MONITOR:I'VE MANAGED TO AVOID having turkey for Christmas, ever. Turkeys undoubtedly deliver something of a convenient edge, and with some good shopping, flavour too. But I find them a challenge. It's a leg and breast thing, all that golden crispy skin and the need for moistness underneath. Maybe I'm just turkey challenged and need to face up to my weaknesses. This could be the year.

I’ve done the goose thing, but like turkeys you do end up wrestling with this monster, which can be backbreaking. And the breast-leg challenge remains. A glorious rib of beef worked well another year but success has been most consistent with a medley of birds. Not only do you get the differences in flavour and texture of each one, they can all be treated in slightly different ways to add to the sense of celebration.

I’m an inveterate feaster; the sense of occasion and something special over and above an everyday supper is both a challenge and a thrill. Don’t we all love that groaning table and babble of voices as family and friends relax into the whole idea of a day so enormously devoted to the joys of the table. And with that medley you can get every able person handy with a carving knife to help in the serving.

We champion turkey in large part because of its size, but a good organic or at the very least a free-range chicken is a magnificent bird and every bit as worthy of the attention. And the rise of smaller producers of quality birds around the country is to be hugely welcomed. Chicken’s all-round appeal means the other candidates can afford to take on a wildness. Guinea fowl looks much the same, only smaller, and delivers a slightly gamey note but with moist, succulent flesh. Stuffed with bay and Seville orange, star anise and garlic, they can lend an exotic note.

For mildness in flavour and child-friendly bone-sucking, it’s hard to beat a few quail (see page 34). They benefit from a day or two in a marinade. Nothing too strong – a lemon or two, thyme and olive oil along with a few chopped shallots and a clove of garlic smashed with a rolling pin. Then roast to a moist sweetness.

Ducks need careful buying, cheap birds are not to be encouraged. Indeed, our own Silver Hill ducks have set something of a standard. Slow roasting will keep the flesh moist. Crispy skin may be something to leave to the next Chinese restaurant visit if you are trying to bring several birds to the table at roughly the same time.

The advantages of game in this context are clear, perhaps a little for those cautious souls, a lot for the enthusiasts among you. Breast is best as speed is of the essence; the legs can be used for sandwiches on St Stephen’s Day. Think pheasant, but also partridge, woodcock, snipe, mallard and, if you are lucky, grouse.

For all feasting meat-eaters, part of the joy is undoubtedly good old-fashioned gravy, and this is where the multi-bird approach works so well. Wing tips, legs, in the case of game birds, and the giblets of all birds, can be fashioned into the most wonderful stock days in advance, which should leave you with a pot of delicious gravy, rich with Madeira and spices, port and wine, all ready to go.

harnold@irishtimes.com

STOCKISTS

Dunnes, Donnybrook, Dublin 4, 01-2839679; Morton's, Ranelagh, Dublin 6, 01-4971254 and Hatch Street, Dublin 2, 01-4782758; James Lawlor, Rathmines, Dublin 6, 01-4973313; John Downey and Sons, Terenure, Dublin 6W, 01-4909239; selected branches of Pettits, Supervaluand Superquinn. For more stockists: Wild Irish Game, tel: 0404-46773.