Stress busters for Christmas
November 30, 2022Stress busters for Christmas
Food safety & healthy eating on the Island of Ireland | safefood
What to do ahead for a stress-free Christmas
Things to do in early December
1. Plan the menu
Make a list of who’s coming for dinner, so you know how many you’re feeding and whether you need to cater for any dietary restrictions. Once you have this information you can create the menu and start calculating how much food you need to buy. Are you going to have a traditional turkey dinner? Perhaps a turkey crown or boned and rolled turkey would be better? Do you need to have a vegetarian option? How will you use leftovers, and do you need other ingredients for leftover meals?
2. Check what you have in your kitchen cupboard
It’s all too easy to fill your shopping trolley with “just in case” items because you’ve forgotten what you have in store. Herbs and spices, honey, mustard, flour, sugar, jelly, custard, stock cubes – all these non-perishable items may well be languishing at the back of your kitchen cupboard. If you find they’re not, put them on your Christmas shopping list. You can limit the amount of shopping you need to do nearer the big day by adding them to a weekly shop well in advance.
3. Save your stale bread
Instead of throwing out bread that’s past its best, get the breadcrumbs you need for stuffing by first letting it dry out completely and then blitz it in a food processer. If you don’t have a food processor, using a grater is easy if you freeze the slices first. Breadcrumbs will keep for months in the freezer, or up to a week in the fridge.
The week before Christmas day
4. Get the fridge ready
Fridge storage space is at a premium at Christmas time, so at least a week ahead of Christmas day start getting your fridge ready. Make a plan for when to eat everything that’s in there, so nothing will go to waste in a clearout before the big shop.
Once you’ve cleared enough space for your Christmas shopping, give it a good clean with warm soapy water and rearrange the shelves to make room for your turkey. Whether you’re using a fresh or frozen turkey you will need space to store it in a covered dish on the bottom shelf so drips won’t land on ready-to-eat foods. This could spread germs leaving these foods unsafe to eat.
For extra fridge space, store vegetables and drinks (except milk & fruit juices) in a cool place. If you have a sealed container to put them in, these can even be kept outside. Root vegetables will be fine in a cupboard.
5. Make a to do list and delegate the jobs
Making Christmas dinner is just way too much for one person on one day. Chances are your Christmas dinner party will include at least some potential helpers. Divide up the different jobs according to age and ability and let everybody join in the fun of getting ready.
6. Make gravy
You could leave the gravy until the last minute to get those gorgeous juices from the turkey – tying yourself to the hob at just the time you need to be doing all those other pre-dinner things, or you could just make this delicious gravy up to a couple of weeks in advance and save yourself the stress. Store it in the freezer and take it out on Christmas Eve to defrost in the fridge. If you’d prefer to make it closer the time, it will keep in the fridge for three days.
7. Part-prep the roast potatoes
The last thing you need on Christmas day is another pot to go on the hob, but it’s true that part boiling the potatoes and roughing up the surface makes the best roasties. There’s no rule about when that part boiling has to happen though, so get it done when ever’s convenient. Boil them for around 10 minutes, and take them off the hob while they’re still a little firm. Transfer them to a tray and let them cool to room temperature. Before freezing, wipe them with a paper towel to make sure they’re completely dry. It’s best to put the whole tray in the freezer first – that way they won’t stick together. When they’re fully frozen you can transfer them into a freezer bag. Defrost them in the fridge on Christmas Eve.
8. Make the stuffing
We’d always recommend that you cook your stuffing outside of the turkey, because it means you won’t have to cook your turkey for as long, which saves your turkey meat drying out. That way you’re better able to tell when both are properly cooked. So stuffing is one more thing you can cook and freeze ahead of time. Try this classic sage and onion stuffing recipe.
If you do want to stuff the turkey, our turkey cooking calculator will tell you how long to cook it for.
Three days before Christmas
9. 22nd December is turkey time
This is when you need to start thinking about your turkey. If you’re using a frozen turkey you need to give yourself enough time to defrost it. Allow 24 hours for every 4-5 pounds / 2-2.5kg. If you’ve a 7.5kg / 15lb turkey, it can take up to 3 days to defrost so you should start defrosting on December 22nd. The best way to defrost it is to place it on a dish or tray on the bottom shelf of your fridge. A fresh turkey stored in your fridge should be cooked within 2 days of buying it so, unless your turkey is frozen or you’re going to freeze it, avoid bringing it home before the 23rd of December. If the turkey is vacuum-packed, you can follow the use-by date.
If in doubt, check out our turkey defrosting time table below:
| Size of turkey | Defrosting time in fridge |
|---|---|
| 8-12 lbs / 3.5 – 5.5kg | 2- 3 days |
| 12-14 lbs / 5.5 – 6.5 kg | 3 – 3 ½ days |
| 14-18 lbs / 6.5 – 8kg | 4 – 4 ½ days |
| 18-20 lbs / 8 – 9kg | 4 ½- 5 days |
| 20-24 lbs / 9 – 11kg | 5 – 6 days |
Whether cooking from fresh or defrosted, we recommend following our advice for cooking your turkey.
10. Prep the veg
Gather your helpers the day before Christmas to peel and chop your sprouts, carrots, parsnips, and any other vegetables you’re having. Store them in pans of cold water on the countertop.
Don’t forget to take out anything you made ahead and stored in the freezer!
11. Have ham for dinner on Christmas Eve
Christmas ham needs to be boiled before glazing and roasting and if you’re cooking a large ham that can take hours. It’s a job you can do without on Christmas day. If you cook enough for a ham dinner on Christmas Eve, your Christmas ham will be ready to glaze and pop in the oven while the turkey is resting on Christmas day.
12. Use ready-prepared foods
Things don’t always go to plan and there are no medals for cooking every scrap of Christmas dinner from scratch. The shops are full of all kinds of pre-prepared canapes, sides and even full dishes. Use the cooking instructions on packaging as a guide, but always check that the centre of the food is piping hot. And remember, if it’s pre-cooked, just heat what you are going to eat as leftovers shouldn’t be reheated.
What to do on Christmas day
All going to plan, on Christmas day all you’ll have left to do is put the turkey in the oven, set the table, and when the turkey is done and is resting, glaze the ham and pop it in the oven, cook the pre-prepped vegetables and reheat the gravy.
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