26 gamechanging tips for the best ever Christmas dinner
- Barney Desmazery
Published: October 28, 2026 at 12:35 PM
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Barney Desmazery shares advice from over 25 years of Christmas cooking to take your festive feast to the next level
The turkey
Buy the best you can afford
The quality of turkey can differ massively, so we suggest buying the best you can afford. If you can stretch to buying straight from the farm or choosing a turkey with good provenance, it will make all the difference in terms of flavour and texture. A good value option is to buy a higher welfare or organic turkey that’s frozen, rather than a same-price fresh turkey that’s lower quality.
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Dry-brine ahead
By simply seasoning your turkey at least four hours ahead (a day is better, and up to two days is best), you season it throughout, not just on the surface. The salt initially draws moisture out of the turkey, then that moisture dissolves the salt before being reabsorbed into the meat.
Leave the skin uncovered
Once seasoned, leave the turkey uncovered in the fridge. Just as when making crackling or crispy duck skin, drying the surface helps the skin brown and crisp up when you roast it.
Do not cover
Old-fashioned recipes had you cover the breast with all manner of fancy bacon weaving. Although this does impart flavour, it’s unnecessary and just stops the turkey skin from browning, leaving you with anaemic-looking skin and crispy bacon.
Remove from the fridge ahead of time
This is a step I’d often overlooked until testing this year’s turkey. Bringing the bird out of the fridge ahead of roasting meant it cooked remarkably quickly, with our 5kg turkey needing only around an hour and a half, and the succulence was off the scale. This was also a well-reared but previously frozen turkey, which we defrosted and dry-brined for four hours.
The theory is that if the turkey isn’t fridge-cold when it goes into the oven, it takes less time for the heat to penetrate to the centre. By the time the middle is cooked, the surface has had less time to dry out, so everything cooks more evenly and stays juicy – especially if you’ve dry-brined it.
Start hot, then turn it down
An initial blast of high heat gives the turkey skin a head start on colour and crispness. Lowering the oven afterwards allows the meat to cook gently and evenly.
Get the heat underneath
If you have one, sitting the turkey on a roasting rack or trivet means the hot air from the oven can circulate underneath. You’ll get more even cooking and better browning, rather than a pale, soggy underside.
Trust a thermometer, not the clock
The turkey’s size, shape and starting think, using a probe thermometer to decide when it’s ready rather than looking at the time. For maximum succulence, cook your turkey until the thickest part reaches at least 70C for 2 mins, then leave it to rest.
Give it a proper rest
A turkey is a dense protein that will retain heat for longer than you think in a warm kitchen. Give it at least 30 mins, but it will still be hot in the middle after an hour. Resting allows the juices to settle back into the meat – rather than ending up on the board or platter – makes the turkey easier to carve and, importantly, gives you some breathing space to finish everything else. Don’t cover the turkey while it rests (no foil, no tea towel required) to ensure the skin stays crisp.
Rest it breast-side down
For an extra-succulent breast, carefully turn the turkey so it’s breast-side down while it rests – then, the juices will run back towards the leanest part of the bird. Be aware, it will look a bit squashed when you turn it over again, so if aesthetics matter more to you than succulence, this is one to skip.
For turkey crackling
If the skin needs more crisping, remove it before carving, lay flat on a tray and return to a hot oven for a few minutes until brittle.
Turkey two ways
Of course, roasting the whole bird in one tray is what most of us do, but if you want to take a chef-like approach, you can remove the legs and cook them like confit duck, then roast the crown separately – that would make the best of both meats. The legs are at their juiciest slow-cooked, while the breast benefits from quicker roasting, with fantastically crisp skin on the crown. Find the recipe for this method on goodfood.com.
The gravy
Get ahead
To lower your stress levels, get the base of your gravy made ahead of time. Don’t get me wrong – we all know a great gravy can be made at the last minute from the roasting juices. But if you’re alone in the kitchen, cooking the most important meal of the year, there’s one thing that’s going to tip you over the edge while you’re trying to keep everything else warm: messing about with roux, reductions and sieving into pans. Do yourself a favour: make a batch of gravy and freeze it, even up to three months ahead. Then, feel smug when you get to that part of the cooking process. If you have vegetarians, make the base meat-free, then heat some as it is and finish the rest in the roasting tin, on the day, for everyone else. Gravy is also one of those things that tastes more rounded when made ahead and reheated.
Roast potatoes
Choose a floury variety
What type of potato you use for your roasties matters, as a waxy potato will never crisp up as well as a floury variety. Don’t buy generic ‘baking potatoes’ without checking the variety first. Our favourites for roasting are Maris Piper and King Edward, then Désirée or Rooster.
Steam-drying
Once your potatoes are par-boiled, drain them really well and leave them to steam-dry for a few minutes. Water is the enemy of crispness, so the drier they are before they hit the fat, the better the crust.
Dust for crust
Not essential, but for an extra-crunchy coating, a light dusting of plain flour – or cornflour for a gluten-free option (see p32) – gives you a thicker crunchy layer.
Fat matters
Goose fat and butter add flavour and give decent results, but if you’re after the crunchiest roasties, a neutral oil such as sunflower or vegetable is best, as it can get hot without burning, helping the potatoes crisp up on the outside before the centres overcook.
Turn them first
Don’t simply tip the potatoes into hot oil and slide them straight into the oven, because then only the side touching the pan starts to crisp. Make sure the potatoes are completely coated in the hot oil by turning them with a spatula and drizzling a little more over any dry patches. That way, they’ll crisp evenly all over.
Give them room
However tempting it is to squeeze everything into one roasting tin, crowded potatoes will steam rather than roast. Give them enough space so that the hot air can circulate and every potato gets its share of the hot fat.
Take your time
Good roast potatoes take at least an hour, and don’t trust a recipe that tells you otherwise. If the potatoes have been evenly coated in oil, leave them undisturbed for the first 40 mins. Once they’ve established a crispy base, you can start turning them every 15-20 mins.
Brussels sprouts
Char don't boil
Brussels sprouts have a bad reputation because boiling them in the traditional way can make them taste sulphurous. Instead of putting them anywhere near water, halve and sizzle them gently in butter or bacon fat until they start to char around the edges, but still have a bit of bite in the middle. You’ll convert even the most hardened sprout-hater.
Red cabbage
Sweet and sour
When it comes to braising red cabbage, go big on the sweet and sour ingredients. You’re adding them almost as if you were making a chutney. This not only brings flavour, but adds a much-needed sharpness to the Christmas dinner plate overall.
Make ahead
Take a task off the big day list – red cabbage develops a deeper, more rounded flavour if it’s made ahead and reheated.
Roasted roots
Par-boil your roots
Root veg can be roasted from raw, but by the time the middle is cooked, the outside can be tough and leathery. The best way to stop this from happening is to treat them like a roast potato and par-boil them to give a much more even result.
Glaze towards the end
Honey, maple syrup and other sugary glazes can burn long before a root vegetable is tender. Get the veg almost cooked and golden first, then add the sweet stuff towards the end to caramelise, rather than catch.
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Stuffing
The benefit of bread
Most stuffing relies on a good amount of breadcrumbs, and the better the bread, the better the crumbs. Rather than just being a neutral filler, using a strong-flavoured bread such as sourdough or baguette means that flavour becomes part of the finished stuffing.
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