Plan your Christmas lunch

Feeeze ahead

• Assemble our vegan beetroot & squash Wellingtons with kale pesto and freeze.
• Prep your sauces with this prosecco & wild mushroom gravy and ruby cranberry sauce, and freeze.

Four days before:

Salt the turkey

• Salt the turkey legs and wings, using our brined roast turkey crown & confit legs recipe.
• Make this ham hock & pistachio roll and keep in the fridge.

Three days before:

Confit the legs and wings

• Use our brined roast turkey crown & confit legs recipe to confit the turkey legs and wings. Then cool and leave in the fridge, covered with fat.

Two days before:

Prepare the trimmings

• Prepare our crispy traybake stuffing and chill.
• Make this bread sauce and chill.
• Braise and chill this red cabbage.

Christmas eve:

Turkey & potatoes

• Dry-brine the turkey crown using our brined roast turkey crown & confit legs.
• Boil, then chill the potatoes for these crunchy confit roast poatatoes.

Christmas Day 10am:

Prepare the vegetables

• Wash carrots to make our buttered baby carrots.
• Peel and boil parsnips for these honey-roasted parsnips.
• Prepare your classic pigs in blankets and put on a tray in the fridge, ready to roast later.

Christmas Day 11am:

Get the bird ready

• Take the turkey crown and confit out of the fridge. Remove the legs and wings form the duck fat and keep the fat to one side.
• Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5 just before 12pm.

Christmas Day 12pm:

Turkey time

• Roast the turkey crown in the oven for 1 hr 30 mins.

Christmas Day 12:30pm:

Prepare the roasties

• Put the duck fat in the oven to heat for roasting the potatoes.
• After 10 mins, put the potatoes in the hot duck fat and roast for 1 hr 20 mins.

Christmas Day 1:10pm:

Plate up starters

• Take the cranberry sauce out of the fridge to bring to room temperature.
• Make the pickled shallots, apple balls and dressing for the ham hock & pistachio roll. Plate up the starter, ready to serve at 2pm.

Christmas Day 1:20pm:

Roast the vegetables

• Roast the parsnips for 40 mins.
• Take the turkey crown out of the oven, transfer to a platter and leave to rest for at least 30 mins.

Christmas Day 1:30pm:

Veggie option and pigs and pigs in blankets

• Reheat the legs and wings in the oven for 30 mins.
• Bake the Wellingtons (if using) from chilled or frozen for 25-30 mins.
• Bake the stuffing and roast pigs in blankets for 30 mins.

Christmas Day 1:40pm:

The final fourishes

• Cook the Brussels sprouts and carrots for 20 mins.
• Reheat the red cabbage, gravy and bread sauce. Everything will now stay warm in a hot kitchen for 15 mins while you eat the starter.

Christmas Day 2pm:

Enjoy your lunch

• Enjoy the starter with your guests, then serve the main course with all the trimmings.

Enjoyed this Christmas plan? Find more festive recipes...

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