Christmas Cooking: Handy Hacks

As far as we’re concerned, Christmas is the biggest food fest of the year. And of course, you’ll be conjuring up the most delicious dishes in the kitchen. But we’re not star chefs with endlessly impressive skills, which is why these indispensable hacks come in handy. How, for example, do you make sure your turkey doesn’t dry out?

Save the soup

Oops, a little too enthusiastic with the salt? It’s always best to add salt at the very end while tasting carefully. But sometimes it’s already too late. Add a lump of sugar to mask the taste. Would you rather not use more sugar than necessary? Then cook a potato along with it. The starch absorbs the salt, but also makes the soup (or sauce) a little thicker, so thin it out if necessary.

No more lumps

Are you an ambitious baker, but is your batter full of lumps? It seems like a hopeless situation, because it doesn’t make your baked goods any prettier. Don’t stress. Pour the mixture through a sieve and continue adding the remaining ingredients until you’re back to the correct quantities. You’ll be able to continue with your dish in no time.

No rolling pin?

There you are, with your hands in a bowl among the pots and pans… only to discover that you need a rolling pin. You can still flatten meat with a pan, but rolling things out is another story. For situations like these (and plenty of others), a bottle is your best friend. Grab a clean, heavy bottle (a wine bottle works best) and go for it. Just make sure it doesn’t contain carbonation.

Sweet snow

Essential during the holidays: powdered sugar. But what if you’ve just run out? Simple: grind granulated sugar into powder with a mortar and pestle, or use a rolling pin (or bottle) for this. If you choose the latter, it’s handy to place the sugar between two sheets of aluminum foil. Pass it through a sieve and start dusting.

Preparing poultry

Is your evening’s showstopper a huge platter featuring a turkey (or chicken)? These tips will help.

The turkey is still frozen

A bird like that doesn’t thaw quickly, so put it in the refrigerator at least two days in advance. If it’s too late for that advice, place it, in its packaging or in a plastic bag, in a pan of cold water. Change the water every half hour.

Raw, dry, or both

It’s quite difficult to cook such a large piece of meat evenly. To handle this properly, you need a good meat thermometer. It’s also important to add the stuffing to your turkey only after roasting. Otherwise, the stuffing will absorb all the moisture and dry out the meat. Another tip is to butterfly it. You do this by removing the backbone and pressing it flat. This ensures that the meat cooks more evenly.

Crispy skin

Nothing is tastier than crispy skin. You get it by patting the meat thoroughly dry with paper towels before it goes into the oven. More tips? Check out our previous post about crispy chicken skin.

To baste or not to baste

You see it often in films, and maybe your mother used to do it too: basting the meat at the end of the roasting time to create a golden layer on the crispy skin. But is this really useful? It may create a beautiful color, but every time you open the oven, the temperature drops. Not ideal for cooking. Do you still want such a beautiful layer? Run a piece of cheesecloth through the gravy and cover the turkey with it before it goes into the oven.