How To Reduce The Cost Of Cooking Christmas Dinner
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Worried about the cost of cooking up a festive feast? Here are some ideas to reduce the cost of cooking Christmas dinner this year.
With the incredibly high recent hikes in energy prices, many of us are looking at ways to reduce the amount of gas and electricity we use in our homes.
According to experts, the cost of cooking a Sunday roast could soon cost over £10 (it’s around £5 with current energy prices). Come Christmastime, the cost of cooking the Turkey alone could cost that, as it’s much bigger than your average joint of meat.
And that’s before we add in the energy used for boiling veggies, making gravy, and steaming the Christmas pudding.
I’ve put together this list of ideas that should help reduce the cost of cooking Christmas Dinner – solely focused on energy reduction rather than the cost of the food itself as that’s something I’ve already covered extensively (I’ll link a few posts below)
Money Saving Hacks for Christmas Dinner
How To Save Money On Food At Christmas
How To Get Free Food For Christmas
The Big Christmas Eve Reduced Shop
You might think it’s a bit early for me to be writing and publishing this post, but everything is easier when we prepare and you might want to start looking out for some of the items suggested below in the run-up to Christmas.
I sincerely hope that there is government help coming for those that need it most, but in the meantime, here are 10 ways to reduce the cost of cooking Christmas Dinner.
How To Reduce The Cost Of Cooking Christmas Dinner
1. Opt For A Pre-Cooked Joint Of Meat
I know some folks might wince at the thought of buying a pre-cooked joint of meat, but hear me out. There are quite a few benefits to buying a ready-cooked joint of meat, not least the savings on energy costs.
When I worked in a pub, we would always buy a pre-cooked turkey crown joint for our festive menu. The one that came from our supplier had been slowly cooked, I assume, in a water bath and is honestly the moistest and juicy turkey I have ever eaten. We simply had to carve, add gravy and reheat. Easy, tasty, and no stress about the turkey drying out, not defrosting in time, or not being cooked enough.
I know Sainsbury’s has offered pre-cooked turkey crowns in the past and I really hope this is something more of the supermarkets do this year. If I was hosting Christmas dinner this is honestly what I would do, rather than have the stress of cooking turkey myself.
An alternative option could be to purchase a large rotisserie chicken on Christmas eve and have that instead of turkey.
2. Cook The Joint In Your Slow Cooker (on Christmas Eve or before)
Whichever joint of meat you decide to cook this Christmas, the slow cooker is probably the cheapest and most energy-efficient way to do this.
My advice would be to cook the joint on Christmas Eve (or even the day before that if you have plans the night before Christmas). Allow to cool and then carve. Christmas morning the meat can be reheated either in the slow cooker or in the microwave.
If you choose the slow cooker option cover the meat in gravy and allow a couple of hours (while you cook everything else) for it to come up to temperature.
If reheating in the microwave, lay the slices/pieces of meat on a plate, add a splash of water and a layer of cling film, pierced with a few holes, and heat on high for a few minutes.
When reheating any type of meat, always ensure that it is piping hot before serving.
3. Use A Vegetable Steamer
Using a stackable vegetable steamer is a great way to cook loads of different veggies at once, meaning you only need to use one hob ring. You can load the steamer up with carrots, sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, and any other veggies you fancy.
If you don’t have a steamer they can be picked up relatively cheaply, you could look out for one in second-hand shops or ask a family member if they have one that you can borrow for the occasion.
4. How To Reduce The Cost Of Cooking Christmas Dinner: Cook Roasties In The Air Fryer
While air-fryers aren’t that much more energy efficient than a traditional electric oven, their small size means they heat up considerably faster and therefore food is usually cooked much more quickly – meaning overall an air fryer is cheaper to run.
I would definitely consider cooking your roast potatoes in the air-fryer this year, even if you need to do two batches to get enough cooked.
You could also use an air fryer to cook parsnips, pigs in blankets, and stuffing balls. Even if you’re not being more energy conscious this Christmas it can be useful if your oven is already full.
5. Ditch The Homemade Christmas Pud – Microwave A Readymade One Instead
While homemade Christmas pudding is delicious, it can be costly to make in terms of energy. Many Christmas pudding recipes require that it is cooked for at least six hours (if not longer!) and then there’s the reheating of the pudding on Christmas Day too.
While it might not be quite as nice, a shop-bought Christmas Pudding, reheated in the microwave is definitely the most efficient option. A medium-sized pudding cut into six to eight pieces should only take around 20 seconds per piece to reheat.
6. Split Cooking Between Households
While many people love hosting Christmas for their loved ones, it can take a lot of time and effort, and not everyone realizes how much pressure this can be.
It also means the person hosting is left to bear the majority of the costs and this year that will mean extra money on energy bills as well as taking into account the increased cost in grocery prices.
One way to help alleviate some of the cost would be to ask one or two of your guests to cook something at their house and either bring it to your house hot or cooked and ready to reheat.
If you’re heading to someone else’s place for Christmas dinner this year, please do offer to help with the cooking at your house if you can. You could also offer to lend an air-fryer or slow cooker if the host doesn’t have one.
7. Get Prepared In The Run Up To Christmas
One way to save energy over the Christmas period could be to get prepared in the run-up to Christmas. For example, if you have your oven on anyway, double up and freeze things like stuffing and Yorkshire puddings so they’ll only need a quick reheat on the big day.
8. Choose A Smaller Joint (Eg. Switch to a whole chicken or turkey breasts)
Another way to reduce the cost of cooking Christmas dinner is to opt for a smaller joint of meat such as a chicken or use turkey breasts that will cook much more quickly than roasting a whole bird.
This may mean there are no leftovers but it could help reduce food waste and the overall cost of Christmas Dinner too.
How To Reduce The Cost Of Cooking Christmas Dinner – Final Thoughts
Cooking Christmas dinner cheaply is something I wish we didn’t have to think about, but sadly it will be the reality for many. I hope these ideas at least give you a few ways to reduce cooking costs both at Christmas and if you plan on cooking any roast dinners in the coming weeks.
One final tip – not cooking related but still on the subject of energy. If you have lots of people coming to your house on Christmas day you can probably get away with turning the heating down a degree or two as lots of bodies and all the cooking should help your house feel warmer than usual.
