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27 Festive Christmas Roasts

27 Festive Christmas Roasts

By Food & Wine

Updated January 15, 2020

Credit: Christopher Testani

'Tis the season to enjoy a tender and juicy Christmas roast. Try your hand at a simple three-ingredient prime rib roast, a paprika-roasted leg of lamb, a horseradish-and-herb-crusted beef rib roast and more.

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Roasted Dry-Aged Rib of Beef with Creamed Greens

Credit: © John Kernick

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Chef Christina Lecki of NYC’s The Breslin makes a quick and easy compound butter with parsley, marjoram and peppercorns to melt over tender beef rib roast. The dish is paired with a creamed escarole and spinach that can be made ahead and reheated before serving. It's the perfect option for a holiday dinner.

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Goose Stuffed with Apples and Armagnac-Soaked Prunes

Credit: Ditte Isager

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By making a stuffing that combines boozy prunes with apples and garlic, Nadine Levy Redzepi hits the nail on the Christmas roast head.

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Dry-Aged Roast Beef with Fresh Hot Sauce

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“I love this dish,” says Stuart Brioza. “It’s a pretty traditional roast beef, almost like an Italian tagliata [sliced steak], but then you shake it up by serving it with crispy garlic chips and a fresh-chile hot sauce.” The beef is salt-cured, so it’s extra juicy; served on a bed of arugula, with the bright red hot sauce, it’s a very Christmassy dish.

Centerpiece Roasts

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Pork Roast with Sausage, Fruit and Nut Stuffing

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Pork and fruit is a classic pairing around the world, but this dish from Washington D.C. chef José Andrés gets a particularly Catalan flavor from the combination of dried fruit and butifarra (a Catalan cured pork sausage) in the stuffing. The stuffing cooks inside the roast, which gives it a deep, marvelously porky flavor.

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Standing Pork Rib Roast with Cracklings

Credit: Con Poulos

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Aside from the pork itself, there’s only one other ingredient in butcher Erika Nakamura’s succulent rib roast: kosher salt.

Delicious Recipes for Christmas Dinner

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Roast Goose with Pork, Prune and Chestnut Stuffing

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While author Luke Barr's research shows that Julia Child prepared a roast goose stuffed with pork, prunes and chestnuts for Christmas dinner in 1970, no such exact recipe exists in any of her cookbooks. Inspired by the goose recipes in Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, F&W's Kay Chun perfected this delicious version, which calls for techniques—like basting the goose with boiling water—that Child most likely used as well.

More Ideas for Christmas Dinner

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Porchetta

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This crowd-pleasing porchetta, made from brined, seasoned pork belly, has crisp, crackling skin and tender meat flavored with rosemary, garlic and fennel.

F&W's Ultimate Holiday Guide

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Three-Ingredient Prime Rib Roast

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Coffee and prime rib seem like unlikely partners, but Ryan Farr’s recipe reveals they both have an earthy quality that makes them a natural match. Just be sure to scrape off any excess coffee rub from the meat before serving.

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Lemon-and-Fennel-Roasted Lamb with Polenta

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Marinated boneless leg of lamb is tender and incredibly delicious alongside creamy polenta with mascarpone.

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Rosemary-Pepper Beef Rib Roast with Porcini Jus

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“When entertaining at home, I'm always hard-pressed for stove space,” says Floyd Cardoz. To save room, he sears the meat in a preheated pan in the oven. The method also helps the meat cook more quickly.

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Maple Sugar-Ginger Roast Pork

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Luisa Weiss marinates this pork loin roast with a sweet-and-spicy combination of maple sugar, ginger and crushed red pepper; the sugar melts to form a luscious glaze as the meat roasts.

F&W's Ultimate Holiday Recipe Guide

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Duck Breasts In Muscat and Orange Juice

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Lydie Marshall likes to marinate duck breasts in Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise, a sweet wine from a village near where she lives. The dish is equally good made with port. The sauce is a reduction of the duck marinade and Enriched Chicken Stock.

F&W's Ultimate Holiday Guide

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Roasted Rack of Veal with Root Vegetables

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This veal dish is particularly good with slightly tannic "orange" wines like Gravner’s Ribolla Gialla.

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Fennel-Garlic Pork Roast

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This Mediterranean pork roast is super-versatile: Excellent right out of the oven, it's also delicious at room temperature or served cold, making it ideal for a holiday buffet.

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Horseradish-Crusted Roast Beef

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The roast—deliciously crusted with horseradish and black peppercorns—is perfect hot out of the oven, but it’s also amazing cold on a sandwich: Thinly slice the roast beef and serve it on white bread with horseradish mayonnaise and juicy tomatoes.

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Pomegranate-Jalapeño-Glazed Ham

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Chef Akasha Richmond prepares a sweet-and-spicy glaze for ham using house-made pomegranate-jalapeño jelly. An easier alternative: doctoring store-bought jalapeño jelly with pomegranate juice.

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Apricot-Stuffed Pork Shoulder with Soy-Honey Glaze

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Pork shoulder is a succulent cut that’s best braised or roasted slowly, so it stays tender and juicy. The sweet-and-savory glazed pork here is terrific with or without the garlic-and-dried-apricot stuffing.

F&W's Ultimate Holiday Guide

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Paprika-Roasted Leg of Lamb

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Lamb, says Marcus Samuelsson, is one of Africa’s most popular meats. Here, he butterflies a leg to help it cook more quickly and rubs it with paprika, ancho chile and ground cardamom—recalling the fiery Mozambique condiment piri-piri.

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Mustard-and-Lemon-Glazed Pork with Roasted Vegetables

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“I like that all of the ingredients in this dish get a chance to meet each other,” says Alexandra Guarnaschelli. She roasts the carrots and shallots along with the mustard-coated pork loin; then she uses the drippings to make a sauce. “The idea is that you never throw flavor away,” Guarnaschelli says. “In fact, you collect flavor. It’s a good philosophy for healthy cooking.”

Ultimate Guide to Pork Recipes & Cooking Tips

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Duck à l'Orange

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Because a single duck rarely has enough meat to feed more than two or three people, Jacques Pépin prepares two ducks side by side when serving this classic dish to guests. And because he's roasting whole ducks, he cooks them until they're well done, which results in the crispiest skin and best flavor.

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Harissa Crusted Pork Crown Roast

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For the regal—and expensive—pork crown roast, Melissa Rubel Jacobson replaced the run-of-the-mill garlic-herb coating with a smoky harissa version. "I love the way it turns from a paste to a crispy crust," she says.

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Standing Rib Roast of Beef

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This roasting method is an adaptation of the classic English approach, and who can argue with the Brits when it comes to roasting a joint of beef? This roast is cooked to medium rare; it comes out of the oven at 120° and reaches 130° to 135° as it rests before carving. If you like your meat cooked to medium, roast it to 130°.

Complete Guide to Holiday Recipes

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Pomegranate-Glazed Roast Pork

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Gerry Hayden’s succulent sweet-;tart pork is inspired by a classic glazed ham.

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Roast Beef Tenderloin with Morel Cream Sauce

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This luxurious oven-roasted beef tenderloin is a super sophisticated and easy holiday main course—it takes only one hour to prepare from start to finish.

F&W's Ultimate Holiday Guide

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Juniper-Rubbed Roast  Duck with Cherry Jus 

Credit: Christopher Testani

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Chef Angie Mar’s succulent roast duck brings new meaning to the term “show-stopper.”

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Beef Rib Roast

Credit: Con Poulos

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Butcher Jocelyn Guest flavors her beef rib roast with thyme, shallots, capers, and Cognac.

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Bulgur-Stuffed Poussin with Preserved Lemon–Honey Glaze

Credit: Christopher Testani

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In this Levantine-meets-American stuffed poussin, there are tons of great flavors and textures—from dried apricots and cranberries to coriander and cinnamon.

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27 Festive Christmas Roasts

1 of 27

Roasted Dry-Aged Rib of Beef with Creamed Greens

1 of 27

2 of 27

Goose Stuffed with Apples and Armagnac-Soaked Prunes

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Dry-Aged Roast Beef with Fresh Hot Sauce

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Pork Roast with Sausage, Fruit and Nut Stuffing

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Standing Pork Rib Roast with Cracklings

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Roast Goose with Pork, Prune and Chestnut Stuffing

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Porchetta

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Three-Ingredient Prime Rib Roast

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Lemon-and-Fennel-Roasted Lamb with Polenta

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Rosemary-Pepper Beef Rib Roast with Porcini Jus

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Maple Sugar-Ginger Roast Pork

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Duck Breasts In Muscat and Orange Juice

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Roasted Rack of Veal with Root Vegetables

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Fennel-Garlic Pork Roast

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Horseradish-Crusted Roast Beef

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Pomegranate-Jalapeño-Glazed Ham

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Apricot-Stuffed Pork Shoulder with Soy-Honey Glaze

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Paprika-Roasted Leg of Lamb

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Mustard-and-Lemon-Glazed Pork with Roasted Vegetables

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Duck à l'Orange

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Harissa Crusted Pork Crown Roast

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Standing Rib Roast of Beef

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Pomegranate-Glazed Roast Pork

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Roast Beef Tenderloin with Morel Cream Sauce

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Juniper-Rubbed Roast Duck with Cherry Jus

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Beef Rib Roast

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Harissa Crusted Pork Crown Roast

Juniper-Rubbed Roast  Duck with Cherry Jus 