A simple plan for cooking Christmas dinner on an AGA

How to cook Christmas dinner on an AGA

Christmas Day is when an AGA really comes into its own. The steady radiant heat, generous oven space and always-ready hotplates make it ideal for cooking a full festive lunch without constant juggling.

This guide sets out a simple plan for cooking Christmas dinner on a typical three or four oven AGA. You can adapt it to suit your menu, your model and your own timings.

If you are unsure of your exact oven temperatures it is worth checking them in advance with an oven thermometer.

Know your ovens before Christmas Day

Most traditional AGAs have separate ovens at distinct temperature zones:

• Roasting oven, around 230°C
• Baking oven, around 190°C
• Simmering oven, around 140 to 160°C
• Warming oven, around 60 to 90°C on four oven models

If you are not sure which oven is which, take a moment to confirm this before Christmas week. It will make it much easier to plan what goes where and when.

Plan your Christmas menu around the AGA

It helps to think of the AGA as a heat map rather than a conventional cooker with dials. Plan your menu so you can:

• Use the roasting oven for high heat items like turkey, roast potatoes and parsnips
• Use the baking oven for pigs in blankets, stuffing, Yorkshire puddings and tray bakes
• Use the simmering oven for gentle cooking, reheating and keeping sauces stable
• Use the warming oven or lowest shelf for plates, bread sauce and cooked vegetables

A simple Christmas menu that suits an AGA could look like:

• Roast turkey
• Roast potatoes and parsnips
• Pigs in blankets
• Stuffing
• Sprouts or greens
• Carrots or red cabbage
• Gravy
• Bread sauce
• Christmas pudding or a simple dessert

You do not need to cook everything at once. The AGA radiant heat works well for dishes that can be cooked ahead and reheated gently.

Timing the turkey in an AGA

Exact timings depend on the size of the bird and your oven temperature, so always follow safe cooking guidance and check that the turkey is cooked through. Use a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the breast and thigh and only serve once it reaches the recommended safe temperature.

A typical approach in an AGA:

1. Bring the turkey to room temperature
   Take it out of the fridge at least an hour before it goes in the oven, covered and away from direct heat.
2. Start in the roasting oven
   • Place the prepared turkey in a roasting tin, preferably on a rack so heat can circulate.
   • Give it an initial blast in the roasting oven to brown the skin.
   • This is often 20 to 30 minutes at the top of the oven.
3. Move to a lower shelf or another oven
   After browning, you can:
   • Drop the bird to a lower shelf in the roasting oven, or
   • Move it to the baking oven to finish cooking more gently.
4. Baste and rotate if needed
   Baste occasionally and rotate the tin if one side colours more quickly.
5. Rest the turkey
   Once cooked, lift the turkey out, cover it tightly with foil and a clean towel, and rest it in a warm spot. An AGA makes this easy, you can rest it near the cooker, or even on the lid area, as long as it is well covered and not in direct heat.

Resting time is when you finish potatoes, vegetables and gravy.

Roast potatoes and trimmings

Roast potatoes

Roast potatoes do very well in the AGA roasting oven.

• Parboil potatoes until the edges are just starting to roughen.
• Drain and steam dry in the pan.
• Toss in hot fat, oil or goose fat in a preheated roasting tin.
• Cook in the roasting oven, starting high in the oven to crisp and then moving down if needed.

If oven space is tight, you can:

• Start the potatoes in the roasting oven while the turkey is finishing elsewhere, or
• Cook them in the baking oven for a little longer and finish in the roasting oven once it is free.

Pigs in blankets and stuffing

These are well suited to the baking oven.

• Place pigs in blankets and stuffing in shallow trays.
• Cook in the baking oven, moving higher or lower as required.
• If they need extra colour, you can slide them into the roasting oven for a short time at the end.

Vegetables, sauces and gravy

Vegetables

Greens, sprouts, carrots and other vegetables can be partly cooked ahead.

• Parboil earlier in the day, then refresh in cold water and drain.
• Store in the fridge if preparing well in advance.
• On Christmas Day, reheat in covered pans on the simmering plate or in the simmering oven with a little butter, stock or water to keep them from drying out.

Bread sauce and other sauces

The simmering oven is ideal for bread sauce, red cabbage and similar dishes.

• Prepare bread sauce in advance.
• Keep it warm in a covered dish in the simmering oven, stirring occasionally.
• The same approach works for red cabbage and slow cooked vegetable dishes.

Gravy

You can make gravy in stages:

• Use the roasting tin from the turkey to deglaze on the boiling plate with stock or wine.
• Strain into a saucepan and reduce on the boiling plate or simmering plate.
• Keep warm in the simmering oven until serving.

Using the hotplates effectively

On a traditional AGA you have:

• Boiling plate for fast, high heat tasks
• Simmering plate for gentler cooking and keeping pans warm

On Christmas Day you can plan tasks around these plates:

• Use the boiling plate to bring potatoes and vegetables to the boil.
• Move pans to the simmering plate to finish cooking gently.
• Reheat gravy and sauces on the simmering plate to avoid catching.
• Keep a kettle on the back of the simmering plate for hot drinks.

Closing the lids whenever the plates are not in use helps the AGA keep its heat and reduces energy use.

Make use of overnight and advance cooking

An AGA lends itself to cooking some dishes the day before, which relieves pressure on Christmas morning.

Possible make ahead dishes:

• Red cabbage or braised vegetables in the simmering oven
• Bread sauce, reheated gently on the day
• Stuffing baked ahead and reheated in the baking oven
• Christmas pudding made in advance and simply reheated

Use the warming oven, lowest shelves or the cooler corners of the oven to hold food safely at serving temperature, as long as it is properly cooked.

Keeping plates and food warm

One of the pleasures of an AGA kitchen at Christmas is the steady warmth.

• Warm plates in the warming oven or at the lowest level of the simmering oven.
• Keep cooked vegetables and sauces covered in the simmering or warming oven while you carve.
• Store serving dishes near the cooker so they do not cool the food instantly.

Be careful not to hold any food at lukewarm temperatures for long periods. If in doubt, reheat it properly and serve promptly.

Simple Christmas Day order of work on an AGA

Every household is different, but a rough outline might look like this:

Christmas Eve

• Prepare red cabbage, bread sauce and stuffing.
• Check oven temperatures with a thermometer.
• Make stock for gravy if using.

Christmas morning

• Bring turkey to room temperature.
• Preheat roasting tins for potatoes and trimmings.
• Parboil potatoes and some vegetables.

Late morning

• Roast turkey, starting in the roasting oven then moving as needed.
• Prepare pigs in blankets and stuffing trays.

While the turkey rests

• Move roast potatoes to the top of the roasting oven to finish crisping.
• Cook pigs in blankets and stuffing in the baking oven.
• Reheat vegetables, bread sauce and gravy.
• Warm plates and serving dishes.

Then carve, serve and enjoy.