Cooking the turkey on Christmas Eve- tips please?

[Summergarden]

I’m not a confident cook, have a tiny oven and would really love to get the task of cooking the turkey out of the way on Christmas Eve if at all possible.

Any advice please? Especially in terms of being sure I cool it as safely as possible to store in fridge overnight, and how best to warm it up the next day before lunch.

Many thanks.

The turkey debate has gotten heated. Apparently my dad always cooked turkey on xmas eve when we were small children....I dont remember that all was surprised when he said. I do remember lots of lovely xmas mornings of family time though.

ropsley I think we'll just have to agree to disagree.

I genuinely can't see how cooking, cooling, storing and reheating a turkey is less worrying than just cooking it early.

I'd be more worried about potential food poisoning from cooling and reheating than I would about sticking it in the oven first thing.

Each to their own I guess.

Enjoy it however you cook it!

Just be aware if you reheat it covered in gravy there may be some who won't like it.
Of the 5 I'm cooking Xmas dinner for two don't like gravy
Madness I know but they do exist.

I'm with Bear here, surely the rigmarole of cooking, cooling, and then re-heating is much more of a faff than just cooking the bird in the morning. It makes it more complicated, not less.

(Plus you doby get crispy skin, which is a crime in itself).

OP I remember well being an inexperienced, anxious cook

Easiest way to cook a turkey is in a turkey bag. Shake of flour, salt and pepper in the bag. Close it and shake. Pop in the turkey. No basting, no faffing, no fuss. Poke in the meat thermometer to check it's done. then take masses of credit for a succulent roast and claim it's an old family recipe

If you prep everything on Christmas Eve, apart from turning the oven on and shoving it in, there's not much to do until the last hour getting the side dishes cooked. So lots of time to spend with the dc if you wish though I personally like to abandon them to the relatives, drink Bailey's and spend at least an hour setting the table and drinking more Bailey's

Once it's done it genuinely does benefit from sitting with a layer of tinfoil (but the extra long kind) and a bath towel for an hour.

The hardest part of cooking the turkey is getting it out of the oven without dropping it. Other than that it's just like roasting a chicken.

If you give everyone a bacon sandwich for breakfast it won't matter if lunch over runs a bit.

Hope that helps. Obviously you should cook YOUR turkey whatever way YOU want. Hope it turns out well.

Always cook mine on Christmas Eve but always have a panic that I'm going to poison everyone. Bought a meat thermometer the other year and its great. Allows you to check you've heated it up enough to kill any nasties. Just keep it nearby with some dettol wipes and keep checking and cleaning it each time. It certainly put my mind at rest.