Christmas cooking tips

My top tips for Christmas cooking. I’ll be cooking my 20^th or so Christmas this year and in my probably 15^th different kitchen, so this comes from lots of error over the years. This is not a recipe or even an instruction booklet. It is a dump of things that I’ve learned or done that work or make life easier. So the idea is to just read it and hopefully one or two of these will seem like they can help and, even better, give you some time back with your family on the big day.

General

Perfect turkey is great, but you will probably over cook it a bit. Get over that now. You’ll have gravy and bread sauce, so it’s not a big deal

Do a pan/ingredient audit first. Know in advance what pans you are using for what.

Get help. Someone else can wash something or serve or whatever. Don’t try and do it all. But make sure that person knows it’s them (do not expect people to pop up and just help. And even if they do, it will be when you don’t need it).

Wash up as you go. It’s boring, but keeping the sink clear, the worktops clear and spare things ready and clean when needed is critical and will help to avoid a panic from an unknown unknown.

People will get in your way and assume you know where everything is or that it’s also your job to open wine/champagne etc. Be strict with requests, but patient with them. Say no, but don’t get cross at them. Just prepare for it.

If you’ve done most of the cooking, you won’t be in the slightest bit hungry when you sit down to eat with everyone. It’s just tough and there’s no way round that. You can try avoiding tasting too much, but it changes nothing. So make sure you try all the food, that you don’t miss out on whatever snacks/nibbles there are before lunch.

Gravy

Cook a meaty stock the night before. Buy chicken wings and onion and carrot. Bake in the oven for 30 mins or so on a high heat. Then add to a pan with water to cover and simmer for 45 mins. Strain. You have a great meaty base for your gravy (I will actually do this on the day though)

If you have giblets, remember to remove them from the turkey. They look horrid. Just put them in some water, with a bayleaf and some peppercorns and simmer for an hour. Strain and you have some more lovely stock for your gravy.

Once turkey is out of oven, strain the juices into a bowl or jug. Leave for 5-10 minutes and spoon off some of the fat that has risen to the top. Not all of it. Fat is good in gravy.

Then juices go into a pan, bring to boil, some flour until thick and start adding giblet juice and then ‘chicken wing’ stock. I find this very meaty, so I like to add some water from the cooking of any green veg.

If it’s not thick enough – just mix some corn flour in water to form a watery paste and add in. It won’t split or be lumpy.

Potatoes

Get a good peeler. Saves a lot of time. This is the best: https://www.google.nl/search?q=potato+peeler&client=firefox-b&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi9587WrIrRAhUkB8AKHVGiDUMQ_AUICCgB&biw=1366&bih=653#imgrc=9KGzEUoPIrYuCM%3A

Peel potatoes for roasting night before. Just leave in water overnight and they’ll be fine.

Bring to boil early too. Most important thing is they are dry before going in the pan. So bring to boil in the morning and leave them to strain whilst the turkey is cooking. No time is too long. Rough them up if needed.

When it comes to cooking. Put your fat in the pan. Lots of it. Obviously goose/duck fat is a favourite, but dripping is fine and much cheaper. Or even veg oil. Whatever you choose, put in the pan and put pan in oven to get it all hot. Then add potatoes. Season and put back in the oven. Don’t baste too often, a couple of turns is fine. Take out when look nice and ready.

If roast potatoes are ready early. It doesn’t matter. Leave them to one side and heat when needed.

Turkey

Dress turkey last minute before bed night before and leave out of fridge. So it is room temperature before it goes in. Birds are meant to be hung, so it really isn’t a health risk in my view.

Timings are a nightmare as everyone has a completely different view. The simple fact is breast cooks before leg. Themometer is the only way, but most of us don’t bother. So I average out the highest and lowest advice. And then check a leg 15% before the supposed end time. I check by piercing with a knife at a supposed thick point. Juices should not look red. But it’s hard to tell. Turkey will carry on cooking afterwards. So I tend to go on faith. I..e if there are not VERY obvious signs that it’s not cooked, I assume it will be ok.

Do NOT stuff your turkey. It’s normally a huge bird. Stuffing adds weight and therefore cooking time (which no-one ever factors in). But more importantly, for the stuffing to get heat, the breast needs it first. So by adding stuffing, you are committing to over cooking the turkey breast before you’ve even started. Put stuffing in a separate dish – in balls or not, whatever.

There are a billion suggestions to keep your turkey moist. They are mostly rubbish. Butter under the skin will disappear in the first half an hour. It really doesn’t make much difference. I put streaky bacon on top as the fat melts more slowly. But it’s out of habit as much as anything. Do whatever makes you happy.

Turkey, once cooked can sit for ages and hold its temperature. I only put my roast potatoes, stuffing, parsnips etc in the oven once I’ve removed the turkey. So it’s a good hour + before it’s even carved.

No-one likes carving. One solution is to remove the breast whole – as one piece (easier than it sounds). And then carve the breast on a chopping board. It is much easier although removes a bit of the romance. I always carve the leg with my hands – just peel it away and just cut any pieces that are particularly large.

Sprouts

There is a simple rule that no parent from the 70s or 80s knew about. When it comes to cabbage style veg (in particular, but actually all veg), the less you cook them, the nicer they taste. Don’t criss-cross your sprouts. Just boil them for a few minutes. Strain and then fry with butter or goose fat, until starting to brown. Some like to add pancetta and chestnuts, that’s fine too.

Bread sauce

Reheat it in the microwave (you did prepare it in advance, right?). I’ve still not got over the time around 20 years ago that I left a bread sauce unattended on a hob for a little too long and it burned. Not too much that everyone else noticed, but enough that I found it unpalatable. Such a sad sad Christmas.