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Christmas dinner - a bit of advice please


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Old 19-11-2012, 15:50
fizzle90
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Just looking for a bit of advice please.

This year I've got quite a few coming for Christmas dinner, more than I've ever cooked for before. I'm trying to minimise the stress of the cooking on the actual day so I'm thinking of doing the below -

On Christmas Eve, cooking the turkey and slow roasting the beef joint, slicing and covering with tin foil and put in the fridge overnight

Peeling and chopping all the vegetables (including the potatoes - but won't these go all funny if I do that though?) - what is the best way to keep them overnight?

Sorry to sound so amateur-ish but I always cook Christmas dinner from fresh on the actual day (that was when it was only 4 of us!) and I've never pre-prepared a roast before so I was wondering if it was the norm?
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Old 19-11-2012, 16:59
gerr60
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Its ok to prepare the veg in advance, put in plastic bags in the fridge, keep potatoes covered with water, cooking the joints is ok but i would carve on the day, save meat juices for gravy, cover the sliced meat with some of the gravy and heat.
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Old 19-11-2012, 17:47
Paulieboy
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Its ok to prepare the veg in advance, put in plastic bags in the fridge, keep potatoes covered with water, cooking the joints is ok but i would carve on the day, save meat juices for gravy, cover the sliced meat with some of the gravy and heat.
this pretty much
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Old 19-11-2012, 17:54
jarryhack
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Yeah I do this every year. I prepare all the veg and cook the meat on Christmas Eve. And we have hot sandwiches every year when the meat is cooked. It's a Christmas Eve tradition of ours.
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Old 19-11-2012, 17:56
stud u like
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Christmas Eve is usually sprout abuse day.
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Old 19-11-2012, 18:58
earthling13
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Yeah I do this every year. I prepare all the veg and cook the meat on Christmas Eve. And we have hot sandwiches every year when the meat is cooked. It's a Christmas Eve tradition of ours.
Us too! A hot turkey sandwich with stuffing and a bit of Branstons at 10 o'clock on Christmas eve is probably one of the highlights of my year! (sad, I know) As for reheating the turkey, I never bother. I think the flavour developes overnight and all it needs is a bit of home made gravy.
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Old 19-11-2012, 19:12
fizzycat
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Its ok to prepare the veg in advance, put in plastic bags in the fridge, keep potatoes covered with water, cooking the joints is ok but i would carve on the day, save meat juices for gravy, cover the sliced meat with some of the gravy and heat.
Another agreement for this with the addition of my favourite tip from Nigella - don't panic about getting all the veg ready at exactly the same time. If the gravy's piping hot, no-one will notice the carrots have cooled down a few degrees.
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Old 19-11-2012, 19:21
c4rv
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jamie or gordon said they always cook the meat the night before.

veggies can be prep'ed and keep in the fridge no problem.
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Old 19-11-2012, 21:41
Iggy's Boy
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The best roast potatoes I ever did was when I peeled and par boiled the potatoes the day before, roughed up the edges and placed on a baking tray in the fridge overnight.

Doing this helped dry them out and made them extra crispy. So I would recommend doing that.

Gravy can be done a few days before too. In fact practically everything except Yorkshire puds can find one or more days ahead.
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Old 20-11-2012, 07:34
earthling13
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The best roast potatoes I ever did was when I peeled and par boiled the potatoes the day before, roughed up the edges and placed on a baking tray in the fridge overnight.

Doing this helped dry them out and made them extra crispy. So I would recommend doing that.

Gravy can be done a few days before too. In fact practically everything except Yorkshire puds can find one or more days ahead.
Didn't they start to discolour?

Whatever fat you use, I'd recommend adding a good knob of butter to give a lovely golden colour. And use the right potatoes!

If fridge space is a problem just prep the veg and leave it in the saucepan, covered with water.
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Old 20-11-2012, 07:36
Croctacus
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Why not cook the turkey overnight?

That's what I do. Stick it in about 10pm Christmas Eve...blast it a GM5 for about half an hour then turn down to 1. Its ready mid morning the next day
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Old 20-11-2012, 07:58
Iggy's Boy
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Didn't they start to discolour?
.
No. I was worried they might go black but they didn't. Heston uses the same kind of process for his 'triple cooked chips', in that he boils chipped potatoes until they nearly fall apart then lays them on a rack in the fridge to dry out overnight before frying. This gives him the crunchiest chips ever, so it's the same principle with the roast potatoes.

When they come out of the fridge the next day add them to sizzling hot fat and roast for 45 mins - 1 hour.
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Old 20-11-2012, 08:56
fatsi
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Why not cook the turkey overnight?

That's what I do. Stick it in about 10pm Christmas Eve...blast it a GM5 for about half an hour then turn down to 1. Its ready mid morning the next day
This.

Waking up to the smell of roasted meats on Christmas morning
And as others have said, I also do all my veg prep the day before and keep it in the fridge. The only thing I make on the day from scratch is the stuffing.
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Old 20-11-2012, 09:01
fizzle90
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Why not cook the turkey overnight?

That's what I do. Stick it in about 10pm Christmas Eve...blast it a GM5 for about half an hour then turn down to 1. Its ready mid morning the next day
I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving the oven on overnight.

But thanks for all suggestions, the only thing I'm worried about is the potatoes going discoloured - but if I keep them in water will they be fine?
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Old 20-11-2012, 09:56
JulesF
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I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving the oven on overnight.

But thanks for all suggestions, the only thing I'm worried about is the potatoes going discoloured - but if I keep them in water will they be fine?
Why not do as suggested by a couple of FMs and par boil the potatoes the day before and then leave them in the fridge? They won't discolour if you do them this way.
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Old 20-11-2012, 10:02
earthling13
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No. I was worried they might go black but they didn't. Heston uses the same kind of process for his 'triple cooked chips', in that he boils chipped potatoes until they nearly fall apart then lays them on a rack in the fridge to dry out overnight before frying. This gives him the crunchiest chips ever, so it's the same principle with the roast potatoes.

When they come out of the fridge the next day add them to sizzling hot fat and roast for 45 mins - 1 hour.
I might try that one day then but not Christmas because fridge will be full.
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Old 20-11-2012, 10:23
burton07
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The best roast potatoes I ever did was when I peeled and par boiled the potatoes the day before, roughed up the edges and placed on a baking tray in the fridge overnight.

Doing this helped dry them out and made them extra crispy. So I would recommend doing that.

Gravy can be done a few days before too. In fact practically everything except Yorkshire puds can find one or more days ahead.
Surely, the gravy can only be made after the meat is cooked because it's made from the meat juices.

Potatoes can be peeled and kept in a pan of water on top of the cooker overnight.

Green vegetables shouldn't be kept in water as they lose their vitamin content, but they can be prepared and kept in a plastic bag in the fridge.

The stuffing can be made in advance.

What is all this Yorkshire pud malarkey?
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Old 20-11-2012, 10:26
stud u like
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Surely, the gravy can only be made after the meat is cooked because it's made from the meat juices.

Potatoes can be peeled and kept in a pan of water on top of the cooker overnight.

Green vegetables shouldn't be kept in water as they lose their vitamin content, but they can be prepared and kept in a plastic bag in the fridge.

The stuffing can be made in advance.

What is all this Yorkshire pud malarkey?
Some people have a turkey, beef joint and a ham at Christmas.
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Old 20-11-2012, 11:03
Aly1
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The best roast potatoes I ever did was when I peeled and par boiled the potatoes the day before, roughed up the edges and placed on a baking tray in the fridge overnight.

Doing this helped dry them out and made them extra crispy. So I would recommend doing that.

Gravy can be done a few days before too. In fact practically everything except Yorkshire puds can find one or more days ahead.
If you par boil the roast potatoes the night before do you add the fat at that point too?
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Old 20-11-2012, 11:36
petit-pois
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Good thread, OP! I've been wondering about doing some prep the night before to save myself some stress!

If I par-boil the potatoes and put them on a tray the night before, do I have to wait for them to completely cool before putting them in the fridge, or can they go straight in? I always feel a bit funny about putting hot food straight into the fridge.
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Old 20-11-2012, 11:47
stud u like
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Good thread, OP! I've been wondering about doing some prep the night before to save myself some stress!

If I par-boil the potatoes and put them on a tray the night before, do I have to wait for them to completely cool before putting them in the fridge, or can they go straight in? I always feel a bit funny about putting hot food straight into the fridge.
It doesn't matter if it is in a shallow container although some people suggest you wait for the steam to go.
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Old 20-11-2012, 12:07
JulesF
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If you par boil the roast potatoes the night before do you add the fat at that point too?
No fat at that point. Par boil and rough them up as you would normally, then lay them on a baking tray and put in the fridge. The next day, just roast them in hot fat.
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Old 20-11-2012, 13:12
walterwhite
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I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving the oven on overnight.

But thanks for all suggestions, the only thing I'm worried about is the potatoes going discoloured - but if I keep them in water will they be fine?
Why what do you think will happen?
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Old 20-11-2012, 13:21
fizzle90
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Why what do you think will happen?
What do I think will happen with what? The oven being on overnight or leaving the potatoes?

If you're referring to the oven, I don't 'think' anything will happen. I'm just not comfortable leaving the oven on all night, like I said.
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Old 20-11-2012, 13:23
walterwhite
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What do I think will happen with what? The oven being on overnight or leaving the potatoes?

If you're referring to the oven, I don't 'think' anything will happen. I'm just not comfortable leaving the oven on all night, like I said.
The oven.
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