What are ‘all the trimmings’?

[HurricaneZeldaAndToto]

After a slightly disappointing Christmas dinner at a relative’s house, I wondered if my idea of ‘all the trimmings’ was massively out of whack with the rest of the world?

If you did turkey dinner ‘with all the trimmings’ what did you serve?

AIBU to suspect this means very different things to different people?

Would never consider mash to be a trimming…

I save a bit for right at the end, just slosh some warm but not boiling veg water into the left over batter (just a few table spoonfuls of both) and then put it in your gravy right at the end whilst its still hot but don't boil it, you don't want to accidentally get floating pancake bits by cooking off the batter too hot lol (I've accidentally done this a couple of times)

Really good way to get it extra thick and also adds an extra depth of flavour... Yorkshire flavour! Give it a crack on your next roast. _

Amazing! Thanks @PrinnyPree, I’ll try that.

Turkey
Pigs in blankets
Parsnips
Roasties
Sprouts
Red cabbage and apple
Bread sauce
Cranberry sauce
Stuffing
Cauli cheese or carrots
Gravy

Great thread, not just confusing for non UK born folk. A friend of mine nearly broke up with her DH when his family dudnt serve bread sauce at Christmas.
We've never had bread sauce, I've never even tasted it so couldn't imagine why she was so cross, all down to expectations I guess.

Very interesting to see everyone else's lunches, I'm so glad Yorkshires and cauliflower cheese made so many lists. I do the cooking so I basically cook my idea of an Xmas lunch which is always:

Pork (not turkey)
Roast potatoes
Pigs in blankets
Pork stuffing balls
Roast carrots
Roast parsnips with honey
Cauliflower cheese
Sprouts with bacon lardons
Mashed swede with butter
Yorkshire puddings
Gravy if I can be bothered to make it
Various sauces. (My lot will eat mint sauce or horseradish or mustard with their roast no matter what it is.)

Croquettes? Pickles?!

Some of these things may be very tasty with a Christmas dinner, and I don't judge anyone for including them. But I interpreted the OP as wanting to know what you'd expect to get if you heard a meal would include "all the trimmings". You surely wouldn't expect these sorts of things which are peculiarities (in the best possible way) of your family?

Anyway, we had:

Turkey, with sage and onion stuffing inside and bacon layered over the breast;
Bread sauce;
Gravy;
Cranberry sauce;
Pigs in blankets;
Sausage meat and cranberry stuffing balls wrapped in more bacon;
Roast potatoes;
Honey roast parsnips;
Carrot and swede mash;
Brussels sprouts;
Red cabbage with apple;
Cauliflower cheese.

We considered including another type of potato, but then decided we'd all just prefer more delicious, crispy roasties!

I've underlined the items I would guess a conventional British Christmas dinner to include. If I was served a "turkey and all the trimmings" meal without one of these at a festive event or on the big day itself, I'd be mildly surprised. Though not necessarily disappointed, depending on what I received instead.

Forgot to mention - the underlined stuff wouldn't be enough on its own. You'd need a couple of other veg too. They could be basic/easy veg like carrots/peas/broccoli.

Pork, sauge & onion stuffing
Pigs with blankets
Pigs without blankets
Sprouts
Carrots
Parsnips
Mashed and roast potatoes
Yorkshire puddings
Gravy

Croquettes? Wtf

It means the extras to me, ie:
Bread sauce
Pigs in blankets (am I alone in finding this name quite twee? They weren't called that when I was little)
Stuffing (ideally two types)
Cranberry sauce
Gravy

All the veg ppl are listing does not count as 'trimmings' to me - they are an intrinsic part of a roast and therefore not trimmings which I see as special extras.

Some sort of roast - not always turkey.

Potatoes, roast and mash.
Winter veg, so no new potatoes or peas but loads of root veg.

Turnips mashed with cream and crispy bacon.
Carrot and swede mash.
Brussels sprouts.
Maybe roast parsnips and carrots.
Red cabbage.
Pigs in blankets.
Stuffing balls.
Gravy.
Yorkshire pudding - but this might be a starter not on the plate, or it might be both.

I have never in my life had bread sauce and only occasionally cranberry.

I am Irish so pigs in blankets and bread sauce are not really a thing here or at least not in my family. We would have:
Turkey
ham - proper irish ham!
Sprouts
carrots
red cabbage
peas (batchelors processed ones)
roast spuds are a must - I cannot fathom mash or a croquette with this.
Lashings of gravy

Basically your standard sunday dinner but with two meats instead of one and a slice of fresh white brennans bread to soak up the leftover gravy.

Sibling fights list makes my mouth water.

"but the pigs, parsnips and Yorkshire’s were very much missed!"

I agree. It's not trimmings if you don't have those bits.

I am not speaking for all Irish people at all (at all) but none of them are our go to must haves at all. I love a yorkie but with beef not at xmas and I will not entertain a parsnip at any time of year. Pigs are defo not an Irish thing though. Actually I am not even sure I have tried one!

You’re right. When I was little it wasn’t’pigs in blanket’ it was ‘sausages with bacon wrapped round’ 😄

Homemade bread sauce is to die for! 😄 Creamy and delicious 🌺

Not many people have mentioned peas. I always have peas, carrots and cauliflower on a roast. I like peas.

A few peas always falls into the yorkshire pudding, so when you pour the gravy in too, you get a good mix.

These menus all sound delicious but can I ask how many people you people are catering for ? Some of these lists of dishes are very long !!

With the turkey, trimmings in my house are: goose fat roast potatoes and parsnips, carrots, sprouts, pigs in blankets, spiced red cabbage, extra sausage meat, 2 different stuffings, bread sauce, cranberry sauce and gravy. Peas grudgingly added for the sprout hater. No Yorkshire puddings with turkey in our house!

I cooked for 11 this year @GothConversionTherapy. MIL and SIL both provided some of the side dishes so I didn’t have to do all of it myself but still, it was quite hectic getting it all ready and out on the table, especially when my oven suddenly malfunctioned at the last minute 😂😬

So as a family (extended as it’s been at every Xmas lunch)

Turkey or Chicken and beef
Stuffing x2
Pigs in blankets
Roast potatoes
Roast carrots
Roast parsnips
Green Beans
Broccoli
Sprouts
Peas
Cauliflower cheese
Yorkshires

I forgot to say cauliflower cheese.

I don't actually do Xmas so this is my perfect Sunday roast, to be honest I haven't done one for a while, I was going to do it on solstice but had party food instead.

But I like cooking and when my health allows I have done a few five course meals for friends.

Typical to cook a roast I put the meat in the slow cooker first thing, then prep the veg for steaming and put in the steamer for later.

Then the potatoes for roasting are prepped and yorkshire pudding batter made.

About 30-40 mins before eating the roasting tins go in the oven, after 10 mins the sausages, and potatoes and any veg I'm roasting are put in the oven and after another 10 mins the YP goes in for 15 mins.

I take the meat out of the slow cooker and make the gravy in there.

Cauliflower cheese is usually made the day before or I use Iceland's frozen.

We are Irish so we never have pigs in blankets or bread sauce
Turkey
Ham
Mash, roasties and croquettes
Carrots and peas
Stuffing
Cauli cheese
Lots of gravy