How to reduce your Christmas food waste

Brussels sprouts (like all brassicas) are rich in hydrogen sulfide gas. When heated, the gases escape, which is why over-boiled sprouts smell noxious. Reheating a mushy sprout will only make matters worse, so it’s important to respect your produce to begin with. Lightly steamed leftover sprouts can be cut in half and slicked in oil and aromatics (I like ground cumin) and roasted in a hot oven, stir-fried, or turned into delicious creamy soups. As long you add sprouts to the soup base at the last minute before blitzing, they’ll serve you well, but cooking them for too long can make them smell rather farty.

Shockingly, one in three of us admit to throwing away our turkeys before it even reaches the table. This is largely down to a lack of cooking confidence and a fear of causing food poisoning from an undercooked bird. The latest advice from the British Turkey Information Service is that for turkeys weighing over four kilos, you need to calculate twenty minutes per kilogram, plus ninety minutes. If the bird is under four kilograms, calculate twenty minutes per kilogram, plus seventy minutes. To test if it's done, make sure the juices run clear when you pierce the thigh where it meets the body; if not, put it back in the oven for another twenty minutes, before testing again. It is a good idea to invest in a meat probe to ease your mind – once the turkey reaches 70°C you can take it out of the oven to rest.

There’s more to leftovers than turkey sandwiches. The carcass or bones of any meat can be turned into stock, which can become the basis of countless meals, from soups and sauces to stews and risottos. Turkey curries or turkey and ham pie are almost as traditional as Christmas dinner itself, but fragrant broths, like pho, are less heavy; with the bones making the base of the soup and the picked meat added to pad it out. There are countless ways to gussy up your scraps – from my household favourite of braised red cabbage and Stilton pithivier to Christmas pudding ice cream. Leftover potatoes, carrots and parsnips can be reheated in a moderate oven, then dressed with horseradish vinaigrette, which makes the perfect pairing with the last of the pigs in blankets. But it’s not just the obvious contenders that warrant a mention.

The rendered fat from your Christmas roast can be saved for future spuds or confit. Simply clarify fat by cooling melted fat to room temperature before chilling it in the fridge until solid. The fat will rise to the top and any meat protein and impurities will sink to the bottom and set like jelly. Peel the fat off and save the meat jelly for enriching sauces, soups and stews. Render the fat again and strain it through muslin into a sterilised jar, before leaving it to set again. Animal fat can be kept for cooking in a cool larder or fridge for weeks (some even say years). There is no tidy use-by date for animal fats, but the smell and taste will let you know when its day has come.

Reducing Christmas food waste starts in rethinking the way we shop for it. A bunker mentality seems to take over in the run up to Christmas. People panic-buy in droves, as if they’re about to be evacuated to an underground hideout, in preparation for a commerical apocalypse. Considering that shops only really close for a day or two, it’s worth adjusting your perspective. You might have bought a bird big enough to feed an entire infantry battalion for a week, but who’s going to want to eat it after day three? Buying a smaller bird, or just a crown, in the first place, will ensure you aren’t left with an entire fridge-shelf groaning under the weight of unwanted cold cuts. And what’s more, it isn’t a sin against Christmas to forego the turkey or goose entirely, if a rib of beef or glazed gammon is more appealing to your family; there’s something special to be found in making our own traditions.