Christmas Dinner

therose789 · December 2016

Who makes the Christmas dinner here then?

I'm having a crack for the first time this year, anyone got any tips on how to avoid disaster/make the food taste good?

joneve · December 2016

We are hosting christmas for the first time this year - for both sets of parents and my sister.

Luckily I got out of the cooking and my wife and FIL are doing it...

To make the food taste good without too much effort - don't do turkey. We never have turkey on Christmas day - we're doing Chicken and a Slow-Roast Lamb this year, with all the trimmings.

Turkey is fine - but it's a lot of effort to stop it from drying out and actually get properly right.

No one eats turkey the rest of the year, because it's absolutely average...why make an exception on Christmas Day?

It's all about timing - to save stress and oven/hob space - part cook the veg the night before - and dish it up into a serving bowl or two - then microwave it to finish off just prior to serving.

Heartfeltdawn · December 2016

I'll be involved in the cooking and sending of close to 700 this December.

Tips: keep it simple. You might be totally gobsmacked by four bird roasts and Heston's latest thingy on a plate but remember you're a beginner. A well roasted and seasoned turkey with damn good stuffing is where to begin. Fuck putting butter on a turkey, rub salt into the skin.

Meat: allow it to rest. Resting is vital.

Sprouts: throw them in the bin. No point wasting time on shite that nobody really likes when you could have something else instead.

Gravy: learn how to make stock and make it this weekend. A pot of veg stock and a pot of chicken stock will make your gravy so much better. Ignore Bisto granules: the powder can't be beaten.

So what are you intending to cook?

strumjoughlamps · December 2016

I have always since my early 20s(now 44) cooked xmas dinner... get them all pissed first then expectations are low on the food taste...

just kidding, I don't know how many people you are cooking for or what you are cooking but you obviously know how to cook else you wouldn't be doing it.... just do your normal thing you'll be fine..

remember the meat side of xmas dinner can take up all your oven space but its the part that can be done in plenty of time, I usually time things so oven is free of meat at least 1 1/2 hours before service, that way oven is free for roast vegs, stuffings etc...

fretmeister · December 2016

I always do it. I really enjoy it.

I'm going to smoke a turkey and a ham in my smoker this time. That will free up the oven for the veggies.

RandallFlagg · December 2016

I usually cook, it's just a roast dinner, easy enough. When I cook I like to go traditional, Turkey crown, roast potatoes, sprouts, carrots, stuffing and mini sausages wrapped in bacon but I doa dd Yorkshire puddings as well.

My tips: boil potatoes for 6 minutes idrain and shake To fluff them up. Preheat baking tin and use lard or goose fat to cook them in for 1 hr 10 mins at 180c

boil veg, not steam

Bisto gravy granules with a Knorr stock cube, pour it into meat tray after meat is cooked and heat on the hob with meat juices,

use Aunt Bessies frozen puds for speed and convenience, they take 4 minutes and I put them in after the meat comes out

joneve · December 2016

fretmeister said:

I always do it. I really enjoy it.

I'm going to smoke a turkey and a ham in my smoker this time. That will free up the oven for the veggies.

You bastard. that sounds amazing. Smoking anything is the way forward.

WezV · December 2016

I love cooking xmas dinner. Not doing it this year though. I never do turkey. I don't see the point when better birds and ribs of beef exist

prep is everything. Do as much as you can the day before

starwarsnosebleed · December 2016

I tried smoking a turkey last year, but it kept falling out of my Rizla's.

Sporky · December 2016

I will be cooking for Lady BMcH and my dear old mum.

I will be doing slow roast lamb with pomegranate, dauphinoise potatoes and broccoli with cashews and chilli. Lady BMcH will be providing dessert.

Hootsmon · December 2016

Axe_meister · December 2016

Yep. Base stock for gravy is already made (by pressure cooking the bones from the last couple of roasts). Jar of dripping is full to cook spuds in. Spuds have already been par boiled, frozen then thawed, and have roasted then frozen again. Will the thawed out on Xmas eve then roasted in the dripping.
so triple cooked roast spuds

Axe_meister · December 2016

Then the turkey will be soaked in a herb and spice brine for 24 hours, then washed. A herb butter will be placed under the skin before slow roasting with a fresh sage/onion/sausage stuffing

EricTheWeary · December 2016

Heartfeltdawn said:

I'll be involved in the cooking and sending of close to 700 this December.

Tips: keep it simple. You might be totally gobsmacked by four bird roasts and Heston's latest thingy on a plate but remember you're a beginner. A well roasted and seasoned turkey with damn good stuffing is where to begin. Fuck putting butter on a turkey, rub salt into the skin.

Meat: allow it to rest. Resting is vital.

Sprouts: throw them in the bin. No point wasting time on shite that nobody really likes when you could have something else instead.

Gravy: learn how to make stock and make it this weekend. A pot of veg stock and a pot of chicken stock will make your gravy so much better. Ignore Bisto granules: the powder can't be beaten.

So what are you intending to cook?

The only real interest I have in Xmas lunch is sprouts, they're lovely.

Col_Decker · December 2016

I do all the cooking in our house and xmas lunch is my favourite cooking of the year. Why? Because I can be blatant about drinking while cooking instead of having to hide it like normal.

Anyhoo my xmas diner cooking tip. Check both ends of the bird for giblets. We were given one a few years back and it was only an hour into roasting that I realised that there was a 2nd bag of bits up its bum. It was still intact so no harm was done, but remember to check your bird's neck and bum prior to stuffing and roasting.

fretmeister · December 2016

joneve said:

fretmeister said:

I always do it. I really enjoy it.

I'm going to smoke a turkey and a ham in my smoker this time. That will free up the oven for the veggies.

You bastard. that sounds amazing. Smoking anything is the way forward.

I'll take photos.

Just to annoy!

Fretwired · December 2016

Full house here - luckily she who must be obeyed is an excellent cook who delivers top notch food. We always have a turkey plus some other meat (goose I think this year) - four course meal with matching wines.

quarky · December 2016

I do it in our house. Typically duck or goose, goose this year.

Start early. Depending on the size of the bird, it can take a while. I normally do a spreadsheet with a column for each item. Start from when you want everything ready, and work back from there.

You can boil your potatoes the day before, and then roast them on the day. You can boil sprouts for a few minutes and then finish them off in the frying pan with a little butter, they are so damn nice. As others have said, let you meat rest before serving. 20-30min may sound like a long time for it to rest after cooking, but it really isn't. I normally do the bird on both sides. So cook it upside for an hour or so too, that way that meat is much nicer too.

WezV · December 2016

I do a spreadsheet for xmas dinner too, but it's just to make sure I have thought it through. It gets taped to a cupboard door in the kitchen but I don't look at it as much as I expect.

meat should rest for half the time it's been cooking, and it's good to rest birds lying on the breast to keep it juicy. Get it cooked and get it out the way so the oven is free for everything else

fretmeister · December 2016

WezV said:

I do a spreadsheet for xmas dinner too, but it's just to make sure I have thought it through. It gets taped to a cupboard door in the kitchen but I don't look at it as much as I expect.

meat should rest for half the time it's been cooking, and it's good to rest birds lying on the breast to keep it juicy. Get it cooked and get it out the way so the oven is free for everything else

Bit over the top on the resting.

A 12lb bird in the smoker will take a good 8 hours if it is a cold day! It's not resting for 4 hours.

quarky · December 2016

I normally rest it for about 45min, but I would accept that more is probably better! I have two ovens this year (although slightly smaller) so it should be a little easier trying to fit everything in.

Sometimes it is just nice to be in the kitchen too, doing the prep, listening to a bit of music and just relaxing!

Howdy, Stranger!

Categories

In this Discussion

Become a Subscriber!

Christmas Dinner

Comments