It may only be October, but the shops have already been stocking Christmas merchandise for a number of weeks. This is because retailers understand that many people choose to stock up for the festive season by purchasing dry goods from week to week. With this in mind, at Hugh Phillips Gower Butchers, we offer our clients the opportunity to save on a weekly or monthly basis to cover the costs of their Christmas meat orders through a savings plan at our Swansea market stall.
Our savings plan can be redeemed against any of our seasonal meat products the week before Christmas including your turkey, gammon joint or any other joints or meat products your family like to enjoy over the festive break.
What’s more, with our new Swansea Market Deli Cymreig shop just around the corner from our butcher’s shop, we are offering a Christmas savings plan for our deli products too.
Tips for Preparing your Festive Feast Early
As well as helping you to save for your Christmas meat and deli orders, we’ve come up with helpful tips to help you to prepare your festive feast early. These tips will enable you to spend time on Christmas Day with the family, enjoying a glass of wine instead of being relegated to the kitchen for the whole morning!
In essence, Christmas dinner is just a another roast dinner, and there are plenty of elements that can be prepared days, if not weeks, ahead.
- Gravy: you can make a tasty Christmas gravy long before the main event. Simply freeze it in a container and defrost on the day. You can add the juices from your Christmas turkey to it before serving.
- Stuffing: stuffing freezes well and you can even freeze it in an oven dish, so once it’s defrosted, you can pop the dish straight into the oven. Alternatively, you can cook the stuffing before freezing, so on the day it only requires warming up which is great if oven space is at a premium.
- Red cabbage: braised red cabbage is becoming increasingly popular and is one of those foods that actually improves its flavour over time, so it’s well worth making in advance. It will keep a few days in the fridge and reheats brilliantly.
- Brussel sprouts: save time by using what chefs call “blanching and refreshing”. All you have to do is to boil the sprouts, drop them in cold water to stop the cooking process, then the next day just reheat them in a pan or in the microwave.
- Potatoes: some people parboil and freeze their potatoes to give them a head start on Christmas Day. If you prefer them cooked from fresh, you can still get ahead by peeling and chopping them the night before. Keep the potatoes in a water-filled container overnight to stop them browning.
- Bread sauce: bread sauce freezes well, but it also keeps for a surprisingly long time in the fridge. Just make it a few days before, and you won’t even need to defrost it. Cranberry sauce can also be made ahead.
- Parsnips: you can boil your parsnips and keep them in the fridge for up to a day before, to cut down on the cooking time on Christmas Day. Alternatively, you could freeze them in advance.
- Desserts: Christmas pudding, of course, can be made months ahead: simply steam it for a few hours on Christmas Day till reheated. Make sure any other desserts are simple and don’t require oven space. Cold desserts that can be made ahead and served straight away, like a chocolate mousse or a frozen dessert, are ideal.
- Turkey: many turkeys are oven-ready, but if you want to do anything messy like deboning, you’ll want to get it out of the way on Christmas Eve. You can also rinse it and pat it dry, and prepare anything you’re planning on filling it with, whether it’s stuffing or something like chopped onions and herbs. Store them in the fridge in sealed containers.
For suggestions on how to prepare your Hugh Phillips Gower Butcher Christmas Turkey on Christmas Eve, check out this recipe featured on the Daily Telegraph’s online food and drink page.
Planning for Christmas with the Best Online Butcher
Not only can we help with savings for your meat orders before Christmas, but if you prefer, you can order online from our website and have all of your festive meat delivered to your front door. It’s best to get your orders in early to ensure we can meet the needs of all our customers:
