Does anyone cook their turkey christmas eve?

[Littlelambpeep]

We are having guests over at 1.30 and I could cook the turkey christmas morning but just a little concerned if anything went wrong? It's not just ourselves.

I will peel and leave veg in ice water and have other prep done (get ahead gravy etc)

Think I will cook it christmas morning.. be lovely and fresh and have all else sorted I think

I always cook mine Christmas Eve, and the gammon too. It's just one less thing to do. I made my gravy today and froze it, then just defrost it in the turkey roasting tray on Christmas morning to get all the juices.

It is being collected tomorrow and may not fit in the fridge??

My parents used to do this ands the meat was always cold and dry the next day. Yuck. I always cook ours on the day ands leave an hour before serving. I boil the gammon on Xmas eve though and glaze and bake on the stay and that always turns out ok.

I have the Jamie get ahead gravy done and in the freezer

My mum and dad will be cooking theirs tomorrow but I always like to roast it on the day. Difficult but I literally do it first thing in the morning so it doesn’t get in the way of cooking the rest of the dinner (which we serve at around 2pm)

We always cook ours on Christmas eve and it's always lovely.

I've cooked turkey the day before, carved it, and then re-heated legs and breast slices. Don't remember them being any drier than cooking on the day, especially when doused with gravy.

Please roast it on the day....

I'm not keen on turkey and I really wouldn't want turkey cooked the day before and reheated. I'd actively avoid going for dinner where I knew this was happening. The turkey will rest for as long as the other bits take. Foil and towels and it'll stay warm and moist. There is absolutely no need to cook it the day before!

I really don’t understand this - what other meal would you say ‘I’ll cook the main element the day before to save time / space’?

A turkey will sit resting for ages wrapped in tin foil and tea towels while you cook the veg in to oven.

My father and his DP (who I Christmas with) insist on cooking the turkey on Christmas Eve. I hate it! Growing up, we always cooked the turkey on Christmas morning (it was a family tradition that my father and I got up at 5am to put the turkey in the oven). I love hot, freshly cooked turkey. Cold turkey from the previous day not so much.

I wish I could say that dousing the previous night's turkey in gravy works but my father's DP insists on using gravy granules. Argh! It's all very frustrating and I would happily cook myself instead but that turns it into a pissing contest with my father's DP (she's a packet mix person, I'm a make it from scratch person) so for the sake of family harmony, I keep my big mouth shut and smile sweetly and say "thanks, that was lovely". And miss the old days when my mother was alive and I was allowed to do the cooking and/or my mother did.