Christmas dinner around the world varies from family to family. Holiday meals are influenced by your nationality and the resources that are traditionally available in your region. I’m curious about Australia and what the free-spirited people of the Land Down Under eat for Christmas dinner. I searched the Internet, but also asked five of my friends who are Australian what they eat during the holidays. Here’s what I gathered about what Australians eat for Christmas dinner.
Beer
When I first asked my friend in Perth what he eats for Christmas, he said, “We eat beer.” I would expect nothing less. After joking around he listed a few other foods, but wanted emphasize that beer is the drink of choice. Not Fosters though.
Prawns
Prawns are the big thing to eat for Christmas in Australia. It was the one common food that each of my friends told me they have on their plates at Christmas. Prawns are look like large shrimp and they can be prepared cold or on the barbie. My friend suggested having cold prawns with Thousand Island dressing. Okay, we can get behind that.
Cold Meats
The main course of the meal varies by region. Cold meats sounds strange, but it’s more common to have cold ham and turkey than hot. It makes sense since it’s summer in Australia. My friend told me it’s usually over 40 degrees Celsius. That’s 104 degrees Fahrenheit… that will melt the snowmen.
Oysters
Seafood is generally the overarching trend of Christmas dinner in Australia. For the fancy folks, oysters are on the table to accompany prawns and cray fish.
Roast
Aussies love BBQ, and some families stick to the barbie and cook lamb, snaggas (sausage), or ham. I think I’ll start saying snaggas from now on. It’s more fun.
Pavlova
And for dessert, pavlova. It’s a meringue based cake, filled with whip cream and garnished with fruit. It’s a pretty simple recipe that Aussies love. A great way to end an overall light Christmas meal.