Christmas is just around the corner and it's the time where we're all filling our freezers with food. Most of us just go for the traditional turkey but did you know there's so many other delicious birds to choose from.

Some of the options are:

Turkey 

Turkey is the most popular meat for the Christmas table, it has a large yield of meat as it only has a small cavity. You can pick up a turkey for such a lower price than the rest of these birds.

With turkey, as it only has a small cavity you only need around 500g per person. If you go for the free range turkeys they will taste so much better than other ones. Look for ones that come with giblets.

A 6-7kg turkey will take around 3-4 hours so make sure you give it plenty of time. If you would like to store it after Christmas it will keep in the bottom of the fridge for up to 3 days.

Goose 

Goose used to be the favourite bird for Christmas but over the last decade has been taken over by turkey. Goose meat is a lot darker and richer than turkey therefore it's very popular to have it stuffed with sage and onion stuffing. Oh and we can't forget the apple sauce, it counteracts the rich meat.

Goose is big boned and has a large cavity, so you need to make sure you get the right weight. 1kg per person with left overs. As it has a higher fat content you can use the fat to drizzle over your roast potatoes. Yummy.

Cooking a 4.5kg goose will take around 2.5 hours in the oven. If you're wanting to store it after Christmas, it will keep in the bottom of the fridge for up to 2-3 days. Just remember to remove the giblets!

Duck 

Duck, just like goose has a very large cavity and high fat content therefore it has very little meat. Duck is delicious though, and has a very rich flavoured meat.

A 2kg duck will feed 2 people and 3 people with no leftovers, but what's great is, they only take around 45-60 minutes in the oven so you can feed those starving bellies quicker. If you would like to store it after Christmas, it will keep in the bottom of the fridge for no more than 3 days.

Guinea Fowl 

Not many people go for this option as it's a very unusual choice. It has a gamey flavour and is about the same size as a medium chicken. A 1.5kg bird will feed 2 people. When roasting it's a good idea to bard it with bacon as it can dry out easily.

Barrons of Beef in Bolton are a great butchers with years of experience and have a great choice in birds for your table. They have a lovely 3 bird roast so you don't have to make the hard decision of choosing which one but be quick, they sell out fast. You can find out more information here or give them a call on 01204 684451