Christmas is just around the corner and personally, we can’t wait to sit down on Christmas day with a traditional Christmas dinner. Arguably the best meal of the year, there’s nothing quite like sitting down at the table on Christmas day surrounded by your loved ones and digging into a huge feast.
For many, cooking Christmas dinner is a daunting task. Even the most experienced of cooks can find it challenging. Trying not to overcook the turkey or undercook the sprouts, making the perfectly crisp yet fluffy roast potatoes and juggling a whole host of vegetables and sides, it can get overwhelming.
But don’t fear – Swan is here to help! We’ve got it covered, from the turkey to the trimmings, there is a Swan product that can help you on the big day. Learn how to make the perfect Christmas dinner and put on a spread to be proud of with our fantastic festive recipes and top tips.
Tackling the turkey
Arguably the most important and daunting task is tackling the turkey. Thanks to our love for tradition, turkey remains the centrepiece of most people’s festive celebrations throughout the UK. It does, however, have the tendency to be quite dry if not cooked correctly, needs a lot of attention and takes up a lot of space in the oven.
If you want to save time and effort this Christmas, why not try cooking your turkey in the slow cooker instead? It frees up oven space and guarantees your turkey remains moist and juicy. Plus, it’s the perfect option if you’re cooking for a smaller crowd or prefer turkey breast meat. Get yourself a turkey crown and pop it in your slow cooker on top of some chopped up vegetables, then put on the lid and leave to cook for a few hours, basting it a few times during cooking – simple and delicious!
Try this juicy slow cooker turkey crown recipe from bakingqueen74, or for something a little different try this slow-cooker turkey breast with wine and bacon recipe from BBC Good Food. Our Swan Retro 6.5L slow cooker is the perfect size for cooking your Christmas turkey, and with a lift-out pot, it’s ideal for serving too. If turkey isn’t your thing, why not try our stunning slow cooker gammon recipe instead?
Slow cooker stuffing
Stuffing is another family favourite at Christmas and you can never really have too much! To save yourself time on the big day, you can prep and cook your stuffing the day before and simply reheat it just before serving. To take all the hassle out of cooking, or save yourself some oven space, why not cook your stuffing in the slow cooker? Try our festive slow cooker stuffing recipe for delicious hassle-free stuffing to serve on Christmas day. And if you don’t have one already, check out our range of slow cookers and bag yourself a bargain in our Black Friday sale.
Stress-free sides
Another thing you can prep the day before to save yourself time in the kitchen on Christmas day is your sides. Everything from pigs in blankets to brussels sprouts can be prepped, washed, chopped, and even pre-cooked so you simply have to pop them in the oven or reheat them on Christmas day.
If you need some help with your festive sides, we have you covered with our brussels sprouts with chestnuts and bacon recipe, honey roast parsnip cooking tips, and this simple Yorkshire pudding recipe.
The key to a good crispy roast potato is to parboil them first and once drained, rough them up by shaking the colander or pan. We love this recipe from Jamie Oliver which offers three different flavour options for your roast potatoes – and he shares his own trick for extra crispy roasties!
Top tip: get some little helpers involved
Get some little helpers to help out with the smaller jobs like peeling potatoes, washing and chopping vegetables, and setting the table. Enlist the help of your kids, nieces and nephews, or grandkids – it’s a good way to get them involved, teach them some vital cooking skills and spend some quality time with them during the festive period. Plus, they’re much more likely to eat something they’ve helped prepare – perfect for fussy eaters!
Glorious gravy
A Christmas dinner isn’t complete without lashings of gravy. And in all honesty, you can never really have enough. If you’re worried about running out of gravy on the big day, try making this make-ahead turkey gravy recipe from Tesco Real Food. It can be made up to 3 months in advance and kept in the freezer until needed, taking the stress out of Christmas day.
One thing is for sure when it comes to cooking Christmas dinner, you can never have enough good pans! Our Swan Retro 5 Piece Pan Set is perfect for the occasion, with 3 saucepans and 2 frying pans you’ll have plenty of pans for all your vegetables, gravy, sauces, and more. Simmer, sear, boil and fry with ease with this handy pack of stylish non-stick pans. And with this 5-piece pack, there are plenty of pans to go around so you won’t have to keep washing and reusing pans. If you do need any extra pans, we also have a Swan Retro 3 piece saucepan set and Swan Retro 2-pack of frying pans so you can stock up on the necessities.
Festive baking
Christmas baking is an all-time favourite festive activity. It’s fun for all the family and really helps to get you into the Christmas spirit. We have plenty of festive baking ideas on the Swan Big Family site and on our socials if you need some inspiration. Why not try making some of these Christmas cookie recipes to celebrate National Cookie Day on the 4th of December?
If you love a sweet treat, this melt in the mouth honeycomb recipe and mouth-watering slow cooker fudge recipe is perfect and they double up as a lovely gift too.
And when it comes to making a dessert on the big day, you really can’t go wrong with a traditional fruit cake or Christmas pudding – we love this one from Mary Berry. If you prefer something a bit more chocolatey, try this next level yule log from BBC Good Food – our mouths are watering just thinking about it!
If you have a lot of baking planned over the festivities, our Retro Scale is an absolute necessity for weighing all your ingredients. And the Swan Retro Stand Mixer will really speed things up – you’ll wonder how you ever survived without it! Ideal for making bread, cakes, biscuits, cookies and more, it makes light work of beating, whipping, folding and mixing, saving you precious time.
You could use it to make these delicious mince pies from Janes Patisserie and a decadent brandy butter to serve them with. And it’s perfect for whipping up a quick Yorkshire pudding batter.
Don’t forget the drinks!
It’s not just the food that’s important at Christmas, you’ve got to keep those drinks flowing too! If you need some inspiration on how to impress your guests over the festive period read our top 5 Christmas cocktails recipes blog. There’s a little something for everyone in there including a twist on the traditional with our mulled apple cider or something a bit sweeter like a gingerbread martini or cranberry Margherita. And for any vegans out there who love classic eggnog, we have a vegan Christmas eggnog cocktail you’re bound to fall in love with.
For a simple crowd-pleaser, make our slow cooker mulled wine. For the kids, try this delicious peppermint hot chocolate served with whipped cream and a candy cane stirrer. Or for a more mature hot chocolate option, try our Cointreau orange hot chocolate with a cinnamon twist. If you’re planning a big party or have a large family to entertain at Christmas, our Swan tea urns are ideal.
After all the indulgence of Christmas day, on boxing day you just want to relax. As far as food goes, most people want something quick and simple. If, like us, the idea of spending all day in the kitchen again is too much to contend with, here at Swan we have you covered!
After a well-deserved lie-in, whip out your Swan Stealth Grill and make you and the family a traditional full English. Keep the washing up to a minimum with our grilled full English recipe – all you need is your Stealth grill.
Then if you have any leftover turkey from Christmas day, why not try making our delicious festive turkey toasties for a quick and easy boxing day lunch? Or try our leftover turkey curry recipe for a simple dinner.
Use up some of the leftover cheese from your Christmas cheeseboard and make this mouth-watering grilled ham hock, camembert and chutney toastie. Or this simple baked camembert with garlic croutons is the perfect lazy Christmas snack.
Our grilled Yorkshire pudding wrap recipe is the perfect way to use up all the leftovers from Christmas day and you can adapt the recipe depending on what you have leftover. A Christmas dinner wrap? What more could you want!
Relax with Swan this Christmas
If you’ve been stressing thinking about how to make the perfect Christmas dinner, we hope that this blog has helped take some of the stress out of preparing Christmas dinner this year and gives you some extra time to spend with your loved ones. And if you need any Swan products to help you out on the big day, now is the time to get them!
Keep an eye out on the Swan Big Family site and on our social media for more festive recipes, tips and tricks to make your Christmas fun, enjoyable and hassle-free! From everyone here at Swan, we hope you have a very Merry Christmas!
