Christmas will be in full swing for households across the UK this year.
The last couple of festive seasons were marred by the Coronavirus pandemic, with restrictions and isolation rules in place as Covid cases surged. While the virus is still circulating, there aren't any restrictions to follow at the moment.
It's likely to be a hectic Christmas this year - and now that the presents are wrapped, it's time to think about the food. Whether it's your first time cooking Christmas dinner or if you're a professional, everyone could use some helpful tips to cut down on timings and save any hassle.
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To help out, we've put together this hour-by-hour guide - complete with timings and stuffed with handy hacks. From pigs in blankets, to crispy roast potatoes and of course your Christmas turkey - we've covered it all.
Read on to learn how to perfect your Christmas dinner for the big day...
The night before
There are a lot of jobs that can be done the night before Christmas, which will help you to save time on the big day. You can get lots of prep work sorted in advance, maximising quality time with the family when it matters the most.
Firstly, if your turkey is frozen, you need to make sure it has plenty of time to defrost. Some 24 hours in the fridge is ideal, unless the packaging or your butcher tells you otherwise.
If you fancy it, bread sauce can also be made up in advance to free up a saucepan. Even the cauliflower cheese can be mostly made on Christmas Eve.
It needs to get to the point where you've added your cheese sauce to your cauliflower and chill, then put it in an ovenproof dish and bake the next day. You can even roll your pigs (chipolatas) in their blankets (streaky bacon), then pop on a plate and cover with clingfilm in the fridge.
If you're really wanting to get ahead of the game, why not peel your vegetables and leave them in cold water overnight?
The day itself
In the first instance, you'll need to work out how long you need to cook your turkey or meat for. Remember to account for its weight, as the heavier your bird, the longer it will need in the oven.
Decide what time you want to eat, and calculate backwards from there. Let the meat dictate the rest of the day - use our handy turkey calculator here to get the ball rolling.
The timings in this guide are for a group of six people, with a 3kg turkey, who want to eat at 2pm.
8.50am
It's time to release the bird from the fridge - let your turkey come up to room temperature. You could use this quiet time in the morning to prepare your veggies - if you haven't already - so that you're ready for the main event.
Peel your potatoes and chop them into halves or quarters, depending on their size - sharp corners are great as it will make them extra crispy. Put them in a saucepan with enough cold water to cover them, then leave them until you're ready to start cooking.
You can also peel your parsnips and carrots, again leaving them to sit in cold water.
10.20am
Next, warm your oven up to 180 degrees. While that's happening, you could think about setting the table.
Or, ask someone else to do it - you are cooking, after all!
10.50am
Now it's time to pop the turkey in the oven. Everyone has their theory about cooking a turkey, but we recommend cooking it in a little foil house.
Cover it with foil but don't let it lie too close to the skin, or your turkey will steam and you'll lose all that crispy skin.
11.20am
Baste your turkey. Don't skip this step - just don't!
For those who don't know, that means spooning some of the juices that should by now be collecting at the bottom of the roasting tray back over the meat.
11.50am
Back again with another reminder to baste your turkey again.
It should be smelling delicious now.
12.30pm
Okay one more baste. This time, take the foil off the bird so that the skin can get super crispy.
1pm
Get the turkey out of the oven, cover it back over in foil, and leave it to rest. Now it's time to tackle the trimmings.
Turn your oven up to 200 degrees Celsius and whack the heat up high on your potatoes in the saucepan, bringing them to a boil. At this point, you can also put a roasting tray in the oven with some fat of your choice - goose fat is best for Christmas roasties.
Once the spuds are boiling, lower the heat and cook for two minutes at a vigorous simmer. After two minutes, drain your potatoes and let them steam dry a little.
You can add a couple of teaspoons of flour if you like.
1.10pm
Carefully - and I mean carefully - take the tray of hot oil out of the oven and lower your potatoes into the fat in a single layer. Roll them over so they're coated and put the tray back in the oven.
You'll want to turn them over a couple of times during their 50 minutes or so in the oven.
1.15pm
Now par-boil your carrots and parsnips in separate saucepans for five minutes.
1.20pm
Add a tablespoon of honey and a sprinkle of flour to your parsnips, and a drizzle of honey to your carrots (a splash of red wine vinegar or a squeeze of clementine juice is also good with carrots, if you like), then add olive oil or butter - or both - and roast both for 40 minutes.
We're usually running out of pans by this point so they end up lumped in together (still spread in a single layer though) and cook just fine.
At this point - though check the timings on your recipe - you can also stick the stuffing in the oven to cook through.
1.35pm
Give all your roasting vegetables a good shuffle. Then it's time for the sprouts - not everyone likes them, so feel free to skip this step, but we like ours best roasted in the oven.
Show them some love - add a light drizzle of oil and a sprinkle of salt, then roast for 25 minutes in a single layer. Some recipes include bacon and chestnuts too.
Lay your pigs in blankets out on a tray and pop them in the oven too.
1.40pm
Add any cheese or breadcrumb toppings you like with your cauliflower cheese, then pop this in the oven for 20 minutes to cook.
If you've got a small oven, you could do this step earlier on and leave covered in foil. If you've got a good-quality casserole dish, it should keep its heat.
1.45pm
Ask someone to start carving up the turkey and heating the gravy and sauces through - delegation is key in these last steps.
2pm
You're done! Grab everything out of the oven and dish it up however you like.
Don't forget to turn the oven off, dish out the Christmas crackers, and pour a large glass of bubbly for yourself. You've earned it!
Then let the rest of the family fight it out among themselves for washing up duties.
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