Christmas time has come around again and if it is your turn to host, then there is nothing better to serve your guests than a classic roast dinner. Roast dinners have been serve on Christmas day as a holiday tradition since the great Charles Dickens wrote about the Cratchits feasting on a goose in the classic story “A Christmas Story”. For the traditional Christmas dinner, we recommend using either turkey or goose for the main meat in the meal.

Christmas Roast Goose Recipe

This is the tradition meat used before turkey became popular. Follows these simple instructions to ensure you have a delicious roast dinner to serve your family and friends.

1. First if you have bought your goose ready-trussed, loosen the string and pull the legs and wings out slightly to allow the goose to cook better. Remove any giblets and pads of fat from inside the bird.

2. With a sharp chefs knife, use the tip to lightly score the breast and leg skin in a criss-cross in order to help the fat to render down more quickly when roasting.

3. Stuff zested fruit and herbs into the goose and set it aside for at least 15 minutes. We recommend preparing this the day before and refrigerating it.

4. When Christmas day arrives, heat your over to 240C/fan oven 220C/gas 9.

5. Place your goose in a roasting tin, drizzle it with honey and sprinkle herbs over it. Calculate how long it will take to roast your goose and place the tin in the oven.

6. Ensure you turn the heat down after ten minutes to 190C for conventional ovens and 170C for fan ovens or gas mark 5.

7. Every 30 minutes, baste the bird with the pan juices and pour the fat off through a sieve into a large heatproof bowl. Save this fat for later use on the potatoes and vegetables.

8. When the goose has completed cooking, cover it loosely in foil and leave to 30 minutes. This will guarantee the goose is moist and easier to carve with your carving knives.

Christmas Roast Turkey

Roast turkey has become the popular choice for Christmas dinner. Here is our recipe for making the scrumptious feast.

1. Heat your oven to 180C for conventional ovens, 160C for fan ovens or gas mark 4.

2. Rub the turkey over with oil and sprinkle it with salt. Halve the lemons and oranges and place them into the turkey cavity as well as 2 onion halves and a bay of leaves.

3. Place the turkey in the tin and completely cover the turkey and the tin in foil to create a tent. Calculate the cooking by 40 minutes per kg and place the tin in the oven for roasting.

4. 30 minutes before the end of cooking time, remove the turkey from the oven and increase the heat to 200C/180C/gas 6. Remove the foil and return the turkey to the oven for the remaining 30 minutes.

5. To test if the bird has properly cooked. Using a skewer or knife, pierce the fattest part of the thigh and check the juice that runs out. If the juice is clear then it is ready. If the juice is pink, keep cooking it and check ever 10 minutes until the juice becomes clear.

6. Rest the turkey under foil for 30 minutes to an hour before serving to ensure it is easily carved.

Carving your Goose

Take your carving set including your carving knife and carving folk and follow these instructions. We recommend using a slicing blade over a serrated blade because serrated edges tears the meat.

1. Position the goose on its breast side and using a carving knife, cut between the wing joints, separating the wings from the body.

2. Remove the legs by cutting through the joints. Separate the drumsticks and thighs from the body.

3. Carefully slice along the breastbone to separate the breast meat from the body. Slice along the breastbone by angling the knife towards the rib bones to remove the breast meat in one single piece and repeat this for the opposite side.

Carving the roast turkey

1. Split the drumsticks and thighs by loosening and carving the socket of the bone.

2. Remove the legs from the body by loosening the thigh in its socket and carve the natural joint, cutting through the socket of the bone.

3. Cut the wings off by carving through the joints and remove them from the body.

4. Using your carving folk, carve slices of meat off both sides of the breasts.

Follow these instructions and you can create a delicious Christmas dinner that your family and friends will remember.