When friends and family come to call during the festive season you want to spend time with them, not with the kitchen cupboards. So it’s always handy to have a little something in the fridge. Party food has hit the shelves in supermarkets throughout the country so here in Irish Country Living, we fired up the oven to compare them on taste, texture, price and appearance. Because of the huge variation between ranges, it was impossible to compare exactly the same products. Instead, we went in search of the best chicken, prawn and cheese canapés on the market. And of course, Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without a few cocktail sausages in the mix.

Finding the best wrapped prawns

1. Aldi Specially Selected Premium Prawn Selection (€3.49/12 pack)

2. Tesco Finest Crispy Wrapped King Prawn Selection (€6/ 10 pack)

3. Marks & Spencer Handmade Prawn Parcel Selection (€10.49/10 pack)

4. Lidl Deluxe Tempura King Prawns with Chilli Dip (€2.99/ 10 pack)

On appearance Marks & Spencer were in the lead before we even had one bite. Although Aldi had the same selection which also looked very expensive and exotic, the Marks & Spencer range appeared to have more substance. However, once we took a bite, Aldi became the clear leader. Each bite was a chunky and the seasoning gave it a really nice taste. We were especially impressed by the red and green thai cones.

Unfortunately, although the Marks & Spencer range were nearly three times the price, the taste wasn’t as appealing. Although the Tesco and Lidl selection doesn’t look as impressive, Tesco’s King Prawn selection stood out from the crowd and deserved the spot of second place. The filo pastry was light and crispy and you could certainly taste the quality of the prawn. Unfortunately, Lidl came in at the bottom because we felt there was more batter than prawn and as a result, were quite greasy.

Christmas Cocktail Sausages

1. Aldi Specially Selected Irish Cocktail Sausages wrapped in Bacon (€2.99/16 pack)

2. Lidl Glensallagh Irish Cocktail Sausages (€1.49, 36 pack)

3. Tesco Irish Pork Cocktail Sausages (€1.49, 32 pack)

4. Marks & Spencer Bacon wrapped Sausages (€5.99/16 pack)

We’ll be honest, we’re big fans of anything wrapped in bacon. So again Aldi and Marks & Spencer caught our eye in this category. And once we took a bite of the Aldi selection, we knew we were onto a winner. The sausage itself was moist with a thin encasing while the bacon wrapping had a lovely crisp finish. Overall, the combination was balanced, very tasty and not overly salty.

We were also big fans of the Lidl Glensallagh sausages. There was a little spice to them but it wasn’t overbearing. Again, they had a nice thin encasing and we felt they would be a great cocktail sausage to marinade if you were looking to do something a little more fancy.

Unfortunately, the Tesco variety didn’t blow us away. It had a little sweet nutty flavour to it that was tasty but overall, we felt when it cooled, the texture was thick and waxy. The Marks & Spencer sausages wrapped in bacon were a bit flavourless and because of the price tag, we felt they weren’t very good value for money. These were also the only sausages that weren’t Irish but they did have British pork.

Chicken Canapés with a Difference

1. Marks & Spencer Sticky Chicken Yakitori Kebabs (€10.49/10 pack)

2. Super Valu Piri Piri Chicken Skewers (€4/5 pack)

3. Tesco Sticky Chicken Kebabs (€5, 10 pack)

4. Lidl Sticky Chicken Skewers (price & photo tbc)

Marks & Spencer took the top place for chicken bites with Super Valu coming in a close second. The Japanese sauce on the yakitori kebabs was really tasty without being overpowering. Squeeze a little lime on top for an extra zing. Most notably, there was a good bite to the chicken, quite chunky.

The same was true with the Super Valu chicken kebabs. They were quite substantial and good value for money at €4 for a packet of €5 (two packets for €6). While the piri piri added an interesting taste to the skewer, overall though we found them to be quite dry.

Tesco’s sticky kebabs had a flavoursome marinade. However, we felt with both the Tesco and the Lidl range, the quality of the chicken wasn’t much to write home about. The Lidl range definitely looked more attractive on the packet than they did on the plate.

Impress with Cheese Canapés

1. Super Valu Goats Cheese & Red Onion Marmalade Bruschetta (€4/10 pack)

2. Tesco Finest Brie and Cranberry Parcels (€6/ 9pack)

A little cheese always goes down a big hit and this was the category that we were most torn to find a winner.

The Tesco Finest Brie and cranberry parcels were very impressive looking with a lovely crunch to the filo pastry. The brie was creamy but the cranberry encasing added an extra zing. However, they were quite messy to eat and so they were just piped to the post by the Super Valu Goats cheese and red marmalade. Again there was a great combination with this offering with the melting goats cheese and the red onion marmalade being a delicious match. Easy to pop in your mouth and easy on the pocket, they were an explosion of taste and got first place in this category.