Whether you’re celebrating Friendsgiving with your oldest pals or Christmas Eve dinner with your family, there’s so much joy to be shared during the holidays. And there’s no better way to make a gathering memorable than with an unforgettable feast.

Continue reading this article to inspire can’t miss holiday meal ideas and learn about the holiday food and wine pairings sure to deliver the spirit of the season in every sip, slice, and bite.

It’s Never a Mistake to Serve Holiday Steak

From pan-seared to flame-grilled, steaks are a holiday meal idea sure to put smiles on your guests’ faces. But with so many cuts of steak to choose from, which is the best holiday meal idea? You could ask 100 different groups what the best holiday steak to serve is and probably get 50 or more different answers. The truth is, it depends on the gathering you’re hosting and what your family and friends prefer.

Holiday Meal Ideas for Formal Affairs

For an elegant gathering, beef tenderloin, also known as filet mignon, is widely considered the go-to choice. This melt-in-your-mouth, divinely tender steak cut has long been associated with luxury and sophistication. And because they’re not huge portions, filet mignons leave plenty of room for the other holiday food and wine pairings you’re serving.

Bone-in and boneless ribeyes are also attractive options if you’re looking for a more robustly marbled and substantially sized holiday steak. Like tenderloins, ribeyes take well to high heat searing and require little preparation or advanced techniques to achieve a perfect crust and medium-rare center.

Holiday Steaks That Double As a Showstopping Centerpiece

If you want to delight your diners’ taste buds and have them reaching to post pics to Instagram, you need to bring out the big guys. A Prime Rib is about as classic of a holiday meal idea as you can find, and for a good reason. It’s the perfect combination of tender, beefy, and eye-catching. The only thing you have to worry about is a fight over who gets the bone.

Equal parts primal and palatable, a colossal Tomahawk steak makes a statement as bold as its appearance. Despite its name and appearance, these holiday steaks are as tender as love at first bite. Whether you let couples share one or slice them into individual servings is up to you. Just be prepared to make extras.

Holiday Steaks for Less Formal Dinners

You don’t need a ribeye or filet to wow your crowd, especially in a less formal setting. A highly marbled NY strip, top sirloin, flat iron, or hanger steak is every bit as worthy of being a holiday steak as their more esteemed beefy brethren. They’re also a great holiday meal idea because they pair well with a large variety of side dishes and alcoholic beverages.

Holiday Steaks To Excite Foodie Friends and Family Members

Do you and your guests enjoy trying new foods or discovering popular dishes from other parts of the world? If so, holiday steaks that aren’t what you typically find in your local grocery store are the entree for you. Zabuton steaks, as they’re known in Japan, or Denver cuts, as they’re referred to in the U.S., are rarities because of the skilled butchering required to cut them. They’re sublimely tender and incredibly rich in flavor.

Straight from the heart of Texas comes the hidden delight known as the Teres Major. This holiday steak packs a tenderloin-like flavor but with more savoriness because of the higher fat content. And though it might not be as tender as a filet, it’s still a succulent cut.

If you want to bring the Brazilian steakhouse experience home with you, a Picanha steak is the holiday meal idea for you. These holiday steaks are perfect for a group that wants a robust beefy flavor but less fat content than ribeyes or other cuts. Plus, you can create instant memories by putting these holiday steaks on a skewer and slicing them straight on the plate, just like you’re at a churrascaria.

Holiday Steaks To Serve Family Style

For some gatherings of family and friends, it’s just more fun to pass around a serving platter and let everyone dig in. Flank steaks, skirt steaks, or inside skirts are the ideal cuts to use as part of shareable dishes like fajitas, Mongolian beef, or satays. Each of these cuts is a great holiday steak because you can marinate them to complement the flavors of the foods paired with them.

Holiday Food and Wine Pairings Worthy of an Exceptional Steak

It’s time to look beyond the entree and focus on complete holiday meal ideas. Even the most decadent steak can be an afterthought if the holiday food and wine pairings don’t live up to their end of the bargain.

Classic, can’t-miss sides like green beans, brussels sprouts, and mashed potatoes are always appreciated. However, there are many different Thanksgiving, Chanukka, and Christmas sides to pair with holiday steaks. We recommend trying a mix of new and old favorites to give variety to picky and adventurous eaters alike.

Go Light and Bright

A hearty holiday steak, especially one with an abundance of marbling, can be pretty rich and weigh you down. Use acids to liven up your sides, combat heaviness, and cut through the richness of the beef. A light vinegar-based dressing on a salad, a squirt of lemon juice with sprouts and asparagus, or lime juice added to fajitas all add depths of flavor and lighten your overall meal.

Match Your Red Wines to Your Holiday Steak

Any good holiday meal should include a lovely wine pairing. As a general rule of thumb, the higher the fat content of a holiday steak, the more full-bodied you want the wine to be. A young, high-acidityCabernet Sauvignon is probably the safest play for any steak, but what’s the fun in staying down the middle?

Bordeaux, Barolo, Merlot, and Syrah are all splendid pairings with highly marbled steaks. A light-to-medium-bodiedPinot Noir’s fruitiness and underlying spice are the perfect partners for leaner cuts like tenderloin and top sirloin. The Wine Enthusiast experts also have various tips to help make your holiday meal ideas a hit for everyone.

All Great Holiday Meal Ideas Begin With Good Silver Steak Co.’s American Wagyu Steaks

This holiday season, treat yourself and those closest to you with the finest holiday steaks available. Good Silver’s American Wagyu beef is incredibly marbled, tender beyond belief, and phenomenally flavored. When you’re serving beef as high quality as ours, your holiday food and wine pairings get a little easier knowing you’ve already got an undisputed star of the show.

We welcome you to shop our complete collection of steaks, roasts, briskets, burgers, and ground beef. As our way of saying happy holiday and cheers to the Good Silver life, your order of $200 or more comes with free next-day shipping.