WARWICK, ENGLAND – The holiday roast beast of choice on the tables of UK consumers is increasingly becoming pork as fewer households are flocking toward turkey as the main dish for Christmas holiday meals, according to Pilgrim’s UK, a subsidiary of Greeley, Colo.-based Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. The company, which claims to be Britain’s biggest producer of higher-welfare pork, said that based on the amount of turkey eaten by consumers during Christmas declining from 10% to 7% in 2022 while the volume share of turkey dropped by nearly 16% compared to the same holiday period in 2021, demand for pork products has increased.

Pilgrim’s said its processing facilities have been ramping up to produce over 65 million packages of pork in the four-weeks leading up to Christmas, including gammon (similar to ham in the United States that is cooked or dry-cured pork that comes from the hind leg of the pig) and pork crackling joints. UK consumers’ tastes are changing, Pilgrim’s said, and concerns over turkey shortages during the holidays last year along with the lower price and versatility of pork is making it the star of the center of the table in more households this year.

“Our dedicated teams have been working hard, producing over 36 million, high quality pork products in the four weeks to Christmas this year to ensure our retail customers are well stocked for the festive period,” said Rachel Griffiths, chief Commercial officer at Pilgrim’s UK.

She pointed out that gammon joints, with a retail price of about £6 ($7.59) per kg, are a better value than turkey, at £10 ($12.68) per kg. She also said cooking pork is made easier by using slow cookers or air fryers to prepare the meat.

“Gammon is incredibly versatile, is simple to prepare and cook and is delicious – making it an ideal choice for Christmas,” Griffiths said. And when it comes to utilizing leftovers, the recipes are endless.