Going away for Christmas is supposed to be about getting away from it all and spending time relaxing. But if you’ve decided to cook Christmas dinner at your self catering cottage rather than finding a local pub, a little careful planning will go a long way. The last thing you want is to find yourself flustered in an unfamiliar kitchen on Christmas Day, juggling too many dishes and wondering where on earth the roasting tin has got to.
The trick is to make the menu work for your holiday. Choose dishes that can be prepared ahead – even at home before you travel – make the most of local shops and producers, and think carefully about what can realistically be cooked and stored in a cottage kitchen. Most importantly, share the jobs and don’t be afraid to take a few shortcuts.
Our tips will help you put together a Christmas dinner that feels special without turning your holiday into a catering operation, leaving you plenty of time to enjoy Christmas with family and friends.
Over half of families choose turkey as the centrepiece of their Christmas dinner, making it a classic choice for a self catering Christmas too. However, we all know that one turkey can mean eating leftovers for days on end in curries, pies ,casseroles, and pasta dishes. When you’re on holiday, though, you’re likely to want to eat out more, and if you’re leaving soon after Christmas, freezing leftovers may not be practical. The last thing you want is to spend your holiday dreaming up increasingly creative ways to use up the turkey.
Instead, when ordering your bird, choose one that’s just large enough to feed your party comfortably, with only a modest amount left over for sandwiches on Boxing Day. Alternatively, consider roasting a chicken, which you’re likely to be more familiar with cooking and which comes in more manageable sizes.
If you fancy trying something different (always risky when cooking away from home), goose is another traditional option. Many people swear it’s more delicious than turkey, although its stronger flavour and high fat content can put some people off. That said, all that fat does make for the best roast potatoes, one of the perks of choosing goose for Christmas. Start by roasting the goose on a rack over a roasting tin at a high temperature to render the fat. Carefully pour the precious fat into a bowl, then return the goose to the oven in the tin and continue cooking at a lower temperature.
Before ordering your turkey or other joint of meat, check the oven in your holiday cottage to make sure it’s large enough to accommodate it. If you’re worried your turkey won’t be big enough to feed everyone, you can always bulk out the meal with extra stuffing and sausages.
Most supermarkets should be able to deliver to your cottage, so arrange a delivery for shortly after you arrive. If that isn’t possible, check whether your host is happy to accept the delivery on your behalf and store it somewhere safe until you get there.
Alternatively, look for a nearby farm shop or butcher offering a click-and-collect service. Not only does this support the local economy, it also means you can be confident about the quality and provenance of your meat, and you won’t have to worry about ending up with a bag of nuggets as a substitute! It may cost a little more, but a good butcher should be able to offer better quality meat, tell you where it has come from, and advise you on the best way to cook it. They should also be able to supply the giblets, essential for making a rich, flavoursome gravy.
Finally, if you’re buying a frozen turkey, remember to take it out of the freezer well in advance so it has plenty of time to defrost thoroughly before cooking.
There is no debate when it comes to roast potatoes: they belong on every Christmas dinner plate. The good news is that they can be prepared well in advance. Parboil them, give the edges a good shake to rough them up, then store them in the fridge or freezer until you’re ready to roast. If you’re freezing them, make sure the container is large enough to keep the potatoes separated, otherwise they’ll freeze together in clumps and won’t cook evenly.
Roast potatoes are also a good reason to seek out a local farm shop or greengrocer rather than relying on a supermarket bag of unidentified roasting potatoes that may have been sitting in plastic for who knows how long. The best varieties for roasting are floury, with a good balance of starch and moisture. Maris Piper is a classic choice with a texture that breaks down slightly during parboiling, creating the perfect combination of a crisp, golden crust and fluffy centre. King Edward is another excellent option, holding its shape well while developing a slightly drier, more floury texture when cooked.
When choosing your potatoes, look for ones that feel firm when squeezed, with smooth, taut skin and no green patches. They should smell earthy and fresh, like clean soil.
For the best results, roast your potatoes in very hot fat until crisp and golden, adding a few sprigs of fresh rosemary and thyme for extra flavour. Finish with a generous sprinkling of salt just before serving.
You’ll want two or three vegetables to bring some colour, texture, and vitamins to the plate alongside all the other rich Christmas fare. If possible, buy them locally to ensure they’re as fresh as possible.
Root vegetables are ideal for self catering as they can be parboiled in advance and then roasted in the oven on the day. Glaze carrots or parsnips with some honey or maple syrup for a deliciously caramelised finish that brings out their natural sweetness. For a more savoury balance, brush on a little Marmite or miso.
Alternatively, you could mash carrots, parsnips, swedes, turnips, or celeriac on their own in any combination, add a dollop of cream, and bake with a little grated cheese sprinkled on top.
Spiced red cabbage is another great make-ahead option. It can be cooked up to two days in advance and gently reheated with a splash of water. Better still, you can make it at home up to a month ahead and freeze it, taking one more job off your Christmas holiday to-do list.
If you want something green on the plate, simply steamed green beans, tenderstem broccoli, spring greens and, of course, Brussels sprouts all work well. Give them a little more flavour by finishing them in a pan with a squeeze of lemon juice, sautéed garlic and almonds, or some crispy pancetta.
And don’t overlook a bag of frozen peas. They take up very little room in the freezer, cook in minutes and are one of those rare Christmas vegetables that children are unlikely to complain about.
A gratin is an excellent choice for a self-catering Christmas dinner. It can be prepared in advance and travels well, so you could even make it at home if you’re only arriving at your cottage a couple of days before Christmas. It’s also a great way to get more vegetables onto the table without taking up valuable hob space, while its built-in creamy sauce adds plenty of flavour. Take a look at what’s in season at your local farm shop and build your gratin around what you find.
Cauliflower cheese is a classic, but it’s easy to give it a festive upgrade. Add some softly caramelised leeks and a splash of cream, then top with grated Gruyère and crunchy breadcrumbs. For a truly luxurious version, finish with a few shavings of truffle.
You could also bring together three quintessential Christmas ingredients in one dish. Brussels sprouts, salty bacon, and sweet, nutty chestnuts work beautifully in a creamy béchamel sauce. To save time on the big day, blanch the sprouts, fry the bacon, and make the sauce in advance. Vacuum-packed, ready-peeled chestnuts are widely available, or you could pick up a few extra roasted chestnuts at a Christmas market – just try not to eat them all before you get home.
For something a little different, try a butternut squash and sage gratin, or a beetroot gratin with a generous kick of horseradish, which works particularly well if you’re serving roast beef rather than turkey. Both also make a good alternative to roast parsnips if oven space is at a premium, while offering similar sweet, earthy flavours.
We wouldn’t recommend freezing a gratin, as the vegetables and dairy can change texture and become watery or grainy when thawed. However, you can assemble most of the dish in advance and keep it covered in the fridge for up to 48 hours. Simply add the topping and bake it on Christmas Day.
Did someone say pigs in blankets? While supermarket shelves are stacked with ready-made trays at Christmas, they’re incredibly easy to make yourself, and even better if you can pick up home-reared sausages and bacon from a local farm shop or butcher. They’re also a great job for children, who can help assemble them away from the main kitchen chaos, or you can make them the day before. Secure each one with a little sprig of fresh rosemary for an extra festive touch.
Stuffing is similarly easy to make, depending on how fancy you want to get. Classic sausage, sage, and onion stuffing works beautifully with any Christmas dinner, but you could also try chestnut and cranberry, or sausage and apple stuffing if you’re serving goose. For something a little more unusual, we love the festive combination of clementine, bay, and pink peppercorn.
You shouldn’t stuff the turkey itself. It’s fiddly to do and, if you’re using a meat-based stuffing, by the time the stuffing has reached a safe temperature, the turkey breast may be overcooked and dry. Stuffing the bird can also increase the cooking time, making it harder to judge when everything is properly cooked, and the last thing you want to discover as you carve is that the centre of the bird is raw.
Instead, bake the stuffing in an ovenproof dish. You can prepare it the day before, then dot the top with butter and reheat it in the microwave, or shape it into balls or small patties and cook them separately. Just bear in mind that this method will require some precious oven space.
Whether Yorkshire puddings belong on the Christmas table is, of course, entirely up to you. If you’ve never made them before, it’s worth having a trial run at home, because while the ingredients are simple, getting them gloriously tall and crisp can take a little practice. The secrets are to whisk the batter thoroughly, make sure the fat is sizzling hot and, above all, don’t open the oven door.
The batter benefits from resting for at least 30 minutes, or ideally overnight, so you can make it well in advance. Cook the puddings at the last minute while the turkey is resting. Time them to go into the oven when the roast potatoes have around 20 minutes left. Move the potatoes and any other vegetables to the bottom shelf and give the Yorkshire puddings the top shelf, where they’ll get maximum heat and have the best chance of puffing up.
If you’ve followed all our tips, this should be the only point in the Christmas cooking where you need to juggle more than two dishes in the oven at once.
There are plenty of ready made sauces available at Christmas, but after putting so much effort into cooking all that lovely food, it seems a shame to smother it with something from a packet or jar.
Keep things simple and make just a couple of sauces yourself. Cranberry sauce can be made well in advance and frozen, then defrosted and warmed through on the hob or in the microwave on the day. For a grown up twist, add a good slug of port, kirsch, or sloe gin. A spoonful of marmalade is another lovely addition, bringing a fresh burst of citrus that cuts through the richness of the sauce.
Lingonberries, known locally as cowberries, are dark red berries similar to cranberries that grow wild in parts of northern England, Wales and Scotland. If you can get hold of some, they make an excellent British alternative to traditional cranberry sauce.
Or take a leaf out of the Cratchits’ book and serve apple sauce, which works well with both turkey and goose. Cook the apples down with warming spices and a splash of cider or brandy for a delicious festive compote that will also work well with cold meat on Boxing Day.
Bread sauce can also be made up to three days in advance, and the extra time allows the spices to infuse and develop their flavour. For a festive twist, stir through some finely chopped or whizzed-up hazelnuts or walnuts for added richness and texture.
Great gravy can seem daunting, so it’s understandable that many people reach for a ready made version, particularly when there are so many other dishes to think about over Christmas. While a proper stock will give you a deep, rich gravy, you don’t necessarily need one.
For a quick homemade stock, simmer the giblets in water with a glass of red wine, a peeled onion, a carrot, and a stick of celery while you get on with everything else. On the day, use all those lovely juices from the roasting tin, then add a dash of soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce for extra depth.
Don’t throw away the water you’ve used to boil your vegetables, either. It can add another layer of flavour, while potato water contains starch that will help thicken the gravy naturally. Just take care not to add too much, as you don’t want to dilute all those delicious flavours. Avoid using water from strongly flavoured cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli or Brussels sprouts, as their sulphurous flavour can easily overpower the gravy.
For an extra rich, glossy finish, deglaze the roasting tin with a splash of dry cider, red wine, Madeira, or port, scraping up all the caramelised bits from the bottom. You can also add whatever festive flavourings you have to hand, such as a spoonful of cranberry sauce, a squeeze of lemon juice to cut through the richness, or traditional poultry herbs such as sage, rosemary, thyme, and bay.
If you want to make Christmas Day even easier, you could prepare a stock-based gravy at home in advance, then finish it with the roasting juices and your chosen flavourings once you arrive at your holiday cottage.
There’s absolutely no shame in cheating when it comes to pudding. Christmas dinner is meant to be a shared affair, and for the main course there are vegetables to peel, pigs in blankets to assemble, stuffing to mix, and gravy to make, so there are plenty of jobs for everyone to get involved with. Pudding, on the other hand, can easily become one more job for the person who has already done most of the cooking.
Farm shops and local bakeries will all have fantastic Christmas puddings, mince pies, and other festive desserts, so pick one up and let someone else do the hard work.
The same goes for the accompaniments. Good quality brandy butter, custard, creams, and boozy sauces can all be bought ready-made. You’re on holiday, after all and there’s no prize for making every single thing from scratch. If buying a delicious pudding means the person who cooked Christmas dinner gets to sit down and enjoy it with everyone else, that sounds like a very good trade to us.
The beauty of planning your menu this way is that there’s surprisingly little actual cooking left to do on Christmas Day. The turkey (or whatever bird you’ve chosen) and roast potatoes are the main event, while the gratin, red cabbage, stuffing, and sauces can all be prepared ahead. The pigs in blankets can be assembled the day before, while green vegetables need only a quick steam or sauté.
On the day itself, you’re really just cooking the bird and potatoes, reheating a few dishes, boiling the peas and making the gravy. Add Yorkshire puddings if you’re serving them, and that’s about it.
That leaves a few jobs for everyone to share, and means the person who has taken responsibility for Christmas dinner isn’t stuck in the kitchen all day. Because this is your holiday too.
