AGAs and Christmas

[LemonDifficult]

I am waking in cold sweats about Christmas Dinner. I've only recently started to get used to the Aga, we were gas before, and I don't think I've ever cooked a sit down meal for this many people since it was trays of lasagne at university.

Mainly I'm freaking about the roast potatoes but the turkey features regularly in my nightmares as well. Roast potatoes haven't gone well for me in the Aga so far, they always seem to take forever. And I'm worrying that the turkey will cool the Aga down and then the potatoes won't crisp. Any advice?

We're 19 for Christmas (I know, I know - but we're here now). I've ordered an 8Kg turkey and I'm hoping for not much in the way of leftovers. And what about the pigs in blankets and stuffing?

Big thanks in advance

No aga experience but I have previously cooked the turkey the day before then sliced it thinly, placed it in a plastic box and drizzles it with the pan juices and chill overnight. I don't reheat it just place it on very hot plates and with hot gravy it's fine. It was a Gordon Ramsey tip from way back when he was a chef and not a professional swearer.

That leaves the oven free for roasties.

Would that work?

Maybe. Would I have to leave it to chill overnight? I am considering trying out cooking the turkey overnight and then resting it for a few hours.

The methods I've seen for this all plan for the food to be eaten at lunchtime and we're eating at 5pm meaning I'd have to stay up til the early hours to put it in at the right time. However, if it doesn't matter if it goes cold then starting it at a reasonable hour and leaving it to rest for ages could work. I've been lent a hostess trolley to warm the plates, so I don't think they'll be hot-hot.

How many ovens do you have? Long experience of clapped out old Rayburn here.

You can put the turkey on high for 40 mins or so late at night, then turbot right down and leave it all night. Uncover a couple of hora before the end so the skin/bacon crips.

Take it out and wrap it in loads of blankets or put in bottom oven if you have one. Turn heat WAY up for potatoes and they will need at least an hour.

I can give more detail tomorrow when I'm on a real keyboard not my phone

It can be done I did it several times in the Rayburn but you need to plan the timings

My parents have only just got rid of their Aga and they used to put the Turkey in the bottom Oven when they got in from Midnight Mass.

The smell on Xmas morning of the roasting meat was FAB!

Potatoes are a bit of a pain as you can't control the temp as easily on a regular oven. Maybe do a few roasts between now and xmas to practise timings - and then be aware that you WILL be waiting for the potatoes to brown/crisp on Xmas day. It's tradition!

Stick the turkey in the top oven for 40mins before you go to bed then shove it in the bottom oven overnight. Parboil your roasties before putting them in the top oven on a high runner. Don't overuse the hot plates or you'll lose heat quickly. Bring veg up to the boil then drain it and put it on the floor of the top oven (in pans or dishes with lids) it will steam beautifully! There are loads of aga-specific cookbooks; Amy willcock is good
Hth

It's a four door Aga.

I've got the ancient Mary Berry Aga book which gives two methods but it doesn't talk about long resting times, doesn't mention making the skin look nice (maybe that just happens in the simmering oven?) and also the book I've got doesn't seem to allow for cooking roasties. It also didn't mention anything about foil, though thinking about it I should do foil to keep it moist.

MW - that's exactly what I mean about the roast potatoes. At Easter we had to eat the lamb and the roast potatoes in separate sittings an hour apart because the damn things just would not crisp. This time will be worse as there will be so many more tatties. I mean, 19 people can eat a lot of potatoes. Lots of them are children who won't eat much other than roast potatoes.

Lemon - I too share your anxiety.

Now I am proposing to do what Mary Berry suggests and that is I think to par-boil potatoes the previous night and then shove them in the aga first thing when its at its hottest.

Then take them out - place them on greaseproof paper and pop back into the aga half an hour before lunch/dinner should be ready.

Will go and double check I have remembered that correctly.

You could cook the roasties in the oven til they're nearly ready and bung them in a roasting tray with some fat and kind of saute them on the hot plate maybe?

I also have experience of old knackered Rayburn (and it was solid fuel to boot) and 25 for dinner so I feel for you (although I did have a gas cooker as a back up)

Definitely do the turkey overnight, leave in simmering oven and just cover it.

We always cover the turkey in bacon, then in foil. Towards the end, take off foil. Bacon goes all crispy & yummy, turkey is moist throughout.

Yep, you can do roasties til nearly done, then stick them back in again after taking out the bird. Fine to leave the bird resting for half an hour or so.

Going on cooking times, you could prob do the bird in the morning if you're eating at 5. Depends if you stuff it, and how much. If you stuff it til it's full, then you will have to up the cooking time a LOT.

Resurrecting this as I was searching the Christmas topic for somethibg else but can never ignore an Aga thread .
Worry ye not - no need to get up at the crack of dawn or cook the beast overnight. Put it in the roasting oven when you get up, take out when done (that size should take about 3 hours using the Fast Roasting method). Cover it with several clean teatowels and leave to one side - it will stay warm!
Parboil spuds as usual then jig around to fluff up. Put the tray on the bottom of the roasting oven - no grill shelf. This browns the bottoms nicely and you can turn them a couple of times as they colour up.
I first saw this demoonstrated by a scarily competent woman at an Aga demonstration and have done it myself for the last three years. Admittedly, I've never had such a large bird but I'd probably turn the thermostat up the night before as a precaution.
And don't worry about the thing drying out - the beauty of the Aga is the ambient heat, which preserves moisture in the food. Cover it with bacon not foil as well - foil on the legs. (Just remembered, put foil on before the teatowels).

I agree with WhatsWrong about the potatoes. I might do my turkey using the slow method though as you don't have to worry about a lot of heat then.
I used to crank my Aga up a bit on Christmas Eve as I found it did run out of puff a bit towards the end of such a mammoth cooking session. It is easy to get rid of heat, but you can't turn up an Aga on the day. Also, resist the temptation to peep in the ovens all the time as it is the worst way to exhaust the Aga's heat - nothing will be charcoal (unless, like me you completely forget the parsnips until Boxing Day ). Have a drink and relax.