Cooking your Christmas meal has got to be up there in terms of the most stressful events, but you shouldn’t let the heat ruin your turkey.
From the sprouts to the three kinds of potatoes, trimmings and stuffing, the pressure is on for everything to taste amazing.
But we all know the turkey is the star of the show, which most people are messing up because they’re doing one taboo thing.
According to Rick Stein, celebrity chef and television star, it’s harder to cook the festive meal at home than in a restaurant.
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“When you’re cooking at home, you have to do everything,” he told the Independent.
“Therefore your timing has to be really good. In a restaurant kitchen, you’re doing four or five things really, and nothing else; also, they’re all part of the same course.”
The chef was out in full force to promote his first-ever festive cookbook, called Rick Stein’s Christmas, which shows people how to get the best Xmas dinner, without the stress.
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One thing he mentioned that could be used to save everyone a few tears is: “Don’t leave everything until Christmas morning, there are many, many things that you think need to be done at the last minute – they really don’t.”
But there’s one thing he said that could change lives.
“I think Christmas is special in that it is about celebrating the same things or every year,” said Stein. “I really quite like the repetitiveness because it only comes around once a year. So turkey or goose with all the trimmings is what it’s all about. I would feel like I’d sort of let people down if it was just roast beef, even if it was absolutely wonderful roast beef.”
But what is the biggest mistake people make with their turkey?
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“Overcooking it,” he said. “It’s just a big chicken, really. The biggest mistake is getting too nervous and overcooking it. People worry they’re going to get food poisoning if it’s undercooked, which is very, very unlikely.”
So, how do you fix it?
“Buy yourself an oven temperature probe to make sure you don’t overcook it. I think the safe temperature for a turkey is something like 70C. Once you start going over that, you get this problem with dry meat,” the chef advises, adding: “I do suggest wrapping the turkey in buttered muslin [but] it’s really about not cooking it too long.”
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He also shared a secret to the best roast potatoes you’ll ever taste.
You can parboil the potatoes for seven minutes, shake them in a pan, pop a bit of ‘polenta or semolina’ and select a good quality spud.
To be honest, it all sounds lush.
Britt Jones