Not long now til turkey time! With this in mind, Mark Doe, of ‘Just Cooking’ Cookery School in Firies, gives us his top tips for a stress-free Christmas lunch…

Christmas lunch often means a lot of stress if you are the one cooking for friends and family.

I think this comes from cooking for a large crowd that you want to impress and then you have the added stress of cooking that all-important turkey to perfection without over or under cooking it.

I have cooked my  turkey on the BBQ over the last few  years and the results are outstanding, even though I am sure the neighbours think I am a little mad!

Continued below…

Timings are the most important part of preparing your festive lunch, and below are a few tips for getting them spot on. I have also included a recipe for my favourite stuffing, which you can use to stuff the neck of the turkey or it can be rolled into small balls and roasted separately.

• Roast your turkey for 25 minutes per pound and have the turkey covered foil for most of the cooking.

• For the final 30-40 minutes of cooking time, remove the foil, turn up the oven and baste the turkey regularly with the fat and juices.

• Once the turkey is cooked remove from a tray and place on a large tray or plate. Cover tightly with tin foil and allow the turkey to rest for 45 minutes. It will stay piping hot and the resting allows the juices to go back through the turkey. This gives you a super moist turkey that is easy to carve. You can make your gravy using the juices from the roasting tray.

• Allowing the turkey to rest means that you have plenty of oven space to cook your roast potatoes and roast vegetables. There is no need to cook these until the turkey is removed from the oven.

• Sprouts only take 6-8 minutes to cook, so this should be your last job. Once the sprouts are cooked, toast some almonds in a pan with a good knob of butter. Toss the sprouts through the butter and season well before serving.

• Serve all of your vegetables and potatoes in large bowls in the middle of the table. This means there is less stress when it comes to plating up your Turkey and enables your guests to help themselves.

• Once the turkey reaches a core temperature of 75c in the thickest part of the turkey it is safe to consume. A digital food probe is a great investment for getting the turkey just right.

Just cooking would like to wish you all a very happy and tasty Christmas, and remember to enjoy the day even if you are cooking the Christmas Lunch.

Smoked bacon, sage and cranberry stuffing

Makes enough stuffing for a 7kg (14-15lb) turkey.

• 500g sausage meat

• 300g fresh breadcrumbs

• 300g cooked chestnuts, roughly chopped

• 150g butter

• 2 large onions, chopped

• 100g dried cranberries

• Salt and pepper

• 250g smoked bacon, chopped

• A good pinch of dried sage

Method

1.  Melt the butter in a pan and add bacon and add the onions, cranberries, dried sage and smoked bacon.

2.  Slowly cook, without colouring, until soft (approx 5 to 6 minutes).

3.  Add the chestnuts and breadcrumbs and mix through well.

4.  Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.

5.  Mix through the sausage meat and season with salt and pepper.