The festive season is here! And chippies know that nothing brings everyone together quite like holidays and food! Here are some of the best ideas for Christmas food menus to change things up over the most magical time of the year.
Deep Fried Brussels Sprouts
Even the most hardened anti-veggie will love this recipe. It really changes the game for this great Christmas staple and has become a much-loved option for restaurants, food carts, and chippies.
Ingredients – serves 8
- 2lbs of brussels sprouts
- 6 cups of Frymax palm oil (here’s why it’s the best oil for deep frying)
- Sea salt for seasoning
Method
- Heat Frymax cooking oil to 170-180 degrees
- Trim the sprouts to remove outer leaves and stem
- Cut them in half (or quarter them if they are large)
- Fry in 4 batches (depending on the size of your fryer – some commercial deep fryers can take much more, just don’t overcrowd the fryer as this drops the temperature and makes food soggy)
- Each batch should take 2-3 minutes
- Scoop them out, drain them, and sprinkle with salt
Tip to change things up: This is a great basic recipe, but don’t be afraid to get creative! Wrap your brussels sprouts in bacon before frying, make an aioli with lemon, garlic, and cayenne pepper, or serve with a tartar sauce.
Deep Fried Parsnips
It’s a chip with a difference! Deep fried parsnips are delicious and the perfect starter or accompaniment to deep fried fish and meats, making them a great Christmas food menu idea for your shop.
Ingredients – serves 8
- 2.2lbs of parsnips
- 6 tablespoons plain flour
- 4 beaten eggs
- 2 pinches of salt and pepper
- 2 cups of panko breadcrumbs
- 45g grated parmesan cheese
- 1.5 litres of Frymax palm oil
Method
- Heat Frymax cooking oil to 170-180 degrees
- Peel your parsnips and cut into batons
- Simmer in boiling water for 2-4 minutes in batches (until only just cooked through)
- Mix the flour, salt, and pepper together in a shallow bowl
- Mix the parmesan and breadcrumbs in a second shallow bowl
- Dip the parsnips in the flour mix, then the egg, then the breadcrumb mix
- Fry in batches for 2 minutes until golden brown
- Drain and serve
Tip to change things up: Make this recipe your own by adding a sauce – mustard sauces work especially well with this recipe. You can also deep fry parsnips in batter!
Deep Fried Stuffing
Deep fried stuffing is one of the best Christmas food ideas because it’s so festive and tasty. It’s also really easy to make!
Ingredients – Serves 6
- 200g of turkey mince
- 200g of pork sausage meat
- 1 finely diced onion
- 10 fresh chopped sage leaves or 25ml dried sage
- Salt and pepper
- 75g of flour
- 2 beaten eggs
- 100g of panko breadcrumbs
- Frymax palm oil for deep frying
Method
- Make the stuffing by placing the diced onions and sage in a pan on medium heat with a little oil for 10 minutes – don’t let the onions brown
- Take the pan off and let it cool
- Mix the turkey and sausage meat in a bowl with the cooled onion mix, salt, and pepper
- Roll into balls about the size of a walnut and let them set in the fridge on a tray
- Heat Frymax cooking oil to 170-180 degrees
- Place the beaten eggs in one shallow bowl, the breadcrumbs in a second, and the flour in a third
- Roll each ball first in the flour, then eggs, then breadcrumbs
- Fry in the deep fryer for 3-4 minutes until golden brown
- Sprinkle with salt and serve
Tip to change things up: Serve with cranberry sauce, wrap in streaky bacon before you coat them in the flour and breadcrumbs, or add dried cranberries, figs, or apricots to your stuffing mix.
Deep Fried Pigs in Blankets
Another classic great idea for your Christmas shop menu is to deep fry your pigs in blankets! Here’s how.
Ingredients – Makes 12
- 12 chipolata sausages
- 12 rashers of streaky bacon
- 3 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons of melted honey
- Frymax palm oil for deep frying
Method
- Heat Frymax cooking oil to 170-180 degrees
- Wrap each sausage in a rasher of bacon (you can use toothpicks to keep them together if needed, just remove them before serving)
- Deep fry each sausage for 3-4 minutes (you can precook the sausages to make this easier)
- Mix the honey and Worcestershire sauce, heating it on a medium heat to get it combined and runny
- Drain and add to a bowl
- Drizzle with the honey mixture and serve!
Tip to change things up: You can make this recipe even more fun and festive by dipping the pigs in blankets in batter before deep frying, or supersize them by using bangers and wrapping each in 2-3 rashers of bacon.
Mince Pies
What’s even better than a mince pie? A deep-fried mince pie! This recipe will convince you that this is one of the best Christmas menu ideas yet.
Ingredients – Serves 8
For the mince pie:
- 375g of defrosted puff pastry
- 320g of mince pie filling
- 1 beaten egg
- 1.5 litres of Frymax palm oil for frying
Method
- Keep your pastry cool, unroll it, and quickly slice it into 8 equal portions
- Put 1.5 teaspoons of mince in the bottom half of each pastry portion, well away from the edges
- Brush the egg mix along the borders and fold over to seal, pinching down lightly with your fingers
- Dust each pie with flour and spray a cooking tray with oil so they don’t stick
- Place all the pies in the freezer until frozen solid
- Heat Frymax cooking oil to 170-180 degrees and your oven to a low setting to keep batches warm
- Fry 2 pies at a time for 5-8 minutes until golden brown, draining them and placing them in the oven
- Serve warm with a dusting of icing sugar
Tip to change things up: These go exceptionally well with brandy cream, thick cream, or vanilla ice cream.
Wishing you a happy, food-filled festive season from Frymax!
We hope that you enjoyed our selection of the best Christmas foods and menu ideas for your shop, and we’re sure some of these will become firm favourites for your customers!
Frymax is the UK’s largest supplier of frying oil to fish and chip shops and other food outlets and restaurants since 1954. And our oil doesn’t just give you the best results every time you heat up the frying pan, it’s the best choice for sustainability too. Since 2013, Frymax oil has been made from fully-segregated, vegan, RSPO-certified palm fruit oil. Not a drop of non-certified oil goes into the production of Frymax. Home cooks and restaurateurs can rest assured that, when they choose Frymax, they are supporting sustainable, ethical palm oil production – and that they’ll make the best deep-fried foods in town, every time. If you’d like to learn more, get in contact with Frymax.
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