christmas dinner

[yizzy]

Having twenty people for xmas dinner ,starting to panic , thought of cooking turkey and beef, slicing it and put it in freezer till xmas eve, what do you think?

[annie0000]

Personally I would do that with the beef, but I'd do the turkey the day before, carve and slice and leave in the fridge , save the juices for your gravy and use the bones to make your soup. Next day, make your gravies, cover your meats in gravy and cover the dishes and heat thoroughly in the oven - very juicy and succulent!

[Jemisa]

What? -- Then warming it up? I don't think so, well I wouldn't, poultry and re-heating is not a good idea, I'd be worried about Salminella poisoning.

[ladyalex]

As long as it's completely cooked through to start with, refrigerated and then heated to piping hot next day, the poultry will be fine.
Loads of people cook their turkeys on Xmas Eve then reheat with no problems.

[ELVIS68]

I`m doing xmas dinner for 12 and freezing is a definate no no, get up early enough and you`ll have plenty of time to cook

[annie0000]

There is nothing wrong with reheating meat, in fact, there is actually nothing wrong with reheating meat from frozen. But you have to ensure that it reaches a high enough temperature to kill of any potential bacteria.

[boxtops]

I would - we do it all the time, cooking and carving all in the one day for a lot of people is quite a palaver in a small kitchen. I wouldn't slice the turkey and freeze it though, it could end up dry. As long as you reheat thoroughly you should be fine!

[scotman]

If you are Scottish you should have put the sprouts on 2 weeks ago :-)

[boxtops]

It's Stir Up Sunday today, for those who've not yet made their puds (if you are that way inclined, I'm not!).

[yizzy]

Thanks, Will do that, least half of it cooked ,wouldnt want anyone to be ill and then I wouldnt get asked to next years dinner. It wont be my turn again for the next ten years I hope

[Buenchico]

Here's the really easy way to deal with the turkey. Head down to Morrisons (where they sell beautiful cooked turkey breast, carved from the bone). Place an order for the relevant quantity, to be collected on Christmas Eve.

Shortly before Christmas lunch is to be served, place the sliced turkey (wrapped in foil to retain its moisture content) in the oven, to heat it up. Then everyone gets prime quality breast meat, with no effort whatsoever. (I write from experience!).

Chris

[boxtops]

I was only looking at the Morrisons mag today, their turkey crown looks very good, i wondered whether to order it myself!

[yizzy]

Yes Iam Scottish and I did put the sprouts on two weeks ago need to make sure they are nice and tender

[yizzy]

Bought a crown from morrisons last year and yes it was lovely

[welshlibranr]

sounds quite good Chris, but I cannot do it!................Need to do the whole traditional thing, roast the Turkey, cook the whole thing from scratch on Christmas morning, just love the yummy aromas coming from the kitchen!...........I'll never change!...that's Christmas for me!.......doesn't stress me out, even when we have 12 guests!....

[Buenchico]

Boxtops;
I thoroughly recommend it. If you're cooking for others you'll obviously need to place an order (which they accept throughout most of December) but, being on my own, I've sometimes just 'chanced it' on Christmas Eve.

I once asked for 200g (which I thought would make a generous portion for one) but the deli manager was keen to clear it, so he gave me over 700g and then priced it as 100g ;-)
It was just as good as anything that a top-quality restaurant would have served!

[ELVIS68]

For the record..anyone cooking xmas dinner...if you are doing sprouts, boil them as normal, then fry some onions and garlic in olive oil til browned add some pancetta or bacon and fry for 5 mins then add the sprouts and stir for 2 mins, everyone will eat them... guaranteed

[boxtops]

Thank you, I think I'll trot over the road tomorrow.....!

[yizzy]

Sounds good

[annie0000]

Chris, if it just the 4 of us at Christmas, we usually have duck, a turkey is too big and a chicken doesn't feel special enough. Neither of the kids will eat duck and No1 son won't eat chicken or turkey either - he is happy with chipolatas with bacon, stuffing and trimmings, so for youngest who loves chicken or turkey, we do exactly what you do, buy some nice carved turkey from the cold meat counter, cover it in gravy and heat it up in the oven

[boxtops]

we put chopped chestnuts in our sprouts along with the bacon, too, Elvis it's yummy.