Marco Pierre White tells us how to cook for Christmas

by Taryn Davies | 8 December 2011

Cooking the perfect turkey is difficult for some - let that not be you

Marco Pierre White has many talents and cooking is something that he simply excels with.

He knows his way around the kitchen.

With the festive season fast approaching and not many people knowing or correctly cooking their turkey - the chef his here on hand to tell you jsut how to make sure the bird is cooked to perfection.

How do you celebrate Christmas?
We open our presents, we have a lovely morning and then we sit down to a roast turkey lunch. It’s as simple as that. We are no different to any other family in Britain. I tend to have my lunch at about 2-2:30pm. I think it’s a very sensible time because if you think of the morning, you’ve always had breakfast, you’ve opened up the presents and you’ve sorted things out. A Christmas lunch tends to be more work than a normal Sunday lunch so I’d say have it that little bit later in the day.

What food wouldn't you be without?
I enjoy all foods. Being a chef for many many years, you learn to enjoy everything and see the beauty in everything. It would be a very very long list if I told you all the foods I couldn’t be without!

What are your top tips for Christmas cooking?
Apply a strategy to what you’re doing. Prepare in advance what’s possible to prepare in advance; for example the braised red cabbage, peel your potatoes and cut them up into the size you want them. Prepare your chipolatas and make your stuffing in advance and make your swede puree. Do as much as possible the day before to make Christmas day less stressful.

Buy a smaller bird, a 10-12 pound bird. Break your bird down so you roast the breast on the crown, roast the thighs individually and with all the bones which are spare, chop them up and put them on the bottom of the roasting dish to act as a trivet for the other three joints, and then you can use them in your gravy.

Do you add anything to the turkey for flavour?
Let’s be honest, you don’t have to add anything to your turkey because it’s got such a fabulous taste – there’s nothing to do with it apart from to roast it perfectly. And to roast it perfectly you cook the breast to 66oC and cook the thighs to 72oC. The easiest way of achieving that is to buy a meat probe. Simple. That would be my great tip for Christmas, buy a meat probe.

Do you have any traditions when cooking at Christmas?
I’m a traditionalist: turkey is always served with cranberry sauce, chipolatas, gravy and sage and onion stuffing. Just keep it simple.

How early do you get up to do everything in time for dinner?
The children tend to wake me up, they are my alarm clock. I start preparing lunch at about 12pm and I’m done by 2:30pm. All done. Simple.

Is there any part of the Christmas meal you don't like?
I love the indulgence of Christmas day and I love being surrounded by my family. It’s the most important family day of the year. Even tidying up and doing the washing up is special because we do it as a team. Everyone helps. That’s the beauty of Christmas day – everybody should be in the kitchen, everyone should help with the serving and everyone should help cleaning up because it’s a day of giving.

Tell us about how you cook the Christmas turkey?
I break my bird down; I cook the breasts on the crown, which have been stuffed at the front where the wishbone is, I cook my thighs individually which have been stuffed underneath the skin, which protects the meat and helps keep it moist. Thirdly, I chop up all my bones and I lay them in my roasting tray and I sit my three individual joints on top and cook it for about an hour and 30 - 40 minutes depending on the size of the bird and your oven.

Remember, when it comes to cooking the turkey, your oven should dictate what size of the turkey you buy and secondly your watch should just be a guideline because everyone’s oven is different.