Do you roast your turkey on Christmas Eve ?

Its basically a roast dinner...not that challenging. I prepare all the veg the evening before..everything peeled and prepped. The Capon is always in a bucket of saline with herbs for 24 hours prior to roasting. Goes in the oven at 10....ready for 1.30 as I cook on high...that's a 12lb bird. I don't spent much time in the kitchen on Christmas morning as I just need to pop stuff in the oven or turn on the saucepans at allotted times. We had 10 people at the table last year...the benefit of getting older is experience. Ive been cooking Christmas dinners for over 40 years, if it wasn't simple by now, I would be doing something wrong!

I do. And I roast it upside down too. Started a few years ago when I was fed up of spending more time in the kitchen than with my children. We go to church first thing and, until she died three years ago, then went to my mums for bacon butties before all of us, mum included, going back to ours. I was always fretting to get back to make sure the bird was ok. It also frees up the oven for everything else and gives the juices from the Turkey time to settle before I make the gravy. Also , it is much easier to carve cold. Having said that, I have just got a new oven so maybe I could learn to set the timer and cook it overnight. Though there isn't much difference between overnight and the afternoon before.

Wot! No bred sauce? As soon as the turkey loaf is out of its tin, straight into the microwave, no time for "resting", same with veggies then smothered with lashings of bread sauce spiced up with whatever is your favourite heart-starter!
Yummy!

elastic
Boxing Day!?

No, always cooked in the morning. Once it is in the oven it needs very little attention, just occasional basting. If everything is prepped the night before it is not too time consuming.

Have to have turkey crown delivered on 21st. No other date available. Would you freeze it till 23rd than thaw out for Christmas Day? Thank you!

I know some people do this, but TBH the idea of pre-cooking and warming up slices in gravy appals me!
Our turkey has to come to the table freshly cooked (and rested) in all its golden glory.

Mind you we don't have Christmas dinner until around 5 pm, which makes for far less of a mad rush in the kitchen, and no getting up early just to put the turkey in.

How anyone manages a 1 pm Christmas dinner for anything like a crowd, or is even ready for it then, I really can't understand.

I also watched Jamie Oliver and had lost the will to live by the time he had finished! He did most of it on Christmas Eve, I think I would be too shattered to enjoy Christmas Day after prepping all that lot
I'm cooking my 33rd Christmas dinner and will be cutting corners non stop. Turkey will be forgotten about in the oven while I play with the grandchildren and hope for the best

Yes always. We usually have a three or four bird roast, and it takes up a lot of space in the oven.

Cooked a day or two in advance, left to go cold, then sliced and packed in foil - two or three slices per pack, so we can reheat as many portions as wanted and save the rest for sandwiches.

That leave the oven free on Christmas day for roast potatoes, parsnips, stuffing etc, and the meat goes in the steamer where it reheats to a very high temperature and stays moist.

I've been doing that for about 30 years and no one's had food poisoning yet

I did my turkey crown 2 days in advance and basted it with butter to keep it moist whilst cooking ? advice from the internet
All I had to do was worry about the veg then on the day ...

HurdyGurdy
Great advice ... sorry just saw this

My mum always cooked it on Christmas Day. I have never cooked a turkey I’m a vegetarian. My SIL freezes parts of the cooked turkey to use in curries and pies. Is this safe ?

Definitely not, I don’t want to give people food poisoning. My ex MIL like Xmas dinner early so, pre kids, I used to put the turkey, covered in streaky, bacon, on a very low oven setting when we got in from Xmas Eve revels about 3am.

No - I did the roast pots the day before one year and heated them on the days - they were ghastly!

Up bright and early on Xmas morning cooking dinner and we eat after the Queen's speech.

Always on Christmas Eve, then when cooked put it in a cool place until the heat's out of it, then put it in the fridge. I've never warmed fowl up, ever and as Calistemon said, no hot gravy poured onto it either.

In the morning I make the bread sauce and mix the stuffing. Apple sauce is out of a jar this year. Because I'm on my own, the veggies can be organised tomorrow.

The heavily buttered crown is in the oven now, so the cats will be congregating, as they do, when something's in the oven-----I'm sure they think it's for them .

Christmas pud to follow. I had to get a big one from M&S the other day as no individual ones left so I'll just scoop out what I need each time. with either white sauce or thick cream.
That'll be me sorted.

No, I wouldn't do this, poultry breast is never the same if you reheat it in the microwave and if there are 6 or more people you'd be eating in relays as each plate takes a few minutes to heat.
Also I think that bringing the whole bird to the table is part of the enjoyment of the day.
I've done it with pheasant breast though, braised in a big oven tray to keep it moist so it reheats easily. I serve this with precooked roasted vegetables and heat it all together in the oven. It's delicious with mashed potato to soak up the juices.
I think that precooked turkey might work though if you cook a turkey crown on the day, but precook thighs and reheat in gravy.

My turkey is in the oven early on Christmas morning, to be ready for 12:30 lunch.

All the prep is done the day before, even table set, so really no problem. I am lucky enough to have 2 ovens, so stuffing can be done in another oven if the bird is really big (which it usually is). The potatoes are mashed, so don't need the oven.

Goodness no. What a fag that would be.
How long do these turkeys take to cook? The turkey breast I buy which serves 6-8 takes two hours.

Always… Turkey crown, large beef joint all cooked this morning, now carved with some of the juices drizzled over ready to warm through tomorrow. Cauliflower cheese prepped, will prep veg and make gravy later. Sherry trifle also made this morning for Sunday, much less stress tomorrow and can enjoy the day more.

I am very surprised at the amount of people reheating the turkey, it’s really dangerous unless it is very thoroughly heated.

It’s a Sunday roast with a few extras and as it’s happy to sit for an hour it is easy to do all the trimmings while the meat rests.

I just spent the morning chopping all the veg and I have put little dishes with chutneys etc on the table all set for tomorrow. I made the stuffing and red cabbage I never had bread sauce growing up so I don’t serve it.
I cooked the gammon earlier today I will cook the turkey in the morning and put the roasties and parsnips in the last hour.
Our DD will be here with SIL our granddaughter and SIL mum. We are spending Boxing Day with our DS DIL and twins and and his MIL. It’s just small family groups as a lot of people are staying in their own homes.
A merry Christmas to everyone and a healthy happy new year????

As we speak. It was my Mum's custom, and I've continued it, even though I'm only cooking for me and the dogs.

My mum always used to cook ours the night before and the sprouts used to start cooking about 11.00 ready for Christmas dinner at 3 .00 lucky I decided not to carry that tradition on

Nope. The Gammon will be done today and DH will be cooking the turkey tomorrow whilst I sort out washing and dressing my mother as we have no carers in and my sister, who was going to do the nicer bits (she doesn't do whiffy nappies or anything revolting) after I'd done the worst, has cried off. Hey ho!

No we eat in the evening so plenty of time on the day. Cook the turkey - put it in the hot trolley and then do the rest of the veg etc.