Expert shares how to save 2.5 hours on Christmas Day by prepping food this weekend

Kitchen experts have shared crucial advice on how you can save over 2.5 hours on Christmas Day simply by prepping some of your food in advance – and their tips are really simple

People who are hosting family or friends on Christmas Day may be starting to feel the pressure of what next weekend will bring. Alongside socialising with family members you may not have seen for months, it’s another huge task to cook up the infamous Christmas dinner.

Thankfully, kitchen experts at Tap Warehouse have shared tips on you can assure that the day runs smoothly all while saving time by starting the prep today.

The team has shared their six essential and insightful tips to help battle the time-consuming task of cooking Christmas dinner. It includes prepping staple elements, including roast potatoes, pigs in blankets, and gravy, to save approximately two hours and 36 minutes of your morning on the big day.

Prepare your stuffing

The kitchen experts advise prepping your stuffing by adding the singular balls into ice cube trays and popping them in your freezer. When it comes to the big day, simply reheat it in the oven for 15 minutes at fan 180°C.

On average, it would take approximately 40 minutes to prepare the stuffing on the day, so doing this now will save you a big chunk of time.

Honey roast your vegetables

Honey roasting your vegetables now could save you approximately 35 minutes during your Christmas day prep.

Just like the stuffing, pop the veggies in the freezer now, take them out on the day, and simply roast them in the oven for 15-18 minutes.

Parboil and freeze your roasties

Making perfectly crunchy roasties can be a challenge, however, parboiling and freezing before Christmas can help to make them extra crunchy on the day.

The kitchen experts say to peel and chop your potatoes and parboil them for 5-10 minutes, draining them and returning them to the pan before shaking the pan to make them rough around the edges. According to recipes, this will save you approximately 25 minutes.

Once the potatoes are cool, freeze them until Christmas Day. There’s no need to defrost these on the day, simply add them to a tray of hot olive oil and cook them in a fan oven at 200°C for 40-50 minutes until crispy.

Freeze homemade Yorkshire puddings

Luckily, homemade Yorkshire puddings can be prepared in advance of Christmas and frozen.

They can be reheated directly from frozen too, only taking between 6-8 minutes to cook on the day at 200°C. This will save you 17 minutes as it would take approximately 25 minutes to prepare and cook homemade Yorkshires!

Freeze your gravy into ziplock bags

Christmas dinner wouldn’t be the same without gravy. Thankfully, however, gravy can be frozen ahead of time.

The team at Tap Warehouse suggests making gravy in advance, then portioning it into ziplock bags and freezing it. Then, on Christmas Eve you can place the gravy into the refrigerator to thaw it naturally before warming up fully. This will save you around 15 minutes preparing the gravy on Christmas Day.

Prepping your pigs in blankets

Arguably leaving the most important food of all until last, pigs in blankets can also be prepped in advance.

You can easily make your own pigs in blankets by using chipolatas and streaky bacon. By preparing them sooner rather than later, you will not only save any disappointment on the day but ten minutes of your time too! After freezing, they can be defrosted overnight before cooking for 30-35 minutes at 170°C.

Have you started your prep for Christmas Day? Let us know in the comments below