Our continent is full of delicious recipes prepared for Christmas. A journey is full of taste where the common thread is meat, cooked and seasoned in many different ways. 

In Europe, different countries, different delicious Christmas recipes. We have collected the most inviting ones from some European nations who love to feast with taste, tradition, and meat dishes.

Most Portuguese people on Christmas Day would not give up the inevitable goat meat with chestnuts for anything in the world. After a maceration in red wine with laurel, garlic, and onion, it is cooked with oil. At the end of cooking, chestnuts are added, cooked with salt. Then everything is roasted. The stuffed turkey in the oven is also very popular. Let flavor in water with lemon and oranges before filling with chopped pork, beef, and sausages, combined with olives, onion, and breadcrumbs. Once cooked, the turkey is sprinkled with nutmeg and brought to the table accompanied by legumes.

In neighboring Spain, the Christmas menu is varied. In Catalonia, it is celebrated mainly with escudella, a soup of boiled potatoes, cabbage, beef, pork, chicken, lamb, lard and sausage in which you cook the galets, a pasta in large shell shape. As a second course, the stuffed turkey is famous, also a protagonist at the Balearic Islands and in Extremadura. In Valencia, we find las albondigas, meatballs with pine nuts. In Aragon, the temasco is the most important, baked lamb with potatoes and sweet onions.

The French focus on refinement. During Christmas Eve in Paris, they feast with fresh oysters, smoked salmon, pâté de fois gras and snails, while in the rest of the country with roast chicken, goose, turkey with chestnuts, and baked ham. The best wines and champagne in large quantities are familiar to everyone.

In Germany, on the 25th of December, it is tradition to eat martinsgans, a roast goose stuffed with chestnuts, apples, and onions, accompanied by red cabbage or roast pork. There is always the christstollen, the typical bread made with walnuts, sultanas, lemon, and dried fruit.

In Austria, traditional Christmas dishes are brought to the table, passed down through the generations. Among these is the würstel soup (würstlsuppe), to be served hot, containing beef, würstel, and vegetables. The duck with pine honey stands out among the main courses, accompanied by vegetables, dried fruit, and plenty of sauce. Many Austrian families also rely on goose and breadcrumb dumplings (bröselknödel), with beer and sparkling cider wine to drink.

In England, the main dish of Christmas gastronomy is the Christmas stuffing turkey, the Christmas turkey stuffed with pork, aromatic herbs, bread, and cranberry sauce. Along with the turkey, there are several side dishes, including the gravy sauce, a sauce made from flour, and the turkey’s broth.

In Norway, two traditional dishes compete for the most popular Christmas dinner: the ribbe, that is, bacon or pork chops, a super popular dish, and the pinnekjøtt, lamb, or mutton chops, which has been gaining popularity in recent years. Pork bacon has an inimitable crispy crust, which takes time to prepare it properly. Pinnekjøtt is salted and dried mutton chops, so-called for the traditional method of preparation, cooked over sprigs of birch.

Food also plays a central role in Christmas celebrations in Finland. Roast pork is the main dish in most houses. The traditional Christmas ham baked in the oven it is also prevalent. It can be glazed with mustard, cloves, or other spices, and its preparation may take several days.

In Denmark, during Christmas, duck stuffed with apples and plums or roast pork with crispy bacon and caramelized potatoes will hardly be missed on the tables. Not to be missed are also the smørrebrød, delicious canapés with meat, salmon or vegetables, rice cream, to be enjoyed with mulled wine.

In nearby Sweden, one of the main dishes of the festivities is pork, with a leading role in countless recipes. Among the most popular variants are julskinka, ham baked with breadcrumbs, mustard, and cloves, but also värmlandskorv, a tasty boiled sausage, and then the raggmunk, a sort of grated potato crêpe and fried in butter with bacon and berries sauce with cranberries and köttbullar, meatballs, tastier than those served in a well-known chain of furniture (now also in a “veggie” trendy version).

During Christmas time, the tables of Europeans are united by food abundance, taste, and tradition. It is better to keep it in mind, without appearing reactionary or conservative, related to meats and cured meats.

Merry Christmas!