Need Christmas Dinner Advice? Ask Here...

The Hill Billy

Hi Folks:

With Christmas on the horizon - we'll probably have some posters who will be looking for advice on what & how to prepare, cook, serve etc.

So, if you are a Christmas Dinner Virgin Mary - ask away & hopefully we can help.

For forum regulars - please help & give your sage (& onion) advice...

realgolfgeek

forgive my novice question !!

The christmas Ham, if it's boiled on christmas eve, and glazed and roasted in the oven. Can you just leave it out wrapped in tinfoil overnight ?
What's the best way in heating it up the next day ?

The Hill Billy

You can indeed store it overnight wrapped in foil. I sometimes do this myself & when preparing the meal the following day I carve what I need & reheat the slices (again, wrapped in foil) in the oven just before I serve. It won't be as juicy as when cooked originally, but with everything else that has to be done - it is a shortcut worth taking if you have to.

realgolfgeek

excellent, and thanks for starting the thread.
I have a feeling I'll be back :eek:

realgolfgeek

told you I'd be back.

Would another method be boiling it the night before,
then glazing and roasting on christmas day, or does the boiling, glazing and roasting have to be done in one go ?

bluecherry74

I'm skipping the traditional turkey this year and doing a roast venison haunch. It's in my freezer as I write. My butcher gave me instructions on how to cook it properly and suggested a blackberry based sauce to make with the juices.

I'm not sure what kind of side dishes would go well with it. Any suggestions?

MissFlitworth

Can't comment on sides but I do think that given the day of it a little glace cherry Rudolph nose has to make an appearance somewhere

Animord

realgolfgeek wrote: »

told you I'd be back.

Would another method be boiling it the night before,
then glazing and roasting on christmas day, or does the boiling, glazing and roasting have to be done in one go ?

I think you'd be better off doing it all in one go. By the time you start to bake it the next day, it will, obviously, have gone cold and you are going to have to bake it for hours again to get it hot inside.

I cook ours on Christmas eve, we are ham lovers so it is an important meal all on its own as far as we are concerned! And I don't even re heat it the next day. It is served cold along side the turkey and other stuff - by the time you have hot gravy over it, it is fine.

Animord

bluecherry74 wrote: »

I'm skipping the traditional turkey this year and doing a roast venison haunch. It's in my freezer as I write. My butcher gave me instructions on how to cook it properly and suggested a blackberry based sauce to make with the juices.

I'm not sure what kind of side dishes would go well with it. Any suggestions?

Delia's spiced red cabbage would go well with it depending on what the blackberry sauce is like. The cabbage is quite appley and would stand up to the venison pretty well.

Skill Magill

During the year I cooked a turkey that had one of these already inserted into the bird and when it popped the meat was tasty and succulent.
Could anybody recommend where to purchase these little gadgets ?(it looks like a syringe)
Also, any thoughts on cooking it in a turkey bag?

Cheers

the beer revolu

On the ham thing : in our family, we have always served the ham cold.
It would seem all wrong hot to me - that's for cabbage, mash and parsley sauce.

HelpImAlive

I find it very hard to get the glazing on the ham right, have tried a couple of different recipes but none some to work for me. Anyone got a suggestion?

beertons

HelpImAlive wrote: »

I find it very hard to get the glazing on the ham right, have tried a couple of different recipes but none some to work for me. Anyone got a suggestion?

2 table spoons of honey, 1 teaspoon of brown sugar, and orange rind. Mix in a bowl and apply loosely to one side of the ham. Transfer to oven, 200, and leave for 20-30 minutes.

foodaholic

Skill Magill wrote: »

During the year I cooked a turkey that had one of these already inserted into the bird and when it popped the meat was tasty and succulent.
Could anybody recommend where to purchase these little gadgets ?(it looks like a syringe)
Also, any thoughts on cooking it in a turkey bag?

Cheers

Can't see a picture but I think your talking about a turkey timer. Avoca sell them for around €4ish. The middle part pops up when your turkeys internal temp has reached the correct level.

It's a great little gadget - no stress of wether the turkey is done or not and always juicy

foodaholic

I'm going to make twice baked soufflés for Xmas starters. Would I get away with making them on Xmas eve and reheating them on Xmas day

highly1111

We're having 13 adults on Christmas day! We're delegating a lot out but have a roastie question - would i be able to par-boil the spuds, toss them in flour and then store them overnight on Xmas eve and put them into the hot goose fat on Xmas day? (i toss them in flour to make them crispy - a nigella trick!)

Love this thread.

vicwatson

highly1111 wrote: »

We're having 13 adults on Christmas day! We're delegating a lot out but have a roastie question - would i be able to par-boil the spuds, toss them in flour and then store them overnight on Xmas eve and put them into the hot goose fat on Xmas day? (i toss them in flour to make them crispy - a nigella trick!)

Love this thread.

Yes, though the potato could go black.

As for the flour - no thanks, a good fluffing in the pot after the water is poured out and a good drying out over the heat does the trick.

highly1111

vicwatson wrote: »

Yes, though the potato could go black.

As for the flour - no thanks, a good fluffing in the pot after the water is poured out and a good drying out over the heat does the trick.

thanks - i normally double up and so both. Not much flour mind.

never thought about the spuds going black - hardly worth the hassle for all the time it would save.

thanks

Minder

Store the par cooked spuds in the fridge if you have the space. It will dry them out and make for a fluffier roastie.

Animord

HelpImAlive wrote: »

I find it very hard to get the glazing on the ham right, have tried a couple of different recipes but none some to work for me. Anyone got a suggestion?

I do mustard, cloves and brown sugar, it works fine every time. Depending on if you like cloves of course. You take the skin off the meat, leaving as much of the fat as you possibly can. Smother the fat in mustard, score it diagonally with a sharp knife, cutting the fat but not all they way through to the meat. Put a single clove in the centre of each diamond and then just put brown sugar over with your hands. It is messy and the sugar will fall off some places but just push it back on. Bake it very hot for the last half hour, depending on the size of the ham. It ends up looking like this, but I am a perfectionist so mine is way neater than this one. Some diamonds don't have cloves - the horror! :eek:

bluecherry74

Animord wrote: »

Delia's spiced red cabbage would go well with it depending on what the blackberry sauce is like. The cabbage is quite appley and would stand up to the venison pretty well.

Thanks - that sounds like it would work. Am also thinking of celeriac mash.

Animord

bluecherry74 wrote: »

Thanks - that sounds like it would work. Am also thinking of celeriac mash.

Mmmmm celeriac mash... be a bit careful of having too many different flavours going on the plate How is the blackberry sauce done?

bluecherry74

Animord wrote: »

Mmmmm celeriac mash... be a bit careful of having too many different flavours going on the plate How is the blackberry sauce done?

This recipe sounds pretty close to what my butcher spoke of, though obviously I'll be using the juices from the venison roast rather than venison steak.

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/4811/panfried-venison-with-blackberry-sauce

But you're right, I don't want too many flavours.

Animord

bluecherry74 wrote: »

This recipe sounds pretty close to what my butcher spoke of, though obviously I'll be using the juices from the venison roast rather than venison steak.

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/4811/panfried-venison-with-blackberry-sauce

But you're right, I don't want too many flavours.

Oh, I have just have a wave of overpowering hunger... that looks really good. I do a sauce like that for duck, but with pink peppercorns.

I am sure it will be great. Can I come?:P

nosietoes

bluecherry74 wrote: »

I'm not sure what kind of side dishes would go well with it. Any suggestions?

Slow cooked spiced Red cabbage is wonderful with venison
And sautéed Brussels sprouts with chestnuts would be a nice festive side as well

nosietoes

foodaholic wrote: »

I'm going to make twice baked soufflés for Xmas starters. Would I get away with making them on Xmas eve and reheating them on Xmas day

I used to make these when I was cheffing. Absolutely no problem doing first bake days in advance and then re bake wiht a tiny splash of cream on top sitting on grease proof. They even freeze!

RoryMurphyJnr

Any ideas on the best way to do stuffing?
We do very basic ones, bread crumbs, sage and onion, salt and pepper and egg to bind.
Use half the mix and then add sausage mix to the other half.
Always make a big patty with them on a baking tray.

any other suggestions without going the whole chestnut, fruit etc road?

Thanks
Rory

AshAdele

what size turkey to feed 8 adults?

I will also have ham and spiced beef so it doesnt have to be huge i think.
Also thinking of just doing the crown of turkey to save on oven space.

I cant wait for Christmas dinner!!!

diddlybit

Great idea for a thread, will definately be hitting it up for some advice once I get an idea of my numbers, which stand at either 2 or 11 :eek:

Animord

AshAdele wrote: »

what size turkey to feed 8 adults?

I will also have ham and spiced beef so it doesnt have to be huge i think.
Also thinking of just doing the crown of turkey to save on oven space.

I cant wait for Christmas dinner!!!

Small, 4kg, serves about 6-8 people
Medium, 5-6kg, serves about 10-12 people
Large, 8kg, serves about 12-16 people

The Hill Billy

It depends on what you want to do with the turkey really.

As Animord says - a 5-6kg bird will feed 10-12 people at one sitting.
However, I get a 6-7kg bird for two adults & two kids.
But we enjoy getting several meals out of it over the following few days.

So, if you like your cold turkey, so to speak, go for a bigger bird than would do you for just one meal.