Tips for Christmas dinner to make it stress free

Whenever I have new readers sign up to the blog newsletter (that I rarely get round to sending out), I always ask if they’ve got a topic they’d like me to write about.  A request last year asked about tips for Christmas dinner and for pimping up the accompaniments and extras. Sorry to that reader for it taking so long to get posted!

There’s obviously lots of tips out there in every magazine, tv show, cookbook etc, but I thought I’d add some of my own to have a stress free Christmas dinner. After all, if you’ve got a tried and tested method, why not share it.

Tips for Christmas dinner

Prepping tips

Prep everything veg in advance. We don’t cook in advance apart from the braised red cabbage and pudding. but spending time the day before chopping the veg and putting in water overnight will save time on Christmas day.  And you’ll work out whether you’ve got enough pans for everything.

You can prep a lot weeks before, either parboiling potatoes or veg, doing the red cabbage etc, and then freezing it. But we prefer ours fresh, and even with a chest freezer I’d never have space in there for it all.

Plan what you’re cooking using what equipment, especially if you only have a small oven or warming space. A separate steamer can help if you have one, or everyone’s current favourite the air fryer.

For keeping food and plates warm, it’s very 1970s, but a hostess trolley does a great job. Otherwise we do the peas in the microwave at the last minute and plates can also get warmed in there (if not on the aga). 

Destock the fridge in plenty of time to allow space for everything prepped. We have a utility room which is cool, so can leave prepped food on there, but if you’ve not got the space, you may need extra fridge space.

Keep drinks out of the fridge but still cool by using a cool box or a separate drinks fridge if you have them.

Roast turkey tips

Buy fresh meat, or leave plenty of time for defrosting (allow 48 hours or longer depending on the size). Don’t forget to remove the giblets as soon as you can because that will help defrost the rest of the bird faster.

If you don’t need a whole bird, buy a crown and that will also defrost faster.

Prep your turkey. If you’re not sure how, buying from a butcher or farm shop sometimes means you get a little booklet or guide with tips. I usually put butter and herb mix under the skin and butter or oil, and salt rubbed over the outside.  You can lattice streaky bacon over the top if you want too.

Get big enough foil. It’s not very eco friendly, but what will we do without foil when trying to cook meat for a while without burning the skin?  Turkey foil tends to be wider so make sure you’ve got some to at least cover the legs  to stop them burning. 

Our turkey tends to get put in the Aga as soon as the OH gets up in the morning, then we keep basting it through the morning with the juices. 

If I was doing it in the electric oven, I’d work it out using the 20 mins to 450g weight, plus 20 minutes method. We tend to prefer it in a bit longer though so I keep testing with my meat thermometer until I’m sure it’s over the poultry cooked mark (75C) at the thickest part of the bird. 

Allow for 20-30 minutes without foil on, so you can crisp up and brown the skin.

Aim for the turkey to be cooked about 40 minutes before you want to serve it. We keep it warm on a preheated serving dish, under foil and a tea towel until we need it.  This means you can then put the roast potatoes in, and anything else that needs going in the oven.

Pimp up those sides

Brussel sprouts – we like them plain, but why not parboil, then stir fry them with chopped crispy bacon or pancetta.

Roast batons of parsnips and carrots together on a baking tray rather than boiling carrots. You can even honey glaze the carrots if you don’t have parsnips to add some sweetness towards the end of the roasting time.

Pigs in blankets – try smoked bacon rather than plain streaky bacon. Or even brush them with a maple syrup glaze before cooking.

Wilt or stir fry a mix of greens – shredded leeks, green cabbage and sprouts. Cook in a little (or a lot of) butter and sprinkling of salt.

Braised red cabbage is a must in our house and is great to cook ahead of time. Cook it with diced shallots, chopped apples, sprinkling of mixed spice, red wine vinegar and plenty of orange juice (or replace the vinegar and some of the orange juice with red wine if you prefer).  Cook covered for an hour at 180C, then drop the temperature and cook as long as you want until it’s softened and reduced in volume. Store it in the cool until needed for the day. Reheat it in the oven til hot for about 20-30 mins before serving (you could microwave it if you don’t have oven space). It’ll keep for a few days, so it’s easy to have done out of the way early.

Cauliflower cheese – I’m lazy and make my cheese sauce base in the microwave.  To stop it going watery once it’s in with the cauliflower, use more flour to butter for the roux (2 parts flour to 1 part butter). I parboil the cauliflower first, drain well, then let it cool a little while you make the cheese sauce. Then the sauce just needs dolloping over the cauliflower in a shallow dish, and 20 minutes in the oven or under a grill to heat through and start to brown. You can even top with breadcrumbs for a little added texture before cooking through.

Stuffing – I love sage and onion basic stuffing mix for ease. But make it more special by adding a little butter to the mix after stirring in the water. Mix the ready made stuffing with some sausagemeat, and turn it into a shallow dish before cooking.

For homemade gravy, drain off the fat from the meat juices, leaving the juices behind in the pan on the stove top. You can add some flour and deglaze the meat bits.  Add as much veg water as you need and keep whisking to smooth the gravy out, until it’s thickened enough.  If you don’t think you’ve got enough, (or if it’s taking forever) you can always add some gravy granules to help thicken it. 

If using gravy granules, use the boiled veg water once the veg are done. You can also add the meat juices to it to give more flavour.

We’ll be looking forward to our traditional turkey using these stress free tips for Christmas dinner we follow each year. Hopefully if you’re cooking some of these tips help you.