Are you cooking up your usual big holiday feast this year? Some families are sticking to their traditional menus, despite the pandemic and its restrictions that may limit attendance. Others are using the upcoming Christmas and New Year’s celebrations for trying out new holiday meal selections.
If you are feeling adventurous this year and want to try your hand at a few new recipes, we would like to recommend three different courses that can really pop with the measured use of smoked spices.
First Course Appetizers
Many cooks enjoy passing around plates of savory appetizers before the main course. If you are looking to add some delicious appetizers to your repertoire, below is a tasty candidate to try.
Smoky Wings
This is a good appetizer to serve if the main course will be a ham or another pork dish. That way, the fowl enthusiasts will still get a taste of their preferred meat dish, albeit in smaller quantities. Add a shake or two of smoked sea salt and Chipotle pepper to this recipe for some added smoky flavor.
Your smoky wings cook in under two hours. This recipe serves four, so for a larger gathering, increase ingredients, and cooking time as needed.
Main Course
No clove-studded ham or roast turkey for you this year. But you certainly won’t be going hungry with the following super easy-to-prepare main course.
Rib Roast Encrusted in Smoked Fine Sea Salt
This recipe is so simple, it only uses four ingredients! You can’t go wrong with simplicity, especially when the outcome is pure deliciousness on every plate you serve your guests.
Cranberry Brisket
This cranberry brisket recipe is perfect to serve for the winter holidays as a main course. If you like, you can rub it down first with smoked fine sea salt for a punch of smoked spices flavor.
Side Dishes
Generally, a cook chooses their side dishes after first deciding upon the main course. That is the best way to ensure the side dishes will complement the main course. After all, you don’t want your side dishes to steal the show.
Try the delectable side dish below to perfectly accompany your main course this holiday season.
Smoked Chili Beans
These smoked chili beans are a delicious addition to a beef brisket main course. Their smoky goodness is a perfect foil for the tang of the cranberry glaze on the meat. Family and friends alike will love the robust flavor of the chili beans nestled up against their brisket.
The brisket and chili beans menu is especially great for a serve-yourself New Year’s Eve buffet table. As noted by the proprietor of Oregano Spices, “It wouldn’t be a holiday for my family without our brisket and smoked chili beans. The inner heat is great on a cold winter’s night.”
Whatever deliciousness your holiday table will hold, we hope that you and yours enjoy a very Merry Christmas and Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous New Year in 2021.
