The 12 cooking conundrums of Christmas lunch – and how chefs would answer them
To cross or not to cross your sprouts with a knife? Should you cook your veg the day before? And what’s the optimum time to sit down for your main meal to ensure maximum feasting throughout the day? Leading chefs give Emma Henderson their top tips for cracking Christmas dinner
If you’re cooking Christmas dinner for the first time this year, the No 1 rule is... don’t fret.
But it’s easy to say that before the relatives arrive and the chaos begins. Before you’re inundated with unsolicited opinions on how to do this and how not to do that. Before the oven is full with an oversized hunk of meat and all the overdone vegetables anyone could ever want. Before every surface is covered with used pots, pans, utensils, open bottles, and anything else that was just hours ago neatly packed away in the cupboard.
Everyone has their little tricks that are discovered and perfected over the years; tips that have been mastered through experimenting or, more likely, lessons learnt when it goes wrong. From something as simple as ensuring everything is actually cooked to shunning the trendy goose fat for roast potatoes, there’s an awful lot that newbies and seasoned Christmas cooks alike can benefit from.
To help guide you through the day and avoid any disasters – forgetting to take something out of the oven, or overcooking the sprouts, perhaps – here’s the bottom line from some of the UK’s top chefs on the most common food mistakes at Christmas time — and how to avoid them.
And don’t worry, the experts also have the final say on who does the washing up (read: not the chef) and what to do with leftover turkey that isn’t turkey curry.
Should we have a starter?
“I don’t think formal starters at Christmas are necessary, there is enough going on! Some charcuterie does the trick – I lay out a selection of Oldstead salami and lomo made with our own rare-breed pigs, reared on the family farm. Add some good-quality olives and a glass of bubbles, and everyone is happy.”
Tommy Banks: Michelin-starred chef and owner of the Black Swan pub in Oldstead, Roots in York, and The Abbey Inn at Byland
Should you cross the bottoms of sprouts before cooking?
“The older generation, for whatever reason, put a cross in the brussels sprout. But this opens the sprout up to easily overcooking, especially after boiling it for 20 minutes, so it becomes soft and horrible, and no one wants to eat it. Instead, they shouldn’t go anywhere near water and should be cooked al dente. Slice them, pan-fry them quickly with oil and salt and pepper, then add any flavour you want, from honey to soy sauce.”
Tom Cenci: executive chef of Nessa, Yasmina, and 1 Warwick restaurants, all in London
Should we eat at 2pm or 5pm?
“If you eat at 2pm, when are you having your scrambled eggs with smoked trout?! Always 5pm for us. We also celebrate the 24th at midnight, so we will have likely devoured a suckling pig already!”
Ana Ortiz, Galapagos-born, Somerset-based chef and co-founder of Fire Made
Should the spuds be cooked with duck fat, or something else?
“I never really tend to use goose fat, as it’s just another added expense and thing on the shopping list. You just need to season the water and parboil them, let them dry, put them into a roasting tray with hot oil (any kind of cheap oil) and just keep turning them.”
Tom Cenci
What’s the best cut – a whole turkey, a crown, or a rolled joint?
“My mum insists we have turkey, which is always a confit leg (the best way to have turkey)! Brine the boned and rolled leg for four hours then pop the leg into a saucepan and just cover with duck fat and a lid. Leave to cook on a low heat, circa 65C, for at least eight hours – so best to pop on overnight!”
Chantelle Nicholson: New Zealand chef-owner of Apricity restaurant in London, which has a green Michelin star
Should it be cooked straight from the fridge?
“I always like to make sure the turkey gets to room temperature before cooking, because everything cooks better when it starts from room temperature.”
Roberta Hall McCarron: chef and owner of The Little Chartroom and eleanore restaurants, both in Edinburgh
Should a turkey crown or whole bird be wrapped in bacon?
“That’s optional. The bacon will help baste it, however you don’t get the colour on the breast the same. It’s a nice way to keep the turkey moist, but you miss out on the crispy skin – I personally like the crispy skin!”
Michael Caines: chef patron of hotel, restaurant and vineyard Lympstone Manor in Devon
What’s the best way not to forget something in the oven?
“My youngest daughter has created a PDF of all the food we’re having, and who is doing what. It’s actually useful as then we check it and don’t leave something in the oven when we’ve already sat down.”
Romy Gill: chef, author and broadcaster. Romy is a former IndyEats recipe columnist and is publishing her third cookbook next year
Should you cook the vegetables the day before?
“I’d sooner cook the vegetables and potatoes the day before and then reheat or finish on the day, and cook the turkey on the day itself to risk it being dry.”
Michael Caines
Do yorkshire puds have a place in a traditional festive dinner?
“I’m a no. On any other Sunday roast, with any meat, yes. But when it comes to Christmas dinner, it’s just out of place. There’s already loads of trimming and never enough room on the plate as it is.”
Tom Cenci
Who does the washing up?
“One consequence of me cooking at Christmas is that I insist someone else does the dishes. This might sound easy, but it can be a pretty laborious task when faced with the stacks of saucepans, platters and utensils I’ve used.”
Paul Ainsworth: chef-owner of Michelin-starred No 6 restaurant, Cornwall
What’s better to do with leftovers than a turkey curry?
“Arroz relleno is an Ecuadorian fried rice dish, which you can add leftover turkey to. It makes a perfect leftover meal between Christmas and New Year, and it’s a great way of using up the leftover veg, too.”
Ana Ortiz
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