Chef reveals exact dates you should start your Christmas dinner prep

Tesco's caput cook Jamie Robinson has fixed america the nonstop dates you should commencement prepping your Christmas dinner, and it's sooner than you mightiness think

Families crossed the UK are gearing up for the eventual culinary situation astatine Christmas. The feast demands precision, patience and plentifulness of beforehand preparation.

But there’s nary request to panic, arsenic Tesco's caput cook Jamie Robinson is present to help. Here, Jamie, 32, shares his adept proposal connected erstwhile to commencement prepping your dishes, the must-have ingredients and his foolproof methods for cooking them to perfection.

December 1 - Week One

Jamie, whose motto for the festivities is ‘fail to prepare, hole to fail,’ swears by starting Christmas dinner prep astatine the opening of December. “The archetypal week of December, I get each of my veg organised,” helium says.

“You tin get your cabbage cooked and frozen down, different vegetables similar Brussels sprouts chopped up and acceptable to go. If I’m making a swede mash, oregon our signature celeriac and pome mash, that volition clasp up good successful the freezer.” He recommends investing successful bully prime airtight containers to support each of the nutrient caller up of the large day.

December 8 - Week Two

Week 2 signals 1 of the astir important elements - the roast potatoes. “I’ve got a due hack that we do, but I really learned it from my mum,” says Jamie. “My mum ever does the roast potatoes and she blanches them for a week earlier Christmas to get them truly crispy.

“She’ll blanch them successful boiling water, instrumentality them retired and fto them navigator connected a ligament rack. Then, she bags them up with beef dripping and freezes them earlier taking them retired connected Christmas Eve. This process of freezing volition mean the starch volition truly acceptable successful place.

“Then, erstwhile you instrumentality them retired of the freezer and navigator them, they are the crispiest, fluffiest roast potatoes. It saves messing astir connected Christmas morning.” And helium has a concealed constituent for the gravy, which helium besides starts this week.

“I ever adhd redcurrant jelly, it’s truly festive and it gives it a beauteous sweetness,” helium says. “You tin besides adhd successful the roasting foodstuff from different dishes to springiness it much flavour.”

December 15 - Week Three

While others are panic buying, Jamie enjoys a relaxed 3rd week of December, focussing connected preparing 1 crockery - the Yorkshire puddings. “It means that I get to beryllium contiguous with my household successful the run-up to Christmas and I cognize everything is connected way for the day,” helium says - recommending that the batter is made and popped successful the fridge, which tin effect successful amended Yorkies erstwhile cooked.

December 22 - Week Four

Jamie recommends taking each items retired of the freezer connected Christmas Eve, truthful they are acceptable to navigator connected Christmas Day. “I truly maximise my freezer successful the pb up to Christmas,” helium says. “There’s definite things I won’t frost similar carrots, due to the fact that I similar chromatic roasting them, truthful I’ll bash these caller connected the day.”

“But I usage the microwave for a batch of greenish vegetables. There’s capable moisture successful the greens, adhd a dollop of food to a dish, wrapper it successful clingfilm and past you tin astir steam them successful the microwave.

“If you person cooked your Yorkies successful advance, conscionable lukewarm them backmost done utilizing the aerial fryer for 30 seconds – it’ll support them bully and crispy.” Jamie besides recommends the aerial fryer for parsnips, to prevention clip connected the large day, saying: “Put them successful boiling h2o first, chill them down and past enactment them successful the aerial fryer with immoderate maple syrup oregon honey. That tin prevention a batch of oven space.”

Jamie besides uses a dilatory cooker to hole a batch of his nutrient successful the morning, peculiarly his reddish cabbage, adding: “You tin enactment each your reddish cabbage successful determination astatine 9am and that frees up your morning. It’s each astir maximising space.”