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Christmas Dinner tips/hacks
MrOneLung
Posts: 26,851
Got 16 people in total round ours for Xmas day
looking for all your tips/hacks/workarounds etc. that you use to make the Xmas dinner run smoothly
Hoping to do the 6kg turkey on Xmas eve - particularly keen on any tips for keeping it moist for the next day
looking for all your tips/hacks/workarounds etc. that you use to make the Xmas dinner run smoothly
Hoping to do the 6kg turkey on Xmas eve - particularly keen on any tips for keeping it moist for the next day
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A tip I've used for many years and always works. Let someone else do it while I'm up the pub 👍16
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...good luck with 16 people..🙄0
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No tips, but 16 people Xmas day sounds like hell on earth !!!MrOneLung said:Got 16 people in total round ours for Xmas day
looking for all your tips/hacks/workarounds etc. that you use to make the Xmas dinner run smoothly
Hoping to do the 6kg turkey on Xmas eve - particularly keen on any tips for keeping it moist for the next day6 -
Keep their glasses topped up so they are all drunk by the time food is out. They won't remember any mistakes or mishaps.On serious note. Get all veg prepped day before. Parboil roasted spuds previous day. Keep them all in fridge ready.If turkey is frozen get it out to defrost.0
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Yea always works for me toO-Randy-Hunt said:A tip I've used for many years and always works. Let someone else do it while I'm up the pub 👍
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I used to be a chef many moons ago, perhaps I can help.
My first suggestion would be to do a Turkey + a large ham, that's what I do. Everyone loves the mix of meats, plus you can boil the gammon joint on Christmas Eve and then just let it warm to room temp on Xmas Day, and then finish it with a quick glaze in the oven.
My second suggestion, if you need to do the turkey the night before, is to do a dry brine 24-hours before it's going to be cooked (no more than that). This is basically rubbing salt and pepper under the skin, all over the turkey. Not so much salt as to make it salty - you can probably find the correct ratio of salt-to-turkey-size online, I eyeball it. Through the process of osmosis and reabsorption, the brine means the meat will stay moist through cooking and hold more of its moisture in the fridge.
Then you can cook your Turkey on Xmas Eve (with an oven/meat thermometer hopefully - cook the breast to around 64c, legs 72c - they should continue rising to about 66 & 74 when they're out). Let it cool to room temp, then put in the fridge and wrap thoroughly with cling film, so no air can escape.
On Xmas Day you can take this out and warm in the oven or serve at room temp.4 -
Make sure you don’t end up with a bird fat that doesn’t gobble any more at the table.0
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My wife followed Phil Vickery last year.
I thought the turkey was noticeably more moist than ever before.
https://www.vickery.tv/phils-perfect-turkey/
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If it had been kept moist all night it probably would gobble anything.Yguinnessaddick said:Make sure you don’t end up with a bird fat that doesn’t gobble any more at the table.2 -
Do all the peeling and chopping of the veg in advance.
To be honest out of all the things to do the night before turkey would be low on my list - can imagine that drying it out loads.
Roasts can be done then chucked back in on the day just to reheat, same with pigs in blankets, Yorkshires if you do them etc if you want to cook bits in advance. Turkey needs to rest after cooking so then the oven is free to chuck that all back in to heat up.0 -
Are most of them veggies? I was concerned our 6kg turkey would be enough for 5 of us!MrOneLung said:Got 16 people in total round ours for Xmas day
looking for all your tips/hacks/workarounds etc. that you use to make the Xmas dinner run smoothly
Hoping to do the 6kg turkey on Xmas eve - particularly keen on any tips for keeping it moist for the next day3 -
Are the sprouts on yet? Leaving it late if not...2
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Take the turkey for a 10 minute run before ringing its neck and cooking it. Bit of sweat on it won’t hurt3
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Was he okay with that?Covered End said:My wife followed Phil Vickery last year.
I thought the turkey was noticeably more moist than ever before.
https://www.vickery.tv/phils-perfect-turkey/5 -
Looking forward to the Rate my plate on this one2
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put all the plates dishes & cutlery in the dishwasher so they are nice and warm before you serve1
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It is a turkey crown, 5 are kids and one toddler, plus other meats are being brought along.Boom said:
Are most of them veggies? I was concerned our 6kg turkey would be enough for 5 of us!MrOneLung said:Got 16 people in total round ours for Xmas day
looking for all your tips/hacks/workarounds etc. that you use to make the Xmas dinner run smoothly
Hoping to do the 6kg turkey on Xmas eve - particularly keen on any tips for keeping it moist for the next day1 - Sponsored links:
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The usual for us, defrost the turkey Christmas morning and a cuppa soup starter followed by all the trimmings 😂
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Prep all veg. Completely do the cauliflower cheese until All it needs is to be put under the grill at the end. Gravy, bread sauce done so just needs reheating.
All other meat cook in advance (pigs in blankets and stuffing, gammon) just microwave those at the end before plating.
Put the turkey in the oven. Then eventually Stick all veg in the oven. Potatoes at the top, parsnips, carrots and all that below.
Then once done take the turkey out of there to make room for Yorkshire's if you're having it. Chuck the sprouts or any other greens on the boil.
Carve turkey.
Serve.
This of course done whilst you've been drinking since 9am and we sit to eat at around 3. There has not been a Christmas dinner that I have cooked where I have not forgotten to take out one of veg and find it later on burnt to a crisp.
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My dad's mum was a genius at this. She just cooked everything the day before then stuck it all in the oven to warm up on Christmas day. Her opinion was it's my fucking Christmas as well and I'm not spending it pissing about trying to make sure the potatoes are crisp or that the turkey is moist or whatever. Loved her.6
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I leave it all to the missus, if I interfere I’m likely to be shot.1
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Always a safe bet Large...🙄LargeAddick said:I leave it all to the missus, if I interfere I’m likely to be shot.0 -
We always used to go to my grandparents for Christmas Day. They only had a tiny kitchen with no microwave but the Christmas dinners that used to come out of there were fantastic. Big turkey with all the trimmings, I can still see my nan coming out to serve with a blood red face from the heat.I always do ours now. Although my wife’s a good cook, I couldn’t trust her with the timings for everything, especially when consuming alcohol!4
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I don’t like roast lunch / dinner, so Xmas Day is a minefield for me - a roast dinner is so over rated it’s ridiculous - and before anyone comments on that, my wife is a fantastic cook - professionally qualified etc - I just think a roast dinner is crap, compared to other cuisines
my many years of pleading to have a curry instead of a roast on Xmas Day, fall of deaf ears every bloody year - so, my Xmas Day lunch is rather limited, with me yearning for the cheese and biscuits
If I post on ‘Rate my Plate’ this year, it won’t be my plate - it will be my wife’s !!!1 -
Remembering last years "christmas plate" thread, when does everyone put their mash and baked beans on the stove?4
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HeathenLordflashheart said:I don’t like roast lunch / dinner, so Xmas Day is a minefield for me - a roast dinner is so over rated it’s ridiculous - and before anyone comments on that, my wife is a fantastic cook - professionally qualified etc - I just think a roast dinner is crap, compared to other cuisines
my many years of pleading to have a curry instead of a roast on Xmas Day, fall of deaf ears every bloody year - so, my Xmas Day lunch is rather limited, with me yearning for the cheese and biscuits
If I post on ‘Rate my Plate’ this year, it won’t be my plate - it will be my wife’s !!!3 -
I’m buying mine perfumeLordflashheart said:
If I post on ‘Rate my Plate’ this year, it won’t be my plate - it will be my wife’s !!!1
