Top Ten Tips for Perfect Christmas Dinner
Top Ten Tips for Perfect Christmas Dinner
Christmas day is trundling towards us at great speed which means thinking about cooking Christmas dinner.
Some might look at it as just another Sunday lunch but with a bigger bird, others look at it as a stressful time of day, whichever side of the fence you fall down on, going over some tips is never a bad idea.
So, I thought I’d put together my list of top ten tips for the perfect Christmas dinner.
Let’s start with the planning and organising.
1) Plan ahead, get organised and timeline
Lists, lists and even more lists is my first top tip.
If you’ve made a Christmas dinner before, you’ll already have a few things on your list, never the less, I always make three new lists each year.
List one – This one is for the food, obvious things like the turkey, vegetables, pigs in blankets etc.
List two - Second list is for all the things that I need to have to hand to actually make the food.
Questions I ask myself for this list are, do I have enough oil, salt and pepper?
What about flour and butter for sauces and baking?
This second list helps me keep track of the practical things so I don’t run out of duck fat right in the middle of roasting my potatoes, although the lovey Mr G is always in charge of these.
List three – is a prep list of all the jobs I’m going to need to do to make the meal. I have roasting times and temperatures already calculated so all the information is at hand and I make sure it’s in a place I can see at a glance.
Not having to flick through cookbooks or get sticky fingers on my phone or computer can take the stress, and some of the mess, out of cooking.
Sticking the list to a kitchen cupboard door is a great place for it.
Ticking them off the list as I do them, always makes me feel as if I still in control of the day.
If you’re a little anxious about getting everything on the table on time, sit down with a pencil and paper a few days before and write yourself a timeline chart.
Start with the end, the time you want to have the food on the table, and work backwards.
If 2pm is your sitting down time, and you know the longest cooking time is for the turkey, say it takes 4 hours, then 10am will be the start of your time line.
Remember to build in some extra time for plating up, getting things out of the oven and basting the turkey, and maybe a little extra time for a chefs drink.
Perk of the job.
Here’s an approximate timetable for roasting turkey, and it’s only a guideline.
The most accurate way to make sure that a turkey (or any other meat) is cooked to perfection is to use a meat thermometer.
I know I love mine!
APPROXIMATE TIMETABLE
FOR ROASTING A TURKEY AT 350°F (180°C)*
Weight. Stuffed. Unstuffed
8 – 10 lbs (3.6 – 4.5 kg) 2 h 40 min – 3 h 30 min 2 h – 2 h 30 min
11 – 13 lbs (5.0 – 5.9 kg) 3 h 40 min – 4 h 20 min. 2 h 45 min – 3 h 15 min
14 – 16 lbs (6.4 – 7.3 kg). 4 h 40 min – 5 h 20 min. 3 h 30 min – 4 h
17 – 19 lbs (7.7 – 8.6 kg). 5 h 40 min – 6 h 20 min. 4 h 15 min – 4 h 45 min
20 – 22 lbs (9.1 – 10.0 kg) 6 h 40 min – 7 h 20 min. 5 h – 5 h 30 min
23 – 24 lbs (10.4 – 10.9 kg) 7 h 40 min – 8 h. 5 h 45 min to 6 h
*Cooking times may vary depending on: the temperature of the bird going into the oven, the accuracy of the oven’s thermostat, how many times the oven door is opened during roasting, the type and size of roasting pan used and the size of the turkey in relation to the size of the oven.
2) Make ahead
Making as many things ahead of time is a must in my kitchen no matter the occasion.
Lots of ingredients can be prepped and frozen well ahead of time and lots of things the day before, stored in an airtight container and left in the fridge until needed.
Here are just some of things to make ahead of the day:
Stuffing - Day before or make ahead and freeze.
Roast potatoes - Day before or make ahead and freeze -Up to 2 Days before
Prep Veg or cook veg. Store covered in the fridge Day before or make ahead and freeze
Pigs in blankets - Freeze ahead or Store in fridge over night
Yorkshire Pudding -2 Days before. Store batter covered in the fridge
Tasty little morsels
Here are some ideas:
Red cabbage – Make it up to two days ahead and leave it to cool then store it in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to re-heat.
Prep carrots and sprouts, broccoli and parsnips
You can store sprouts uncooked in a cool bag in the fridge
Don’t cook the sprouts if you’re boiling them, but if frying with bacon and chestnuts, cook them and then store in an airtight container until ready to re-heat
Cook your carrots and parsnips in advance too, and then store in an airtight container until ready to re-heat
If you decide not to cook them beforehand, store prepared vegetables in cold water in the fridge overnight to keep them fresh.
You can store sprouts uncooked in a cool bag in the fridge
You could even cook your roast potatoes – chop them, parboil them, then roast them as usual.
When they’re done, let them cool down, pour off any extra fat, cover them with tin foil, and store them in the fridge.
Reheat them for 10 minutes in a very hot oven after your turkey has cooked on Christmas day –no one will know the difference.
3) Roast potatoes
As I’ve mentioned, you can save lots of time pre-cooking or prepping these earlier in the day or the day before.
The lovely Mr G is always in charge of roasties, Christmas day or any other time, so I bow to his advice when it comes to these golden bundles of crunch, but if you’ve not made them before, it can feel a little daunting.
Perfect Roast Potatoes
Make sure the potatoes are cut into more or less the same size so they cook evenly.
Steam or boil until they’re almost cooked
Place goose or duck fat into a roasting tin and place into the oven to heat up-200c
Drain the potatoes really well and give the pot a few shakes to make the outsides rough.
Place the potatoes into the hot oil and give them a good mix to coat the potatoes.
Sprinkle the potatoes with sea salt
Place the roasting tin into the hot oven and cook until they are golden brown and crispy. Approximately 40 -50 minutes
Turn the potatoes every 15 minutes to make sure they all get access to the heat.
Once cooked, drain the potatoes and sprinkle lots of sea salt and fresh pepper over the potatoes.
TIP: Make sure there’s plenty of space between your potatoes in the roasting tin - if they’re piled up on top of each other they’ll steam instead of roast.
Golden, crisp and covered in flavour - We always make more than we need and nibble them later
4) Turkey
The turkey is the part of Christmas day that more often than not, causes most anxiety on the big day, and it shouldn’t.There are lots of ways to buy a turkey but rule number one of turkey buying is to make sure that the turkey isn’t too big for the oven.
It may sound like a silly thing to mention, but I’ve been guilty of this on occasion.
Fresh or frozen, a full bird or even a crown, how you buy your turkey is up to you.
I’ve tried most, but now I always buy a whole turkey and more often than not frozen is usually my choice, just because I can buy a sneaky one at odd times of the year when they’re on sale and I always use any leftover flesh and bones for more dishes; so a crown is never the answer in my house.
The dilemma with frozen is making sure that it’s defrosted in time for Christmas day and while it’s being defrosted, where does it go?
Frozen turkeys can take anywhere up to 48 hours to defrost depending on the size of the bird and the best place to defrost them is in the fridge.
Having fridge space when its full of other Christmas goodies can be a problem.
Even more reason to be organised and prepped in advance.
What can happen if the bird is cooked before being fully defrosted, and by that, I mean right next to the thigh bone and deep within the breast?
Not only will the turkey not cook evenly, but the cooking will leave cold spots leaving harmful bacteria which can lead to food poisoning, and no one wants that!
On the other hand, an overcooked turkey is dry and pretty tasteless, so doing what you can to avoid that is a must, and as I’ve said before, investing in a meat thermometer is probably the most useful bit of kit you can ask father Christmas for this year.
While you’re waiting for Santa to deliver your thermometer, a way to check that your turkey is thoroughly cooked is to give it a poke with a skewer in the thickest part of the bird (usually between the breast and the thigh).
Give it a poke and if the juices run clear it should be ready
If Santa has delivered your thermometer, the internal temperature should be at least 70 °C.
To truss or not to truss that is the question?
I never truss my turkeys; I like my turkey legs to hang loose and there’s a logic to my madness.
The leg and thigh bones are quite thick and when cooking they conduct a lot of heat, they also take more time to cook than the breast so if I trussed to the body of the bird, they make the breast meat dry.
If I want my cooked meat to stay juicy, then resting it is the best advice.
If the turkey has internal stuffing, it will take longer to cook so give yourself more time in your timeline
Wrapped in foil and resting the turkey for at least 30 minutes will keep the juices in the muscle so when cut, the meat will be tender and juicy.
Resting also gives space in the oven and the time to use it for other things.
And let’s not get rid of all that juice or those caramelised bits left in the cooking tray, it’s a tray full of flavour which I use in as many ways as I can, the first being Christmas gravy.
If you’d like a little more flavour in those juices, try this:
Under the skin:
Use your finger tips to gently lift the skin on the breast and loosen it.
Soften some butter a mix with lemon zest, grated garlic, sea salt, fresh ground pepper, 1 tablespoon of olive oil and some fresh thyme leaves
Push this mixture under the skin of the breast before cooking
Of course, I have to issue a health warning when handling raw meat.
Wash hands a lot, utensils, boards and work surfaces.
Use different boards for raw meats and other things in the kitchen to reduce the risk of cross contamination.
5) Pimp Those Veg
Just because there’s a big bird and some potatoes to cook doesn’t mean that the rest of the veg should be boring.
Let’s pimp them up!
DON’T put sprouts anywhere near water!
They come away from the boiling water soggy, tasteless while leaving behind a smell that takes days to get rid of, no matter how many Christmas candles are burnt.
Go check out my Christmas sprout recipe here!
Dish 1
For other vegetables (parsnips, carrots some onions) try wrapping in foil along with some butter and olive oil.
Add a few sprigs of fresh herbs, rosemary is great with turkey.
Sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper
Bake in the oven alongside the roast potatoes for around 45 minutes to 1 hour
Don’t worry if they get a little caramelised, it adds to the flavour
Add the juices to the gravy
Dish 2
For cabbage, chop into shreds
Pre-cook some shallots and bacon until crispy
Add it to a pan containing butter, olive oil, sea salt and cracked black pepper.
Cook on medium heat until just soft (don’t overcook)
Toss in some grated garlic the shallots and the crispy bacon to finish off cooking.
Pimped sprouts with almonds, bacon and red pepper
6) It’s Ok to Cheat
Whatever happens, no one should feel stressed about cooking on Christmas day.
It’s a day all about fun so if feeling overwhelmed at the thought of tackling the Christmas day cooking, the answers easy, just cheat!
In my mind, cheating can go from buying fabulous pre-cooked food ready to be heated up and served, or it can mean tweaking a few items.
There are lots of shops that have amazing dishes and if you know any independent businesses that are making things for Christmas, I always like to support those!
It doesn’t take a lot to upgrade!
Pigs in blankets – Brush with a mix of honey and mustard before cooking
Christmas Puddings – Soak in a bath of brandy before steaming
Bread sauce – Add a couple of tablespoons of rum or brandy before warming up
Cranberry sauce – Add some orange juice and zest before serving.
Bought Gravy – Add a jar of cranberry jelly to the hot gravy
7) Sauces
Don’t skimp on the sauces, especially the bread sauce!
In my opinion, bread sauce is very underrated and unless you’ve tasted pimped up home-made bread sauce, you’ve every reason to by-pass that bowl when handed to you at the table.
Not only can it be prepared days, weeks even months in advance to be frozen and defrosted overnight in the fridge, it can be heated up in a saucepan or microwave, pimped and served straight to the table.
Even better, any leftovers are amazing in a next day’s sandwiches!
Posh Bread Sauce
Use 6 slices of brioche instead of regular bread
Make them into breadcrumbs
Stud a peeled medium sized onion with 10 cloves.
Heat 350 ml of full fat milk with a bouquet garni, salt and pepper and a little bit of nutmeg.
Add the studded onion to the hot milk
Bring it just up to the boil and then turn off the heat
Let it sit to infuse for at least 30 minutes
Strain the milk, throwing away all of the pieces and the onion
Add the brioche crumbs to the milk and mix it together well
Heat the mixture gently, until it thickens slightly
Add 50g of cold diced butter and mix it in until the butter melts.
Cover and keep warm until needed.
Otherwise, make ahead, let it cool and store in an airtight container in the fridge
When ready to use, transfer to a pan, add a little more milk until it’s the consistency that suits you.
Thick and creamy!
8) Stuffing
In the UK, Christmas stuffing is usually meat based with added breadcrumbs, herbs and seasoning.
In America, stuffing has a completely different meaning, it’s a dish every family has their own secret recipe too. It’s usually bread based with other stuff, sometimes meat sometimes not and its used as a side dish all on its own.
I like the English version, and always make double amounts so we have enough left over to slice cold the next day to go in our inevitable boxing day sandwiches
Try This Cheats stuffing
Cheats Pork Sausage Stuffing
Buy some pork sausage meat and mix in some chopped apple, some fresh sage, a couple of finely chopped shallots and pepper.
Place it all into an oven dish and bake in the oven until piping hot all the way through and has crispy bits on the outside.
M & S Plant based stuffing
9) Gravy
In our house, the gravy boat is the thing that is always being refilled, again and again, and if I was to skimp on it, there’d be lots of people around the table who wouldn’t be happy at all.
That little bag containing the innards of the turkey, giblets, neck, liver and gizzards, can look a bit gory, but don’t throw them away.
There’s a ton of flavour to be had from them.
I usually make two lots of gravy, one on the day using all of the turkey juices and giblets I’ve pre-cooked, from the turkey, vegetables and any other scrapings that will add more flavour to the liquid.
The second gravy is a simple chicken gravy I make ahead of the day (just so that we don’t run out of it) made from drippings from cooked chicken.
Getting Flavour from Turkey Innards
Clean them up and fry them in some oil, fresh thyme and rosemary.
When they’re cooked, add them to your home-made gravy along with the juices from the turkey cooking tray.
Try this
Simple Chicken Gravy
Slice a pack of mushrooms and 2 shallots
Melt some butter in a pan, add the mushrooms and the shallots and let them cook on a medium heat until mushrooms are brown and the shallots have colour
Add chicken drippings from several roasted chickens (or chicken stock)
Add a little bit of sherry or brandy some fresh thyme and a couple of good dollops of redcurrant jelly.
Blend everything together until very smooth and return it to a pan.
Place a little bit of cornflour in a mug, add a few tablespoons of the mixture to make a paste.
Slowly add the slurry back into the pan, turn the heat to low/medium and mixing constantly, heat it until it begins to thicken.
Let it cool and store to be used later
10) Pudding
Christmas day pudding doesn’t need to be Christmas pudding, if you know what I mean?
A heavy, fruity dessert after a heavy meal isn’t something that appeals to everyone, at least not right away, so don’t put yourself under pressure to have one prepared, unless you’re a Christmas pud lover!
As I mentioned earlier, cheating with your pudding is ok, and if you’re only having a fruity Christmas pud because you think you should, then forget it all together and make, or buy, a pud that everyone will like.
Try this recipe for a flourless chocolate cake, it’s so easy to make ahead, stores really well and is rich enough without being heavy so it still makes it feel special.
Rich enough to be a Christmas desert and light enough to eat after a heavy meal
