Can work, will work: Ainsley beats TV rivals with 'fail-safe' Christmas recipe

The Can't Cook Won't Cook presenter's strategy for a stress-free festive meal was the easiest to follow among those offered by all the big names of the kitchen.

Gordon Ramsay is even demonstrating his recipe over four hours of live TV on Channel 4 on Christmas Day morning.

Recipes from Heston Blumenthal, Nigella Lawson, Jamie Oliver, Phil Vickery, John Burton Race, as well as Ramsay and Harriott were assessed for their "foul-up" factor by food expert Ben McCormack, editor of the Square Meal magazine and website.

The most simple recipes were Jamie Oliver's - praised as "really straight forward with good tips to make things go smoothly" - and easiest of all was Harriott's. Mr McCormack said: "Ainsley is brilliant for the busy, time-pressed home cook - he knows that cooks don't want to be stuck sweating in the kitchen all day."

Two Michelin-starred chef John Burton Race, star of French Leave and I'm A Celebrity, was judged guilty of serving up the most complex guide to cooking Christmas dinner. In the introduction to his 12-stage recipe for turkey and stuffing, Burton Race claims it "allows you to prepare calmly in advance". But Mr McCormack said: "Overall, it's very chefy, and the sort of thing you would go to a restaurant to pay for rather than make yourself - straining, for instance, is a very chefy technique.

"Also, these are two recipes in one - one for the legs, one for the crown. Boning turkey legs is very technical, it requires a special knife, otherwise what you make could end up looking like a dog's dinner - which could be this recipe's ultimate destination if you're not a restaurant chef yourself."

Nigella's guide to "the perfect turkey" relies heavily on soaking it in brine for two days. But according to Mr McCormack: "It's great if you're a food fanatic ... It needs a lot of prep and planning - a complete faff if you're not that into cooking."

Blumenthal's recipe had "lots of components to juggle so you'll need to plan carefully and ensure you have a big oven with lots of hobs, plus lots of pans". Vickery was praised for "a fuss free take" but with the warning that "the recipe might not be explained in enough detail to prevent chaos".

Ramsay's formula would make for "a very classy Christmas lunch" but is complex with "loads of ingredients".

Harriott's easy-to-cook turkey with stuffing

Ingredients
For 6kg turkey: 100g butter, four rindless streaky bacon rashers, 150g pitted prunes, 450g cocktail sausages, 1tbsp flour, 3tbsp ruby red port or red wine, 600ml turkey or chicken stock.

For sage, apricot and pine nut stuffing: 50g pine nuts, 75g butter, large onion, 175g white breadcrumbs, 1tbsp chopped fresh parsley, 1tsp fresh sage, four dried apricots, salt and pepper, fresh herbs.

Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F)

Make stuffing. Heat frying pan, roast pine nuts and tip into a bowl. Melt butter into same pan and fry onion until soft. Place breadcrumbs into bowl and add pine nuts and onion/butter mixture, parsley, sage and apricots.

Find the neck cavity and pack the stuffing in.

Wrap prunes in small strips of bacon, arrange
on a plate with cocktail sausages. Allow to cool.

Generously smear turkey in butter and seasoning, tie drumsticks with string and wrap bird in two buttered sheets of foil before placing on baking tray.

For 6kg bird, cooking time is 4hrs 20 mins.

Carefully unwrap and baste every 40 mins.

Unwrap turkey for final hour, leaving drumsticks covered to prevent burning, and add bacon-prunes and sausages for 30 minutes.

When cooked, remove turkey from oven and tray, and leave to stand for 10-30 minutes.

For gravy, place baking tray over hob and simmer juices, adding flour, stock and port or red wine for 10 mins.

Garnish turkey with herbs and serve with gravy and trimmings.