Mary Berry’s top tips for your easiest ever Christmas dinner
When it comes to Christmas cooking, we need a helping hand from someone we can rely on, and Dame Mary Berry is certainly that. Britain’s most trusted cook has tips and tricks galore to help make cooking easier on the big day. In her new BBC One programme, Mary Berry Saves Christmas, she helps novice cooks take on the ultimate challenge of cooking their first Christmas dinner. Whether that’s you, or you’re just looking for tips on how to simplify things this year without making it any less special, we have all her advice right here.
Terrific turkey
“A turkey crown is perfect for the smaller gathering, easy to carve too”, says Mary. “You can buy the crown on or off the bone, I prefer it on the bone as it gives more flavour and helps the crown stand upright.” It makes little difference if it’s fresh or frozen, as long as it’s thoroughly defrosted before cooking (a large turkey can easily take four days to defrost in the fridge).
If you are stuffing your bird, weigh it once stuffed to calculate the cooking time.
Rubbing your turkey with Mary’s paprika-flavoured butter “gives a lovely golden colour”, and as one of the programme’s celebrity guests Tom Allen confirms, “the bacon lattice and herb rub are perfect ways of making sure the turkey isn’t dry and has a great flavour”. This means if it’s a little overcooked, it won’t matter.
To check your turkey is cooked through, pierce the thickest part with a skewer or knife – the juices should be clear with no traces of pink remaining. If it needs a little longer, return it to the oven for 20–30 minutes.
After cooking, “it’s so important to leave the turkey to rest. Tuck it up in foil and cover it with towels so you don’t lose any heat – this also stops it drying out”, says Mary. Rest it for at least 20 minutes, and up to 1 hour. The turkey will still be piping hot and it will give you time to make the gravy and roast everything else.
To guarantee gorgeous gravy, Mary adds chicken stock, white wine and leeks to the turkey roasting tray along with the bird. They combine with the meat juices to make a wonderfully easy base for your gravy. While the turkey is resting, simply mix a little flour with some fat from the roasting juices, then “continuously whisk as the liquid is added, otherwise it may become lumpy… You know the consistency is perfect when it coats the back of a spoon”, advises Mary.
Very good veggies
“To go with the turkey, I’ve chosen an easy, but decandent, side that saves you the worry of having lots of pots bubbling away at once.” Mary’s rich vegetable gratin can also be made in advance and doubles up as a main for vegetarians, so it’s a great way to reduce the cook’s work.
Mary’s Brussels sprouts are the classic green veg to serve with turkey. But, if you don’t enjoy sprouts, turn humble frozen peas into something special by cooking them, then tossing them in butter with cooked chestnuts or crisp bacon bits.
Showstopper desserts
If you’re looking for a wonderful dessert all the family can enjoy, a pavlova is unbeatable and a favourite of Mary’s. It looks really impressive and you can “make it 2–3 days in advance”, she says. This saves any last-minute worries, but as she advises, “don’t fill it until the day because the moisture will go into the meringue and make it soggy”. She adds cornflour and a dash of vinegar to the meringue to make it easier to shape and cook. Change the fruit topping to whatever your family enjoys, from tropical fruit or berries to pears.
If meringue isn’t your thing, Mary has plenty of other easy desserts to keep everyone happy. Take your pick from a classic boozy trifle, decadent chocolate pud, or yule log.
Mary Berry Saves Christmas is on BBC One on Wednesday 23 December at 6.30pm.
