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Christmas dinner - a bit of advice please |
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#1 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Ayrshire, Scotland
Posts: 5,925
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Christmas dinner - a bit of advice please
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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#2 |
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Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 715
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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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#3 |
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Inactive Member
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 232
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Quote:
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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#4 |
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Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: NE
Posts: 4,698
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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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#5 |
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Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: The Sunny Side Of The Street
Posts: 40,106
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Christmas Eve is usually sprout abuse day.
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#6 |
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Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 10,268
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Quote:
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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#7 |
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Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Scarborough
Posts: 2,259
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Quote:
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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#8 |
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Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Essex
Posts: 16,223
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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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#9 |
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Join Date: Jun 2007
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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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#10 |
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Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 10,268
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Quote:
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. 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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#11 |
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Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Sarf London
Posts: 13,304
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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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#12 |
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Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 2,943
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Quote:
Didn't they start to discolour?
. 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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#13 |
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Join Date: Aug 2012
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Quote:
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 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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#14 |
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Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Ayrshire, Scotland
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Quote:
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 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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#15 |
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Join Date: Aug 2009
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Quote:
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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#16 |
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Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 10,268
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Quote:
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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#17 |
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Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Sitting at my PC
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Quote:
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. 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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#18 |
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Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: The Sunny Side Of The Street
Posts: 40,106
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Quote:
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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#19 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 631
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Quote:
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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#20 |
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Join Date: May 2011
Location: South-East England
Posts: 645
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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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#21 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: The Sunny Side Of The Street
Posts: 40,106
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Quote:
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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#22 |
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Join Date: Aug 2009
Posts: 5,111
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Quote:
If you par boil the roast potatoes the night before do you add the fat at that point too?
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#23 |
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Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 21,738
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Quote:
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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#24 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Ayrshire, Scotland
Posts: 5,925
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Quote:
Why what do you think will happen?
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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#25 |
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Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 21,738
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Quote:
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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