The Lansdowne Club is ideally located right in the heart of London’s Mayfair, and is one of the capital’s most exclusive private members’ clubs. The Club’s award-winning Executive Chef Henry Brosi’s years of experience means he’s a dab hand at creating the very finest food. With that in mind, who better to ask for advice on how to prepare the perfect Christmas dinner – including what to do to get the perfect roasties, and how to save overly salty gravy!
HENRY BROSI’S TOP TIPS FOR THE PERFECT CHRISTMAS DINNER
1) THE TURKEY:
“The most common problem with roasting a turkey will always be either undercooking or overcooking it, so that it becomes too dry. Therefore, ask your butcher to prepare you a crown – that means the legs are taken off the breast. Your butcher will also be able to debone the legs and roll them (this method will save you 2 hours of cooking time). For extra moisture, brine your turkey for 24 hours before roasting – this will make your turkey nice and juicy, even if you slightly overcook the bird. After cooking, wrap your turkey in tin foil and let it rest for around 20 to 25 minutes, as this will add also extra moisture.”
2) THE POTATOES:
“No Christmas Dinner is complete without roast potatoes! I use Maris Pipers or King Edwards, as they are floury enough to give a fluffy middle and crisp up nicely. Parboil them, then rough them up in a colander, making sure you are using an oil with a high smoke point, like sunflower or vegetable oil. I always use goose fat or beef dripping, too. I warm the potatoes up, then infuse them with garlic and rosemary for about 20 minutes, before I put them in a hot pan to roast.”
3) THE GRAVY:
“Glorious, good gravy can really make your Christmas dinner sing! If I am going to have a beef joint, I will always make my own beef stock as the ground base of the gravy, by getting small, chopped beef bones from my butcher. I then roast them in a pan in the oven until nicely browned, transfer them into a stock pot and add chopped carrots, onions and celeriac, and add water and let it simmer for around 3 hours (although if you want to save time, there are some good stocks available at the better supermarkets). For the last 30 minutes of cooking time, I add garlic bulbs, button mushrooms, rosemary and thyme, then season with salt and pepper. But whatever meat you are having, if you find your gravy is overly salty, then slice a small raw potato and add it to the pan with the gravy, and let it gently simmer for about 5 minutes – the potato starch will take the saltiness away.”
4) THE OYSTERS:
“If you decide to have oysters, then buy them as fresh as you can! Ideally, local Native Oysters depending on where you live. There are fantastic Natives around Colchester, West Mersey, and Whitstable, or Rock Oysters from Jersey. To save you time and hassle – particularly if you are planning for Christmas Dinner or a pre-Christmas cocktail party – then open the oysters beforehand, reserve the oyster juice in a container, pass the juice through a tea strainer, and place the oysters in it. Wash the shells with a heavily salted water solution, and keep the shells with the oysters in the fridge. For serving, place the empty shell on some crushed ice and place the oyster in it, before spooning some of the juice over the top. For me, the best accompaniment for oysters is red wine vinegar and shallots with some crushed black pepper. I am not a great admirer of lemon juice, Tabasco or Worcestershire sauce, as I find the flavour of these overpowers the natural taste of the oysters.”
