To make sure Christmas is as stress-free as possible, chef Sarah shared her culinary wisdom on which foods to prepare and when.
On Christmas Eve, anybody who has a frozen turkey is recommended to take it out to let the meat defrost for 24 hours before you begin cooking it.
“Save yourself time and stress by chopping your vegetables on Christmas Eve,” said chef Sarah.
Another culinary task is to prep the pigs in blankets by wrapping bacon around sausages and placing them in the fridge.
Six hours 30 minutes before serving
On Christmas Day, around six-and-a-half hours before serving dinner, you need to remove the turkey from the fridge and season well.
Chef Sarah said: “Loosen the skin and place seasoned butter between the flesh and the skin.
“Cover the entire breast with two layers of streaky bacon. This will protect the breast during cooking, as the breast can dry out as it cooks much quicker than the legs.”
Five hours and 30 minutes before serving
Chef Sarah said now is the time to preheat the oven to 200C and line the roasting tin with foil.
“Place the turkey in the middle and add some whole garlic cloves, 150ml white wine and seasoning,” added chef Sarah. “Seal up the parcel well and place in the oven.”
Four hours and 30 minutes before serving
“Reduce the oven temperature to 180C,” said chef Sarah. “And cook for three hours, or until the juices from the thickest part of the leg run clear.”
It’s also critical to collect the juices from the turkey to add to your gravy later.
Two hours 30 minutes before serving
Chef Sarah said: “Parboil the potatoes for 15 minutes before draining and fluffing in the pan with flour and seasoning. “You can also parboil the parsnips now for 10 minutes and set aside for later.”
Two hours before serving
Chef Sarah said: “Heat duck fat (or lard) in a pan and then pour over your parboiled seasoned floured potatoes in a baking tray. Place them in the oven on a high shelf.”
One hour 30 minutes before serving
This is the time to add your pigs in blankets and stuffing balls onto a baking tray and into the oven for 20 to 25 minutes.
One hour before serving
Chef Sarah said: “Remove the turkey from the oven and tent under more foil and any spare tea towels you have. Place the parboiled parsnips on a baking tray and spray with oil.”
45 minutes before serving
Parboil the Brussels sprouts
30 minutes before serving
Chef Sarah said: “Pan-fry the Brussels sprouts with pancetta, cranberries and cashews. “Add some honey and orange juice to the parsnips to give them a beautiful glaze.”
Those having Yorkshire puddings can now add these into the oven, and you can carve the turkey and allow the meat to rest.
15 minutes before serving
Heat the gravy and add any meat juices, then serve and enjoy!
Chef Sarah Manning-Ball teamed up with NEXT, who found 29 percent of Brits found cooking Christmas dinner to be stressful.
