In my opinion, the best meal of the year is Christmas dinner! Let’s face it, cooking a Christmas dinner is a big deal and it’s not easy. There’s so much going on each plate it can be tough to time it correctly. It can be extra daunting if your doing it for the first time.
Fear not, SPAR have created this awesome checklist to help you every step of the way. Cooking the Christmas dinner no longer has to scare the life out of you!
Beginners’ Christmas Dinner Checklist
Get Ready
Before Christmas day even arrives, there’s a lot of preparation to be done to make sure your kitchen’s up to the job.
- Get the right kitchenware
- Clear out the fridge
- Check your cutlery
- Plan your shopping list
Christmas Eve
If your turkey is frozen, the morning of Christmas eve is when you need to take it out. Place it on a plate and cover leaving it in a cool room for around 1–24 hours.
If you plan to defrost your turkey in the fridge, the process needs to begin a day earlier.
On the afternoon of Christmas eve, you need to do as much pre-Christmas Day prep as you can. Things you can make and keep in the fridge.
Christmas Day
So the big day has finally arrived, and if you’ve planned correctly, you should have everything you need to make a successful Christmas dinner. But much like doing the shopping, timing is everything here.
Note: The timings are based on a 5kg turkey – to calculate how long your turkey will take:
Calculate 20 mins per kilogramme in weight, then add 90 min = Total Cooking Time, at around 180°C (Gas Mark 5) in a fan assisted oven.
- 9:30am – Prep the turkey – take out the giblets, add the stuffing, place in a roasting dish and sprinkle over any herbs. Top Tip: With frozen turkey, make sure that there are no ice crystals left inside the turkey before cooking.
- 9:50am – Put the turkey in the oven to roast
- 10am – Take this opportunity to begin setting the table, before the real cooking begins
- 11:45am – Prep all the remaining vegetables for roasting or boiling
- 12:30pm – Put the vegetables in to roast, parboil potatoes for mashing or boiling. Put the pigs in blankets in the oven
- 12:45pm – Put the potatoes in the oven for roasting; boil or steam the sprouts and broccoli
- 1pm – Take the turkey out of the oven, cover with tin foil and leave to rest for half an hour
- 1:05pm – Make the gravy
- 1:30pm – Carve the turkey, dish up the veg, and pour out the bubbly.
Then serve and enjoy!