How to cook Christmas dinner, by the UK’s top chefs – including recipe that might change how you do roasties forever | UK News

If Christmas dinner in your house means soggy Brussels sprouts, desiccated turkey and gloopy gravy that’s gone cold while you’ve waited for everything else to cook, you’re not alone.

But what if it didn’t have to be that way?

We asked some of the most renowned chefs in the UK to give their ultimate guide to making Christmas dinner.

Prep

This is key, says two-Michelin star chef Alex Dilling: “Any step you can do days ahead will help not only the time with your family but also there will be far less washing up.”

For TV regular and one-starred Tom Shepherd, this means doing the Yorkshire pudding batter and cauliflower cheese the night before, and prepping all the veg.

Brining the turkey

“I’m really into brining my turkey, I couldn’t recommend this enough,” says Shepherd, whose Staffordshire restaurant Upstairs is booked up more than a year in advance.

Tom Shepherd’s brine

• A simple 10% salt to water brine
• A bit of thyme, garlic and orange peel thrown in
• Leave it for 24 hours, then remove 90 minutes before cooking to dry it off, rub in butter and salt.

Cooking the turkey

Hrishikesh Desai, the renowned chef patron at one-star Country House Hotel in north Cumbria, does it like this to maximise flavour…

• Take the legs off the turkey and debone them;
• Take the wishbone off and create a gap between the skin of the turkey and the breast. Fill it with well-seasoned stuffing or butter or truffle butter. Leave in the fridge to rest;
• Take as many sinews off the deboned legs as possible then flatten the meat and fill it with stuffing. Lay on an oiled foil sheet, season and wrap to form a roll. Make sure it is rolled tight. Cook in a preheated oven at 220C for 1.5 hours. Remove from the tinfoil, fry the legs on a pan to brown it evenly. Slice and serve;
• For the main turkey, remove from the fridge, drizzle oil or brush with soft butter, place on a roasting pan and then into the pre-heated oven at 220C. Cook for at least 1 to 1.5 hours while basting every 10 minutes.
• To ensure the turkey meat is cooked, use a carving fork, push through the crown and lift the turkey. If the juices run without any blood then it’s done;
• Remove from the oven, cover with foil and rest for at least 20 minutes before carving.

For Shepherd, a resting time of at least 60 minutes is best.

Great British Menu legend Lisa Goodwin-Allen, executive chef at one-starred Northcote, says a leftfield choice might be to cook the turkey on the BBQ instead of in the oven.

“Not only does it give you more space in the oven on a busy Christmas Day, but it also gives the meat a lovely smoky flavour that adds an extra dimension to your Christmas dinner,” she says.

Turkey alternatives

Most of the chefs we spoke to aren’t fans of turkey.

“It has its place but there is a reason we only tend to eat it once a year,” says Dilling. “As a large bird with a low fat content, it can very easily become dry.”

For him, goose is “an incredible and underrated bird” as it’s a simple roast and full of delicious fat – which has the bonus of making your roasties super tasty.

Benjamin Ferra Y Castell, head chef at one-starred Pavyllon in London, recommends guinea fowl.

“Many people overcook poultry to be sure it’s done, but that can dry it out,” he says. “The trick is to cook it in two stages.”

For a 1.2 kg guinea fowl…

• Season well with salt, pepper and butter for extra flavour;
• Roast it at 200C with the fan on for about 45 minutes until golden and crispy, basting it while it cooks;
• Once the breast is cooked, remove the legs and cook them for another 15 minutes. If you’re unsure, use a cooking thermometer – when the thickest part of the breast reaches 57C, take it out and let it rest for 10 minutes. It’ll continue to cook and reach 63C, which is perfect for poultry. Don’t worry about the legs; they’ll stay juicy due to the collagen in the meat.

Lisa Goodwin-Allen’s perfect roasties

Before we get to this, we need to decide what potatoes to use. Benjamin Ferra Y Castell likes Ratte potatoes as “they’re small, cook quickly, and are full of flavour”. For Hrishikesh Desai, it has to be Maris Piper.

As for how to cook them, here’s Goodwin-Allen’s guide uncut…

“You want a good chipping potato that’s going to be light and fluffy on the inside and good texture on the outside.

“I don’t use just regular water – I take water, duck fat, a couple of crushed garlic cloves and tie some rosemary up, bring it to the boil and let it simmer for at least two hours or overnight to get a lot of flavour into the water.

“When that’s ready I put the potatoes in, bring it to boil and then simmer them until they’re partially done. You should be able to just slip your knife through them. I then take them out and fluff them up. A great little tip here is to mix a bit of rice flour with garlic granules and dust them, then put them onto a tray.

“Then, you want to freeze them! Freezing them breaks down the carbohydrate inside them which is going to help them turn out perfectly.

“When you bring them back, put a tray of duck fat into the oven – get it really nice and hot. This can be done from frozen. When you put them in, they should really sizzle because you want them to fry, not boil. You could also fry them (three to four minutes from frozen, then take them out and fry again for 15 minutes before serving). They will be nice and crispy on the outside and really decadent and fluffy on the inside. That’s what a good roast potato is all about.”

Jean Delport, executive chef at one-starred Restaurant Interlude in West Sussex, adds a knob of butter to his duck fat to ensure they get super crispy. A common tip is to get the fat up to temperature, 220C, before putting the roasties in.

Delport says you need to shake them, both initially and at 15-minute intervals, to prevent sticking.

Tom Shepherd adds minced garlic after cooking.

Other veg

The Shepherds will be having creamed cabbage.

“It’s a winner in our house,” he says, revealing his method…

• Grab a humble white cabbage, remove the root and slice as thinly as possible;
• Boil in salted water until softened, and chill
• Meanwhile, reduce a pan of double cream with garlic and thyme in by half, and whisk in some grated parmesan, season with salt and pepper, and reintroduce the cabbage to the mix – you won’t regret it.

Niklas Ekstedt, Michelin-starred chef and owner at Ekstedt at The Yard in Westminster, roasts root vegetables like parsnips, carrots and beets with a drizzle of teriyaki sauce and some ginger.

“The sticky sauce and fresh ginger adds a real depth of flavour that elevates the vegetables for a delicious side dish,” he says.

How do you make Brussels sprouts taste nice?

Brussels sprouts absorb a lot of water so do not boil them, says Dilling.

Instead, cut them in half and mix them with duck fat, bacon lardons, garlic and herbs. Roast them till charred and tender.

Gravy

Ferra Y Castell shares his recipe…

• 100g diced shallots
• 3g cracked black pepper
• 60g soy sauce
• 140g sherry vinegar

“Reduce these ingredients in a pan until nearly dry,” he says. “Then, add the reduction to a good beef stock, add a dash of cognac, and you’ll have a rich, flavourful gravy.”

Shepherd says “the tray you roast your meat on is like gold dust”.

Add onions for your meat to sit on and some roughly chopped carrots, he says. Once the meat is resting, you can get going.

“I begin with placing the tray on the stove and heat,” he says. “Add a little garlic and flour, cook that out until no longer clumpy and start by deglazing the tray with a glass of wine, then once that has evaporated, add some meat stock, ideally the same stock as your chosen meat, ie, beef or turkey. Boil that and reduce to a gravy consistency, pass through a sieve and enjoy.”

‘Unbelievable’ stuffing

This one comes from Dilling – or rather his mum.

“She always used to make a sage, pork and onion stuffing with lots of celery and good homemade chicken stock,” he says. “She would put it in a gratin dish and bake it in the oven. Crisp on top and soft underneath. Just writing this I am salivating. Unbelievable.”

Yorkshire puddings – yes or no?

Delport is firmly in the no camp.

“Not for me. I’m not their biggest fan, but for Christmas there are too many other options I would rather add to our selection,” he says.

Shepherd takes the opposite view.

“Yorkshire puddings are essential with any roast dinner, especially at Christmas!” he says. “A non-negotiable!”

If you’re with Shepherd and fancy making your own, here’s a recipe courtesy of one of the best chefs in Yorkshire, James Mackenzie from the one-starred Pipe and Glass Inn…

Ingredients (makes 10)

• Six eggs
• 300ml full fat milk
• 260g plain flour
• Goose or duck fat or beef dripping, or rapeseed oil if preferred
• Salt and freshly ground white pepper

Method

• Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4;
• Place the eggs and milk into a mixing bowl and whisk together, sieve the flour in and mix with a hand blender until you’ve got a smooth batter. Leave to stand for at least 10 minutes;
• In a 12-hole baking tray, place a tablespoon of fat into each mould and put in the oven until smoking hot;
• Season the batter immediately before you pour it into the smoking hot tray – this will stop the salt breaking down the egg and your puddings will rise really well;
• Fill up 10 moulds nearly full around the edge of the tray, leaving two moulds in the middle free to allow the heat to circulate evenly;
• Bake for 35 minutes and don’t be tempted to open the oven door earlier or they will collapse.

Dessert

Delport offers his guests a massive cheeseboard, with a variety of sweet things alongside, while Shepherd likes a homemade tiramisu – but suggests leaving Christmas pudding to the experts…

“No one beats Marks & Spencer for me,” he says.

For a leftfield choice, Ekstedt suggests Risgrynsgröt (rice pudding).

“It’s a Swedish classic, but I like to add a little twist. I sometimes serve it with a salted caramel sauce or some roasted nuts – it’s delicious and full of nostalgia.”

Leftovers

“My favourite part,” says Shepherd.

His suggestion is piling hot turkey, stuffing, creamed cabbage and roast potato into a sandwich or Yorkie pudding, with a hot pot of gravy on the side to dip it in.

“Incredible,” he says.

Desai, however, has a different philosophy…

“Don’t have any leftovers, just eat it all, you get Christmas only once a year!”