Using your BBQ as a Second Oven on Christmas Day is the ultimate secret to surviving the chaotic rush of cooking a festive feast. On 25 December, British kitchens face a major bottleneck: a single indoor oven must somehow handle a large turkey, roast potatoes, honey-glazed parsnips, Yorkshire puddings, and endless side dishes.
Instead of juggling pans and serving lukewarm food, taking your festive trimmings outside and using your BBQ as a Second Oven frees up multiple indoor shelves, gives your sides an incredible wood-fired flavor, and ensures everything finishes hot at the same time.
In this guide, we show you exactly how to transform any outdoor BBQ, pellet grill, or electric smoker into a reliable second oven and winter warming cupboard. We will cover the specific 175°C–180°C “trimmings” setup, how to maintain safe holding temperatures, and a stress-free timeline.
Be sure to pair these tips with our Smoked Pigs in Blankets UK: 5 Best Honey-Mustard Steps, our Smoked Stuffing Balls UK: 5 Best Ultimate BBQ Steps, our BBQ Brussels Sprouts & Pancetta: 5 Best Ultimate UK Steps, and our Smoked Camembert BBQ UK: 5 Best Ultimate Festive Steps.
Why You Need your BBQ as a Second Oven on Christmas Day
Trying to cram a 5kg turkey, trays of pigs in blankets, and stuffing into one kitchen oven is a recipe for disaster. When your oven is overcrowded, heat cannot circulate, which leads to soggy bacon, undercooked sausage meat, and pale, steamed potatoes.
By shifting your Christmas Day sides, appetizers, and even desserts to an outdoor cooker, you establish a dedicated cooking zone that runs independently of your indoor kitchen.
Using your BBQ as a Second Oven gives you better control over your cooking, ensuring your trimmings are perfectly crisp and flavorful. This outdoor cooking method allows you to:
- Move smoking bacons and greases outside, keeping your kitchen cleaner.
- Hold delicate side dishes at a safe temperature without drying them out.
- Keep the busy indoor kitchen less cluttered and stressful.
If you are curious about the energy costs of running outdoor appliances versus indoor ovens on Christmas Day, try our interactive BBQ vs. Oven Energy Consumption Calculator.
1. The 175°C–180°C “Oven Overflow” Setup
To use your BBQ as a Second Oven, you must set it up for indirect heat at 175°C to 180°C. This closely mimics an indoor fan oven and is the universal temperature needed to crisp bacon, bake stuffing, and roast hardy vegetables.
- For Charcoal Kettles: Set up a two-zone fire by placing your coals on one side, leaving the other side completely clear. Cook your side dishes on the indirect side.
- For Pellet Grills & Electric Smokers: Simply set the digital controller to 175°C–180°C and keep the door closed to retain heat in the cold winter air. Our top review page, the Masterbuilt 710 WiFi Digital Electric Smoker Review, highlights how these insulated digital units make managing your Christmas Day workflow effortless.
- For Gas BBQs: Turn on the outer burners and leave the middle burners off. Put your food in the centre, away from direct flames.
Always keep a Waterproof Instant-Read Thermometer on hand to verify that your pork-based sides reach the 75°C minimum required by the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) BBQ Safety guidelines.
2. Using Your BBQ as a Winter Warming Cupboard
Once your trimmings and sides are fully cooked, your outdoor cooker can transition from a BBQ as a Second Oven into an indispensable warming cupboard.
By dropping the temperature of your smoker, pellet grill, or lidded BBQ to 65°C–70°C—and covering your food trays with foil—you create a hold zone that keeps your food hot without drying it out.
| BBQ Setting | Temperature | Best Used For |
|---|---|---|
| Baking Zone | 175°C–180°C | Pigs in blankets, stuffing, roasted sprouts, parsnips |
| Warming Cupboard | 65°C–70°C | Holding cooked sides, gravy, plates, and resting turkey |
| Finishing Zone | 190°C–200°C | Melting cheese, crisping bacon, or warming pies |
Holding your side dishes at 65°C–70°C keeps them well above the FSA’s safe temperature threshold of 63°C. This lets you hold fully cooked pigs in blankets, stuffing, and roasted sprouts safely for up to an hour while you focus on carving your turkey and finishing the roast potatoes inside.
To ensure accurate temperature monitoring throughout this process, consider checking our guide on the Best BBQ Thermometer for Cooking or look for an option in our Essential Wireless Meat Thermometers List.
3. Top Trimmings to Cook Outdoors
Almost any side dish that can be baked in an indoor oven can be cooked using your BBQ as a Second Oven. Shifting these four holiday trimmings to your outdoor setup is an easy win:
- Pigs in Blankets: Set them on a wire rack inside a foil tray to let the fat drain and allow Applewood smoke to crisp up the bacon.
- Stuffing Balls: Whether you make them yourself or buy pre-made, smoking stuffing balls at 170°C for 35 minutes gives them an incredibly crispy crust while keeping the inside juicy.
- Brussels Sprouts: Halve your sprouts and roast them in a cast-iron skillet with pancetta and chestnuts, adding a touch of maple and balsamic at the end.
- Baked Camembert: Pop a wheel of Camembert in its wooden box (wrapped in foil for protection) onto the grates during the last 20 minutes for a quick appetizer.
We suggest using mild fruitwoods like Apple or Cherry from our Best Kiln-Dried Smoking Wood List to gently complement the savory, sweet, and herbal flavors of these holiday trimmings.
4. Crucial Tips for Success
When using your BBQ as a Second Oven on Christmas Day, keep these three essential rules in mind:
- Prep On Christmas Eve: Get everything wrapped, rolled, and portioned onto trays the day before. On Christmas Day, you want to be able to just grab your trays and carry them straight out to the BBQ. Refer to our Best Value BBQ Spices UK Guide for pre-making homemade rubs in bulk.
- Use Elevated Wire Racks: Elevate your pigs in blankets and stuffing on racks over foil trays. This lets the warm air and wood smoke circulate 360 degrees, which is the key to crisping bacon and sausage meat.
- Fight the Winter Weather: Cold winter wind can drop your BBQ’s temperature quickly. Use an insulated blanket or place your BBQ in a sheltered spot, making sure to monitor the pit with a leave-in probe. Our First BBQ Cook for Beginners and our specific guide on Electric Smoker Preheat Time can help you plan around winter weather conditions.
Make sure you have heavy-duty foil, wood, and your probes ready by visiting our Christmas BBQ & Smoked Turkey Essentials List or check out our Ultimate BBQ Stocking Fillers Under £25 List on Amazon for helpful cooking accessories.
BBQ as a Second Oven Christmas Day Timeline
To use your BBQ as a Second Oven as a seamless warming cupboard, aim for a 2:00 PM dinner using this stress-free timeline:
- 11:30 AM: Fire up your outdoor cooker and preheat it to 175°C–180°C. Put a handful of mild wood chips on your charcoal or add wood to your pellet/electric smoker.
- 12:15 PM: Place your wire-racked tray of pigs in blankets and your stuffing balls tray onto the indirect BBQ grates. Close the lid.
- 12:45 PM: Place your Brussels sprouts and pancetta skillet (or foil tray) onto the grates.
- 12:55 PM (The Glaze Phase): Brush your pigs in blankets with your honey-mustard glaze, and add maple-balsamic to your sprouts.
- 1:05 PM: Verify that all sausages and stuffing have hit 75°C and that your sprouts are tender.
- 1:10 PM (Transition to Warming Cupboard): Move your cooked side dish trays to the top shelf or place them inside your electric smoker. Drop the temperature to 65°C–70°C, and cover your food trays loosely with foil. Let them rest safely while you carve the turkey indoors.
- 1:40 PM: Take your warm side dishes inside, and set them out to serve. Enjoy your stress-free dinner!
Using your BBQ as a Second Oven ensures you won’t have to scramble over a crowded kitchen on Christmas Day. Your holiday trimmings will be perfectly hot, crisp, and smoke-kissed—while your indoor oven stays free to focus on the star of the show.
FAQ: BBQ as a Second Oven on Christmas Day
How do I stop my food from tasting too smoky when using my BBQ as a second oven?
Because we are using the BBQ as a Second Oven at higher baking temperatures (175°C–180°C) for relatively short cooks, we only want a light, natural kiss of wood smoke. Use just one small chunk (or a half-handful of chips) of mild British fruitwood, like Apple or Cherry. Avoid heavy woods like Hickory or Oak to keep your cheese and bacon sweet, rather than bitter.
What should I do if it rains or snows on Christmas Day?
If the weather is wet or windy, your cooker will require more fuel and time to preheat. Position your BBQ in a sheltered area, but away from enclosed spaces or combustible structures. Avoid opening the lid often to prevent heat loss, and check our BBQ timing and heat-loss guide to keep your cooking schedule on track.
