Stocking Up For The Perfect Traditional Christmas

Published by Dan Hawksworth on

What makes the perfect traditional Christmas? Well, let’s think back to our childhoods, when our grandmothers always prepared the food, and our grandfathers carved the bird at the table. This blog post is not going to be about reinventing Christmas day. It’s not going to be about any new-fangled variety of Christmas where you all enjoy a curry and have champagne jelly and ice cream for pud – as delicious as that sounds, we’ll leave it until after Boxing Day.

No, this blog is all about a traditional, post-war, 20th Century Christmas that we all know and love. However, some years aren’t quite as perfect as others. Now, speaking as the cook of a household, I know that when I forget things it’s actually more of an irritant for me than it is to my guests, who of course would be none-the-wiser. But when I set out to make a traditional Christmas dinner, I want everything to be just perfect – and I know a lot of other home cooks are the same.

And so this is why I’m writing this blog. I, like you, want to know that we have absolutely everything for Christmas Day, and indeed Boxing Day.

So I ask again – what makes the perfect traditional Christmas? Well, for me it’s the following:

  • Turkey or goose dinner with all the trimmings
  • Christmas pudding
  • Boxing Day ham
  • Booze

You see what I mean? There’s nothing particularly 21st Century about that lot – I leave that for the rest of the year. But on Christmas Day, that’s what I want, and I think it’s what everyone wants at heart.

So, let’s now go through all the elements of the perfect traditional Christmas, and make sure that we’ve got everything either in the cupboard, fridge or freezer already, or otherwise on order from the greengrocer or butcher.

Turkey Or Goose Dinner With All The Trimmings

The Bird

Some people will tell you that goose is the traditional bird for Christmas Day, others that it’s turkey. Personally, I prefer goose if I was forced to choose, but to be honest, Christmas is the only time of year that I eat either, so I tend to alternate.

You will of course go for a free range or organic bird (or possibly a wild one in the case of goose, if you know a good game dealer, or are particularly friendly with someone with a shotgun). Whatever you do, don’t go for a battery bred turkey – it’s just not good for the planet or the soul.

If you haven’t done so already, then order your bird from your butcher right now, ready to pick up on the Christmas Eve or the day before.

The Trimmings

Your Christmas dinner is nothing without the trimmings, so let’s run down what you’re going to have to order in.

From The Greengrocer

  • Roasting potatoes
  • Sprouts
  • Cooked chestnuts (to fry up with the cooked sprouts)
  • Parsnips (to roast in a little honey until sticky and golden)
  • Leeks (to make some creamy leeks)
  • Onions (for the stock, gravy and stuffing)
  • Carrots (for the stock, and to mashed up with the swede)
  • Swede (to be mashed up with the carrot)
  • Cranberries (for making cranberry sauce)
  • Sage (for the stuffing)
  • Thyme (for the bird)
  • Parsley (for the veg)
  • Rosemary (for the roast spuds)

The stock to which I am referring you will make from the giblets of the bird and a few stock vegetables and herbs. When ready, strain, and use the liquor to make the gravy.

From The Butcher

  • Sausage meat (for the stuffing)
  • Chipolatas (for the pigs in blankets)
  • Streaky bacon (for the turkey, if having, and for the pigs in blankets)
  • 1 ham

If you want to get ahead, you can pick up these items from the butcher early – right now if you want – get the stuffing and pigs in blankets prepared and frozen down. The ham can also be bought now – since ham is a preserved meat it should last until Boxing Day. However, you may prefer to pick this up at the same time as the bird.

For The Christmas Pud

Here’s an ingredients list for the perfect Christmas pudding:

  • 500g mixed dried fruit (such as cranberries, cherries, apricots, sultanas and raisins)
  • 100g dates, chopped up
  • 3 tablespoons chopped crystalised ginger
  • 125g suet
  • 1 orange, zest of
  • 125g plain flour
  • 125g caster sugar
  • 150g fresh white breadcrumbs
  • 2 tablespoons vin santo or brandy
  • 1 handful chopped nuts, such as pecans, Brazils or hazelnuts
  • 1 medium free-range egg
  • 150ml milk

To make this pudding, mix all the ingredients together. Put the mixture into the greased bowl and cover with a double layer of aluminium foil. Tie a piece of string round the side of the bowl. Place in a large saucepan with water halfway up the sides of the bowl. Bring the water to the boil, put on a tight-fitting lid, and simmer for 3 hours. (Don’t forget to check the water regularly, making sure that it never boils dry, because if it does, it will burn and the bowl will crack.) 

The Booze

This, for me, is simple:

  • Champagne
  • Wine
  • Sherry
  • Brandy
  • A few cold lagers, just in case

Get these in now, so you’re not in a flummox on Christmas Eve – just try and save some for the big day, and always drink responsibly.

Stocking up for the perfect traditional Christmas ­– done.