Darina Allen's foolproof guide to a stress-free Christmas dinner with traditional recipes

From the turkey to the cranberry sauce - Darina Allen has you covered this holiday season
Darina Allen's foolproof guide to a stress-free Christmas dinner with traditional recipes

Traditional Christmas turkey: served up the Darina Allen way

Throughout the month of December…

Order a free-range turkey or goose directly from the farmer or your local butcher.

Stock up on drinks and alcohol. Take advantage of deals when you can find them. I’m a big fan of natural biodynamic wines. 

Check out winesdirect.ie, Le Caveau, Brian’s Wines, L’atitude51, or Colm McCan at the pop-up wine shop at the Ballymaloe Grainstore on Saturday afternoons (@colmmccan on Instagram).

If you order your groceries online, book your delivery slot as far in advance as possible.

Buy a large square of butter muslin for wrapping the turkey.

Make some chicken stock, freeze for gravy and soups.

If you fancy a traditional rich Christmas cake and plum pudding, now is the time to make them. Make a few pots of mincemeat, cranberry sauce, and plum pudding sauce or brandy butter.

One week before…

Get on with Christmas shopping, stock up with all the dry goods you need until the shops reopen after St Stephen’s Day.

Order Golden Wonders or Kerrs Pink potatoes for the best roast spuds ever, stock up on root vegetables and order fresh vegetables from your local shops and farmers market stall to be collected on the day before Christmas Eve.

Check your kitchen kit. Do you have enough saucepans, serving dishes, plates, glasses, etc to make your life easy? It’s too late to discover you’re missing something on Christmas morning. 

If you have chosen a frozen turkey, remove it from the freezer a few days before Christmas to allow it to defrost slowly in the fridge.

It sounds old-fashioned, but we love saucy celery with our Christmas turkey, so perhaps make a batch ahead and freeze.

It could be good to check and tidy your cupboards to make sure there’s space for all the extra food and kit.

Make your favourite turkey or goose stuffing and freeze.

Make a batch of syrup for homemade lemonade (450g sugar to 600ml water and boil for 2 minutes) and don’t forget to make a pot of brandy butter.

On December 23, collect all the pre-ordered fresh produce from the local shops and farmers market, maybe pick up last-minute treats…

Christmas Eve

There’s still time to make the stuffing if you haven’t made it earlier and of course bread sauce. Peel, boil, and fluff up the potatoes in readiness for tomorrow. Cool, cover, and keep in the fridge.

Prepare the Brussels sprouts, half or quarter sprouts, blanch, and refresh. Drain, chill and cover in the fridge. Wash the trimmings and save, maybe freeze for soup on another day.

Cook a fine piece of streaky bacon, glaze, and cool (see recipe).

Brine the turkey for extra flavour. Transfer the frozen stuffing and the saucy celery from the freezer to the fridge.

Set the table, if possible. Fill the house with holly, tinsel, and Christmas decorations.

Christmas Day…

Christmas dinner served at 2pm ish — adjust timing if you’d prefer to eat later.

8am: Take the turkey out of the brine, drain. Remove the stuffing from the fridge.

9.30am: Preheat the oven, stuff the turkey, wrap completely in butter soaked muslin. Cook the turkey long and slowly in the preheated oven.

10.30am: If possible, gather a bit of help around you. If not already done, set the table, do any remaining prep such as peeling and chopping.

1pm: Remove the turkey from the oven, test to make sure it’s cooked through. Transfer to the serving dish, cover tightly and leave to rest. Drain the meat juices from the roasting tin and skim off the fat. Deglaze the roasting tin with stock to make the gravy, pour into a saucepan.

Reheat the glazed bacon.

Increase the heat in the oven, toss the prepared potatoes in the turkey or goose fat or olive oil. Season well with salt, pepper and maybe a sprinkling of chopped rosemary or thyme leaves and turn frequently while roasting. Cook the sprouts.

1.45pm: Add the whipped cream to the plum pudding sauce and chill.

Put the plum pudding on to steam, it will take approximately an hour by which time the main course should be about finished.

2pm: Heat the plates and serving bowls. If you don’t have oven space, fill the sink with hot water. Call in favours to help to bring food to the table or sideboard. Eat, drink, be merry, and give thanks for many blessings.

3.40pm: Heat the dessert plates. Remove the plum puddings from the bowl. Serve on very hot plates with lots of sauce or brandy butter. Alternatively, serve cheese, trifle, or another family favourite. Pull the crackers. Ask a few friends to clear, play some music, flop onto the sofa and have a well-deserved rest and enjoy!

Glazed Streaky or Loin of Bacon

recipe by:Darina Allen

Note: We use loin of bacon off the bone in this recipe

Glazed Streaky or Loin of Bacon

Preparation Time

30 mins

Cooking Time

1 hours 35 mins

Total Time

2 hours 5 mins

Course

Main

Ingredients

  • Cover the bacon in cold water and bring slowly to the boil, if the bacon is very salty there will be a white froth on top of the water, in this case it is preferable to discard this water. It may be necessary to change the water several times depending on how salty the bacon is, finally cover with hot water and simmer until almost cooked, allow 25-30 minutes approx. to the lb. Remove the rind, score the fat into a diamond pattern, and stud with cloves. Blend brown sugar to a thick paste with a little pineapple juice, 3-4 tablespoons approx., be careful not to make it too liquid. Spread this over the bacon.

  • Choose a small low sided gratin dish or roasting pan that barely fits the joint, otherwise the glaze will just burn on the tin. Bake in a fully preheated hot oven 250°C/Gas Mark 9 until the top has caramelised – baste the bacon 3 or 4 times during this time. It will take 10 – 15 minutes approximately to caramelise. Remove to a carving dish. Carve in thin slices lengthwise so each slice includes some of the eye of the loin and streaky bacon.

Method

  1. Cover the bacon in cold water and bring slowly to the boil, if the bacon is very salty there will be a white froth on top of the water, in this case it is preferable to discard this water. It may be necessary to change the water several times depending on how salty the bacon is, finally cover with hot water and simmer until almost cooked, allow 25-30 minutes approx. to the lb. Remove the rind, score the fat into a diamond pattern, and stud with cloves. Blend brown sugar to a thick paste with a little pineapple juice, 3-4 tablespoons approx., be careful not to make it too liquid. Spread this over the bacon.

  2. Choose a small low sided gratin dish or roasting pan that barely fits the joint, otherwise the glaze will just burn on the tin. Bake in a fully preheated hot oven 250°C/Gas Mark 9 until the top has caramelised – baste the bacon 3 or 4 times during this time. It will take 10 – 15 minutes approximately to caramelise. Remove to a carving dish. Carve in thin slices lengthwise so each slice includes some of the eye of the loin and streaky bacon.

Old-Fashioned Roast Turkey with all the Trimmings

recipe by:Darina Allen

This is my favourite roast stuffed turkey recipe. Even after all these years, this buttery fresh herb stuffing is still my absolute favourite.

Old-Fashioned Roast Turkey with all the Trimmings

Servings

12

Course

Main

Ingredients

  • Fresh Herb Stuffing

  • 350g chopped onions

  • 175g butter

  • 400-500g approx. soft breadcrumbs made from good bread. (check that the bread is non-GM) (or approximately 600g gluten-free breadcrumbs)

  • 50g freshly chopped herbs, e.g., parsley, thyme, chives, marjoram, savoury, lemon balm

  • salt and freshly ground pepper

  • Turkey Stock

  • neck, gizzard, heart, wishbone and wing tips of turkey

  • 2 carrots, sliced

  • 2 onions, sliced

  • 1 stick celery

  • green part of a couple of leeks if available

  • bouquet garni

  • 3 or 4 peppercorns

  • For basting the turkey

  • 225g butter

  • large square of muslin (optional)

  • For the farnish large sprigs of fresh parsley or watercress

  • To Serve

  • Cranberry Sauce

  • Bread Sauce

Method

  1. Remove the wishbone from the neck end of the turkey, for ease of carving later. Using a tall, narrow saucepan, make a turkey stock by covering the neck, gizzard, heart, wishbone, wing tips, vegetables, bouquet garni and peppercorns with cold water. (Keep the liver for a smooth turkey liver pâté. Bring to the boil and simmer while the turkey is being prepared and cooked, 3 hours approx.

  2. To make the fresh herb stuffing: Sweat the onions gently in the butter until soft, for 10 minutes approx., on a low heat, then stir in the crumbs, herbs and a little salt and pepper to taste. Allow it to get quite cold. If necessary, wash and dry the cavity of the bird, then season and three-quarters fill with cold stuffing. Put the remainder of the stuffing into the crop at the neck end, or you may decide to do a different stuffing.

  3. Either way, tuck the remaining neck flap underneath the bird and secure with the wing tips.

  4. Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4.

  5. Weigh the turkey and calculate the cooking time. Allow 15 minutes approx. per 450g and 15 minutes over. Melt the butter for basting the turkey and soak a large piece of good quality muslin in the melted butter. Cover the turkey completely with the muslin and roast in a preheated moderate oven, for 2 ¾ -3 ¼ hours. There is no need to baste it because of the butter-soaked muslin. The turkey browns beautifully, but if you like it even browner, remove the muslin 10 minutes before the end of the cooking time.

  6. Alternatively, smear the breast, legs and crop well with soft butter and season well with salt and freshly ground pepper. If the turkey is not covered with butter-soaked muslin, then it is a good idea to cover the whole dish with a large sheet of parchment. However, your turkey will then be semi-steamed, not roasted in the traditional sense of the word.

  7. The turkey is cooked when the thigh juices run clear.

  8. To test, prick the thickest part at the base of the thigh and examine the juices: they should be clear. Remove the turkey to a carving dish, keep it warm and allow it to rest while you make the gravy.

  9. To make the gravy, spoon the surplus fat from the roasting pan. Deglaze the pan juices with fat-free stock from the giblets and bones. Using a whisk, stir and scrape well to dissolve the caramelised meat juices from the roasting pan. Boil it up well, season and thicken with a little roux if you like. Taste and correct the seasoning. Serve in a hot gravy boat.

  10. If possible, present the turkey on your largest serving dish, surrounded by crispy roast Potatoes and garnished with large sprigs of parsley or watercress and maybe a sprig of holly. Make sure no one eats the berries.

  11. Serve with Cranberry Sauce, Bread Sauce and Gravy.

Julia's Roast Potatoes

recipe by:Darina Allen

A classic Christmas side-dish.

Julia's Roast Potatoes

Preparation Time

20 mins

Cooking Time

45 mins

Total Time

1 hours 5 mins

Course

Side

Ingredients

  • 8 potatoes, unwashed Golden Wonders or Kerr’s Pinks

Method

  1. Choose medium to large potatoes of even size. Scrub and peel. Put into a saucepan, cover with cold salted water and bring to the boil. Drain thoroughly. Lightly scratch the surface with a fork and season with salt.

  2. Put the potatoes into smoking hot fat or olive oil. Baste occasionally. Cook until soft in a hot oven 230°C/Gas Mark 8 for 30-45 minutes depending on the size. Drain well on kitchen paper. Serve immediately.

  3. Alternatively, put the potatoes into smoking hot fat in the same tin as the meat, 40-45 minutes before the meat is fully cooked and baste well. Cook until soft. (Baste the potatoes when you baste the meat and turn them over after 25 minutes). Drain on kitchen paper and serve immediately.

Mummy’s Plum Pudding with Plum Pudding Sauce

recipe by:Darina Allen

My mother was a wonderful cook; her food was warm and comforting. This recipe makes 2 large or 3 medium puddings - the large will serve 10-12 people, the medium 6-8, but I also like to make teeny weeny ones.

Mummy’s Plum Pudding with Plum Pudding Sauce

Course

Baking

Ingredients

  • 350g raisins

  • 350g sultanas

  • 350g currants

  • 300g brown sugar

  • 350g good quality, non-GM white breadcrumbs

  • 350g finely chopped beef suet

  • 110g candied peel (preferably homemade)

  • 110g chopped almonds

  • 6 eggs, preferably free-range and organic

  • 2 Bramley’s Seedling cooking apples, coarsely grated

  • 62ml Jamaica Rum

  • rind of 1 unwaxed lemon

  • 3 pounded cloves, pounded (not ground cloves)

  • a pinch of salt

  • To Serve

  • Plum Pudding Sauce

  • For the Plum Pudding Sauce

  • 110g butter

  • 200g Barbados sugar (moist, soft, dark-brown sugar)

  • 1 organic egg, preferably free-range and organic

  • 62ml medium sherry

  • 62ml port 1.3-1.5 litres

  • lightly whipped cream

Method

  1. PLUM PUDDING:

  2. Mix all the ingredients together very thoroughly and leave overnight. Don't forget, everyone in the family must stir and make a wish! The next day, stir again for good measure and fill into pudding bowls. Cover with a double thickness of greaseproof paper that has been pleated in the centre and tie it tightly under the rim with cotton twine, making a twine handle also for ease of lifting.

  3. Steam in a covered saucepan of boiling water for 6 hours. The water should come halfway up the side of the bowl. Check every hour or so and top up with boiling water if necessary.

  4. After 6 hours (3 hours/2 hours depending on size of pudding), remove the pudding. Allow to get cold and re-cover with fresh greaseproof paper. Store in a cool dry place until required.

  5. On Christmas Day or whenever you wish to serve the plum pudding, steam for a further 2 hours. Turn the plum pudding out of the bowl onto a very hot serving plate, pour over some whiskey or brandy and ignite. Serve immediately on very hot plates with Plum Pudding Sauce or Brandy Butter.

  6. You might like to decorate the plum pudding with a sprig of holly; but take care not to set the holly on fire - as well as the pudding!

  7. PLUM PUDDING SAUCE:

  8. Melt the butter, stir in the sugar and allow to cool slightly. Whisk the egg and add to the butter and sugar with the sherry and port. Refrigerate.

  9. When needed, add the lightly whipped cream to taste.

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