Three main Christmas dinner recipes: From turkey and the trimmings to five bird roast

From the traditional to the indulgent and alternative, here are three cracking options to serve up this year

Roast Bronze turkey with all the trimmings by Dominic Chapman

Roast turkey is always absolutely delicious at Christmas. First steamed with aromatics, then roasted until the skin is crisp, this roast turkey recipe results in a bird that is beautifully tender, moist and full of flavour. As well as apricot stuffing, serve cranberry and bread sauce with the turkey, along with plenty of beautiful vegetables and roast potatoes with lots of gravy

Cook: 4 hours 30 minutes, plus resting time

Serves 6

Roast Bronze turkey

6kg Bronze turkey
1 onion, peeled and halved
1 leek, halved
1 carrot, halved
3 bay leaves
½ bulb of garlic
1 litre water
2 celery sticks, halved
250g pancetta slices
10g thyme
170g soft butter
salt and pepper

Roast potatoes

1kg Maris Piper potatoes
Vegetable oil
Salt

Buttered carrots

1kg carrots, peeled and cut into even batons
250g butter
10g thyme
2 bay leaves

Apricot stuffing

1kg pork mince
150g dried apricots
150g white breadcrumbs
1 onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp herbes de Provence
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 tbsp brandy
Salt and pepper

Bread sauce

1 bay leaf
½ onion, studded with one clove
1 tbsp double cream
250ml milk
nutmeg, freshly grated to taste
100g white bread, crusts removed
Salt and pepper

Cranberry sauce

1kg cranberries
400ml orange juice
Zest of 2 oranges
Pinch of ground ginger
Pinch of mixed spice
Pinch of cinnamon
400g brown sugar

Pigs in blankets

12 chipolatas
12 slices streaky bacon

Gravy

1 carrot, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 celery stick, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
10g thyme
500ml red wine
1 litre chicken stock
500ml veal stock
50g butter

Brussels sprouts

1kg Brussels sprouts
250g butter
Salt and pepper

If you prefer, you can make the cranberry sauce, bread sauce and stuffing in advance – these can also be frozen a couple of weeks ahead to save time on the day.

For the cranberry sauce, place the orange juice and zest in a pan with the spices and simmer gently to reduce by half. Add the sugar and cranberries, bring to the boil and reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes so the fruit breaks down and stews. It may need another 5-10 minutes on this heat if it looks too thin​.

Taste for sweetness, then allow to cool before chilling in the fridge. Alternatively, place in a lidded container and freeze, then place in the fridge to defrost the night before using.

For the bread sauce, place the milk and the clove-studded onion into a pan with the bay leaf. Bring gently up to a simmer, then pass through a sieve onto the bread. Stir until the bread softens, then add the cream, nutmeg and seasoning. Leave to cool, then chill in the fridge. Alternatively, freeze in a lidded container, then place in the fridge to defrost the night before serving.

To prepare the stuffing, add the apricots, brandy and a splash of water to the pan, then bring to the boil. Remove from the heat, leave to soak until softened, then drain off the liquid. Dice the apricots and place in a bowl​. Add all of the remaining stuffing ingredients to the bowl with the apricots, correct the seasoning and chill in the fridge. Alternatively, freeze as you did with the sauces and defrost thoroughly in the fridge the day before using​.

To cook the turkey, preheat the oven to 210C/gas mark 7. About 20 minutes before cooking, bring the stuffing out of the fridge to come up to room temperature.

Season the turkey well inside and out. Fill the cavity with the prepared stuffing and place the stuffed turkey into a roasting tray. Spread the softened butter over the entire bird and cover with pancetta​. Arrange the onions, leeks, carrots, celery, garlic, thyme and bay around the turkey. Pour 1 litre of water into the roasting tray.

Wrap the entire tray with foil, making sure the foil is tightly covering the turkey and roasting tray – this will allow the turkey to gently steam in the oven. Place in the oven and cook for 45 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 170C/gas mark 3 and continue cooking for a further 2 hours.

For the last 30 minutes of cooking time, remove the foil from the turkey and peel off the bacon. Increase the temperature to 200C/gas mark 6 and roast until the skin of the turkey is golden brown and crisp.

To prepare the potatoes, peel and cut into quarters. Place them into a bowl under running water for 5 minutes to remove excess starch. Cover the potatoes with fresh water in a large saucepan and bring to the boil​.

Cook until the potatoes are almost breaking apart, then drain carefully and leave to steam and cool. Pour oil into a roasting tray and place in the oven to heat up.

Once the turkey has roasted, remove from the oven (reduce the oven temperature to 180C/gas mark 4) and allow to rest for 45 minutes – this will ensure the bird retains its juices and stays moist. Add the potatoes to the roasting tray in a single layer and place in the oven until golden brown and crisp, turning every 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a pan large enough to hold the carrots in a single layer, melt the butter. Add carrots, thyme and bay and place a lid on the pan, then cook over a low heat until tender, making sure it stays at a gentle simmer and adding a splash of water if the butter gets a little hot. Do not allow the carrots to fry​.

To prepare the pigs in blankets, wrap each sausage in a rasher of bacon, place on a baking tray and cook in the oven until golden brown.

To prepare the gravy, pour all of the excess fat from the turkey roasting tray into a pan, then add the carrots, celery, onion and thyme and cook until caramelised. Add the red wine and reduce, then add the aromatics, chicken and veal stock and reduce by two-thirds​. Pass through a fine sieve into a clean pan and return to the stove. Bring to the boil, correct the seasoning and whisk 50g butter into the gravy​.

Peel the outer leaves from the sprouts and criss-cross the bottom of each one. Blanch in boiling water for 3 minutes, then drain. Heat a generous knob of butter in a large pan and add the sprouts, stirring to caramelise lightly and coat in the butter. Season well and set aside until ready to serve.

To serve, carve the turkey and serve with the stuffing, roast potatoes, buttered carrots, buttered sprouts, cranberry sauce, bread sauce and gravy.

Chicken Christmas crackers by Alyn Williams

With their delicious chicken, mushroom and broccoli filling, and crisp filo casing, these festive crackers make an excellent lighter choice for a dinner party among all the traditionally rich Christmas fare. Served with a salad or some extra veg, these are a great choice for feeding a crowd.

Cook: 1 hour 20 minutes

Serves 8

75ml rapeseed oil
2 onions, cut into 1cm slices
​4 skinless chicken breasts, cut into 2cm cubes
12 mushrooms, cut into 1cm slices
6 dried mushrooms
200g small broccoli florets
300ml chicken stock
200ml half fat crème fraîche
Pinch of sea salt
Pinch of black pepper
8 filo pastry sheets
100g butter, melted

To serve

200ml half fat crème fraîche
½ tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp chives, chopped

Place a large saucepan over a medium heat and add the oil. Once hot, add the onions and stir until soft and golden​. Then stir in the chicken and cook until golden brown, approximately 5 minutes.

Add the fresh and dried mushrooms and cook for a further 5 minutes. Add the broccoli and chicken stock and reduce until the pan is almost dry​. Stir in the crème fraîche and season to taste. Transfer to a bowl and allow to cool. Once cool, store in the fridge for 20 minutes until cold and set.

Lay a sheet of filo pastry on a work surface. Brush half of the sheet with butter and fold over to create a double-layered square. Repeat with the remaining filo to make 8 double-layered squares. Divide the mix into 8 portions and shape each portion into a cylinder.

Place a cylinder of the chicken mixture across the middle of a square of pastry towards the front edge. Fold the edge into the filling and roll to make a cylinder. Just before getting to the opposite edge, brush with melted butter to seal.

Twist the ends of the pastry to make it look like a cracker – trim off some pastry if it looks too big. Brush the whole cracker lightly with melted butter and place on a non-stick baking tray. Repeat to make more crackers. Preheat the oven to 170°C/gas mark 4.

Place the baking tray of crackers in the middle of the oven for 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Meanwhile, in a bowl, fold the paprika and chives into the crème fraîche. Once the crackers are cooked, remove and serve with a dollop of the crème fraiche on the side.

Five-bird roast by James Mackenzie

The “Yorkshire pot” is a legendary roast, traditionally containing five deboned birds in one enormous roasting joint. This five-bird roast recipe can be made at home, cutting the meat into strips and rolling in air-dried ham. Better still, it can be prepared the day before cooking. Five-bird roasts often contain only game birds, but James adds chicken to lighten the flavour.

Cook: 1 hour 30 minutes, plus overnight resting, 2 hours 30 minutes poaching and 1 hour 30 minutes roasting

2 large duck legs
2 large duck breasts
2 large chicken breasts
300g sausagemeat
​100g semi-dried cranberries
100g pistachio nuts, chopped
1 tsp juniper berries, crushed
16-20 slices air-dried ham, eg, Parma or similar
​4 grouse breasts
4 pheasant breasts
6 partridge breasts

Equipment

Sous vide equipment
Boning knife

Ensuring your boning knife is very sharp, bone the duck legs by cutting out and removing all of the bone and cartilage. Cut each of the duck breasts and chicken breasts into three lengthways, and slice the duck legs into strips.

To prepare the stuffing, place the sausagemeat, cranberries, pistachios and juniper berries in a bowl and mix thoroughly with your hands​. Lay several layers of cling film, each about 60 x 30cm, out on a work surface. Lay the slices of ham onto the cling film to form a rectangular base (smaller than the cling film) to start building the roast.

Lay the duck breast in a line down the centre of the ham, then lay about half the stuffing mix in a thin sausage either side of the length of the duck. Lay the chicken strips along one side of the stuffing, end-to-end to cover the exposed length of ham. Repeat with the grouse, pheasant and partridge breasts and duck leg until all of the meat (except the stuffing) is used up – the ingredients should all be laid out in even lines. Top with the remaining stuffing mix.

To roll the roast, take one side of the cling film and roll and wrap the ham over to encase the meat and stuffing, forming a large sausage encased in the ham and cling film. Place in the fridge to rest overnight.

To cook, preheat a water bath to 75C and, making sure the roast is completely sealed in cling film, cook for 2½ hours. After this time, remove from the cling film, place in a roasting tray and cook at 180C/gas mark 4 for 1-1½ hours. To check that it is cooked, slide in a sharp knife – the juices should run clear.

If you don't have a water bath, remove the roast from the cling film and carefully wrap in foil. Roast in the oven at 160C/gas mark 3 for 2 hours, then remove the foil and roast for a further 1-1½ hours at 180C/gas mark 4 until the juices run clear. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for at least 20 minutes. Cut into thick slices and serve.

Recipes courtesy of Great British Chefs. Visit their site for more delicious Christmas recipes