Soggy vegetables and burnt turkeys are among the most likely Christmas disasters for cooks as they prepare what is for many the most important meal of the year. This festive season you can avoid such mishaps by following Heston Blumenthal OBE’s top ten tips for the perfect Christmas lunch or dinner.
Heston, who founded the three-Michelin-star The Fat Duck, the two-Michelin-star Dinner by Heston Blumenthal in London, and the one-Michelin-starred Hinds Head in Bray and Dinner by Heston Blumenthal in Dubai, is famous for his groundbreaking and innovative dishes such as Snail Porridge, Egg & Bacon Ice Cream and White Chocolate & Caviar.
But he’s just as passionate about taking comfort classics to incredible levels of perfection. Before he had even opened his first restaurant, he invented the Triple-cooked Chip, which has since become a global phenomenon. He’s applied the same technique to roast potatoes to create the Triple-cooked Roastie, which forms the key part of the ‘Roast Turkey and all the Trimmings’ Christmas offering at his Hinds Head pub in Bray.
You could, then, give yourself the present of a Christmas meal at the Hinds Head and save yourself the trouble of cooking altogether. But, if you’re keen to get in the kitchen this Christmas, Heston has plenty of hints and tips to help make it a magical meal.
- BRINE YOUR TURKEY
Heston Blumenthal OBE said: “For a beautifully moist bird, brine your turkey in an 8% salt solution overnight. Then wash it for about 15 minutes before the start of cooking and you’re good to go. You can also add all sorts of aromatics to the brining liquid to add fragrance and depth of flavour.”
- SPUDS ARE SPECIAL
“For me – and I suspect most of us – in the end it’s all about the potatoes. That’s the bit we love the most. So, get the roasties right and everybody’s happy. We serve roasts with Triple-cooked Roasties in my restaurants Dinner and the Hinds Head, and the process is run on Potato Time – by which I mean everything is structured around the time it takes to prep and cook the potatoes. Why not do the same thing at home? You take the meat out of the oven to let it rest, and then, when you put your potatoes into the oven or deep-fat fryer, set your timer and that’s your target for having everything ready to serve.”
- MORE IS MORE
“Make more potatoes than you think you need. As I said, it’s all about the roasties.”
- THE PERFECT POTATO TECHNIQUE
“There are a few key tricks to cooking a potato to what, for me, is the perfect texture – crisply crunchy on the outside and fluffy within. The first stage of cooking is crucial: cut the potatoes so they have plenty of pointy edges and simmer them in generously salted water until almost falling apart. (You need to watch them keenly to make sure you don’t end up with a spud mush.) Then let them cool completely so they firm up. This ensures the potatoes can catch fat in the surface crannies and crevices, which is what gives that delicious crispiness. At the Hinds Head and Dinner, we then deep-fry the potatoes at 130C for 16-18 minutes, then chill them (which can be done a day in advance) and then fry at 190C to produce my Triple-cooked Roasties – which are out of this world.”
- FLOURY NOT WAXY
“For roast potatoes, you want a floury potato not a waxy one. Maris Piper works and is readily available.”
- TECH IS YOUR FRIEND
“One of the keys things you’re tackling with the Christmas roast is temperature. Invest in an oven thermometer and a digital probe (neither of which is expensive or complicated to use) and you take the guesswork out of whether you’re cooking at the right temperature (there’s often a great variance between what temperature your oven says it’s at, and what it’s actually at) and whether or not your bird is exactly ready – as in, cooked to deliciousness and not at all dry.”
- GET THE GRAVY DONE IN ADVANCE
“Before the 25th, make a sizeable batch of gravy stock and freeze it so you’ve got the basis of your gravy ready to go, which means one less prep job on the day. Then you can top it up with the roasting juices from the meat for real depth of flavour.”
- NON-MEAT-EATERS CAN EAT WELL TOO
“At Dinner we serve a beautifully caramelised roast cauliflower. Why not give that a go? Roast cauli is relatively straightforward – after all, you’ve already got plenty to do so don’t overcomplicate your dietary alternatives – but it’s incredibly tasty.”
- THE SECRET WITH SPROUTS
“Here’s my tip for superb sprouts. Slice the bases off the Brussels sprouts and separate the leaves. Fry some bacon lardons, then remove them and add butter to the pan and, once it’s foaming, add the sprout leaves, stir, add a little water and then cover and cook for five minutes or so. Stir in the lardons and season. It might seem like a faff but separating the leaves means the sprouts get evenly cooked and have no nasty boiled-+
- DON’T FORGET TO HAVE FUN
“Don’t get so bound up in getting it right that the cooking becomes a challenge and a chore. Christmas is about getting together and having fun. Food can be a wonderful part of that but it’s not the be-all-and-end-all. Have a drink, round up some helpers – do whatever it takes to make the Christmas cook part of the fun of the day. My tips should help but, if something does go wrong – at least you’ll all have something to laugh about and talk about in years to come!”
See also: Christmas Sauces and Wine Pairings From VinoVoss
