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How to cook Christmas dinner

How to Cook Christmas Dinner

By Tom · Updated

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  • About 7 hours 45 min
  • Takes a bit of care

From cooking the perfect roast turkey and gravy to nailing all of the classic festive sides. Here's your step-by-step recipe tutorial for creating the perfect festive feast from start to finish.

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The recipe

How to cook Christmas dinner

From cooking the perfect roast turkey and gravy to nailing all of the classic festive sides.

  • 45 min prep
  • 5 hours cooking
  • 2 hours hands-off
  • Takes a bit of care

Times and difficulty are our estimates from the method, not stopwatch figures.

Quantities
Measurements

Ingredients

The turkey

Goose fat roast potatoes

Honey roast carrots and parsnips

Sage, onion and apple stuffing

Pigs in blankets

Yorkshire puddings

Sprouts

Tick things off as you go — they stay ticked if you close the page.

A dotted underline means the amount has been rounded to something you can measure.

Method

The turkey

  1. Step 1

    Begin by making a herb and garlic (4 garlic) butter (250 g). Place the into a mixing bowl and add in the chopped sage (15 g) and thyme (10 g) leaves. Grate or crush in the garlic, season with salt and pepper, and mix until everything is fully incorporated.

  2. Step 2

    Lift the skin of the turkey (1 turkey) coving the breast meat (500 g) to create a pocket and spread the butter (250 g) between the skin and turkey breast. Season the cavity of the turkey with salt and pepper.

  3. Step 3

    Slice 3 of the clementines (6) and cut the rest into wedges. Place the slices under the skin with the butter (250 g) and the wedges inside the cavity with the rest of the thyme (10 g).

  4. Step 4

    Cover the top of the turkey (1 turkey) with the streaky bacon.

  5. Step 5

    Place the onion (3 onions), carrot (2), and celery onto a roasting tray and place the turkey (1 turkey) directly on top. Place into a preheated oven at 180°C and cook the turkey for 30 minutes per kg. So 2 hours 40 minutes to 3 hours for this size turkey.

  6. Step 6

    After the first hour baste with the cooking juices and cover with foil to prevent it from crisping up any further. Baste two more times throughout the cooking process.

  7. Step 7

    After cooking rest the turkey (1 turkey) for a minimum of 1 hour but ideally half the amount of time you cooked it before carving.

Goose fat roast potatoes

  1. Step 1

    Peel and cut the potatoes (2 kg) in half or quarter making sure they are all the same size.

  2. Step 2

    Place into a pan of cold water (100 ml) generously seasoned with salt. Place over the heat and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and simmer for 15 minutes.

  3. Step 3

    Drain the potatoes (2 kg) and place them back into the pan. Place a lid on and give them a shake to rough up the edges. Remove the lid and steam dry for 5 to 10 minutes.

  4. Step 4

    Place the goose fat (120 g) onto a roasting tray and heat in a preheated oven at 180°C for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and carefully place on the potatoes (2 kg). Turn them in the fat and place them back into the oven for a total of 1 hour, turning them every 15 minutes.

Honey roast carrots and parsnips

  1. Step 1

    Peel and cut both the carrots (2) and parsnips (500 g) in half. Drizzle with olive oil (1 tbsp) and season with salt and pepper. Give them a mix so they are fully coated.

  2. Step 2

    Place them onto a baking tray and roast for 40 minutes turning them once, half way through the cooking time.

  3. Step 3

    After 40 minutes, remove from the oven and drizzle with the honey (2 tbsp). Place them back into the oven and cook for a further 5 minutes.

Sage, onion and apple stuffing

  1. Step 1

    Peel and dice the onion (3 onions) and apple (1 apple). Place a frying pan over the heat and add in the butter (250 g), then cook the onion and apple until soft. cool before adding into the sausage (12 sausages) meat (500 g).

  2. Step 2

    Place the sausage (12 sausages) meat (500 g), breadcrumbs (90 g), sage (15 g) and cooled onion (3 onions) and apple (1 apple) into a mixing bowl. Mix everything together.

  3. Step 3

    Place into and oven dish and bake at 180°C for 40 minutes.

Pigs in blankets

  1. Step 1

    Wrap each sausage (12 sausages) in 1 rasher (20 rashers) of bacon and place onto a baking tray.

  2. Step 2

    Cook for 20 to 25 minutes in a preheated oven at 180°C until the bacon is crisp and the sausages (12 sausages) are fully cooked through.

Yorkshire puddings

  1. Step 1

    Fill the same mug or cup with flour (1 mug), then eggs (1 mug), then milk (1 mug), and place into a mixing bowl.

  2. Step 2

    Whisk together until smooth. Cover and place in the fridge for a minimum of 1 hour or ideally overnight.

  3. Step 3

    Remove from the fridge and season the mixture with a pinch of salt and pepper.

  4. Step 4

    Place a Yorkshire pudding tray onto a larger tray (to catch any fat overflow in the oven) and place your chosen fat into each section of the Yorkshire pudding tray.

  5. Step 5

    Heat the fat in a preheated oven at 220°C for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and ladle your mixture into each section leaving a little bit of space at the top. Cook for 30 minutes until fully risen, crispy on the outside, and soft in the centre.

Sprouts

  1. Step 1

    Begin by roasting the chestnuts (300 g). Carefully make a cut into the shell of the chestnuts and place it onto a baking sheet cut side up. Roast at 180°C for 30 minutes. Cool and remove the shells. Roughly chop the chestnuts and set them to one side.

  2. Step 2

    Remove any nasty-looking leaves from the sprouts (1 kg) and trim off the bottom/stem.

  3. Step 3

    Place a large saute pan over medium heat and add in the olive oil (1 tbsp) followed by the bacon lardons (300 g). Cook until crispy. You may want to drain off some of the fat at this stage.

  4. Step 4

    Next, add in the sprouts (1 kg) and stir to coat them in the bacon fat. Add in the water (100 ml) and place the lid on. Allow them to steam with the lid on for 5 minutes.

  5. Step 5

    Remove the lid and add in the chopped chestnuts (300 g) and stir through the butter (250 g). Season with salt and pepper.

  6. Step 6

    Place the existing tray and vegetables from under your turkey (1 turkey) over medium heat on the hob and bring the cooking juices and fat to a simmer.

  7. Step 7

    Sprinkle over the flour (1 mug), stir and cook for 3 to 5 minutes before deglazing the pan with the white wine (250 ml). Next gradually add in water (100 ml) until it comes to your desired thickness.

  8. Step 8

    Place a saucepan over low heat and pass the gravy mixture through a sieve extracting as much of the gravy as possible. Discard the vegetables.

  9. Step 9

    Add a little more water (100 ml) if needed and season your gravy to taste before serving.

  10. Step 10

    Merry Christmas.

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Questions people ask

How long does how to cook christmas dinner take?

About 7 hours 45 min from start to finish: 45 min of prep, 5 hours of cooking, and 2 hours hands-off while it waits. That figure is worked out from the method rather than timed with a stopwatch, so give yourself a little more the first time.

How much does this make?

The original recipe did not state a yield, so nothing has been invented for it. The scale control on the recipe card multiplies the quantities instead, which is the honest version of the same thing.

Can I see the ingredients in ounces and pints?

Yes. The metric and imperial switch on the recipe card converts every quantity, rounded to amounts you can actually weigh or measure rather than to four decimal places. Your choice is remembered for every recipe on the site.