christmas turkey recipe that you can make.
Ingredients
- 1 turkey between 4-5 kg. Preferably female or turkey.
- 1 stick of lard
- Water
- Salt to taste
- 50ml sweet wine
- 1 onion
In addition to this, the origin of the Christmas turkey tells us that for the filling it is necessary to have: 300 gr of bacon, 1 apple, 4 slices of hard bread, prunes, dried apricots and a glass of bird broth.
Preparation
Starting from a very clean turkey, the first thing is inject the 50 ml of sweet wine using a syringe in different areas of the breast and legs. After this, we proceed to salt it both inside and out according to our taste, to later grease it with the lard.
Meanwhile, we turn on the honor so that it is preheated to 220° and we proceed to prepare the filling. To start, we put the prunes and dried apricots in water so that chopping them into pieces is easier. On the other hand, cut the fresh bacon into small pieces and add it to the rest of the ingredients in a bowl, including the bread so that it can be bathed in the broth.
Having this mixture, we add the apples in segments and we proceed to fill the turkey with all this. When finished, it’s best to sew the opening of the turkey with kitchen string to prevent the stuffing from dripping out while it bakes. As for the duration in the oven, 45 minutes should be calculated for each kilo of turkey approximately.
Now that you know why turkey is eaten at Christmas, we invite you to prepare it in the coming days, and even on any other special occasion, such as New Years, why not? Leave us in the comments your opinions on this exquisite Christmas dish!