With the festive season approaching, we've got some terrific ideas to ensure your feast has real wow factor. Try glossy glazes to make festive ham even more tasty and have a go at making sauces from scratch. Check out different marinades for the tenderest turkey ever, plus new twists on rubs that prove your centrepiece bird need never be dull. Read on for all the inspiration you'll need...

Baking ham in cider and apple juice with onion, bay leaves, carrot and celery, will leave you with a lovely stock for soup-making. The glaze is a mixture of butter, dark sugar, mustard, ginger, cloves and cinnamon, which results in an almost toffee-like crust. The fat is studded with cloves beforehand, which makes your kitchen smell of Christmas!

Get the recipe for baked ham with mustard and spice glaze here

Don't panic if you can't find Madeira, a fortified wine from the Portuguese island of the same name. Use a medium sherry instead to make this dark, shiny glaze. Demerara sugar is mixed with honey, sherry vinegar and Madeira, and simmered for a few minutes until the sugar has dissolved and you have a thick syrup. You need to glaze the ham twice to ensure a thick coating. It's both sweet and sharp, perfectly contrasting with lightly salted ham.

Get the recipe for honey-glazed ham here

Black treacle, mixed with sugar and mustard, makes a sticky, dark, rich glaze for ham. In this recipe, British TV cook and author Nigella Lawson slow-bakes the ham with treacle for at least 12 hours, ensuring meltingly tender meat which is easy to carve. Once cooked, it is studded with cloves and brushed with the glaze, then baked again.

Get the recipe for slow-cooked black treacle ham here

With an interesting and pleasing twist, the ham in this recipe is poached in blueberry juice and cardamon. A syrup of blueberry juice, honey and mustard is heated, then poured over the cooked ham and the glaze caramelises and becomes slightly sticky. It's then served with blueberry and cardamon-braised lentils – not traditional, but super tasty.

Get the recipe for ham glazed with blueberry, honey and mustard here

This ham is gently poached in stock infused with bay, ginger, garlic, cumin and pepper. The glaze is a thick paste of sugar, garlic, mustard, cumin, garam masala, Worcestershire sauce and ginger – warm and aromatic spices which work so well with ham. You can scatter over some toasted flaked almonds before carving, for extra crunch.

Get the recipe for Indian-spiced glazed ham here

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Cranberry sauce is one of the simplest sauces to make so there's really no point in buying it, and your homemade version will taste miles better. You can use fresh or frozen cranberries, which are cooked with port, orange, lemon zest, lemon juice and sugar. Once the sugar has melted, the sauce is boiled until thick and jammy. Store it in sterilised jars for up to a month, or keep it in the fridge for up to a week.

Get the recipe for cranberry sauce here

Gravy could be the make-or-break to go with your roast turkey, so it's worth getting it right. First, once the turkey is cooked, pour off most of the excess fat in the tin, leaving around 2tbsp, plus all the meat juices and residue. Add a little of the liquid to 1tbsp flour in a small cup and stir to a paste. Return it to the roasting tin, stirring well, then slowly pour in 600ml (1 pint) chicken or turkey stock (good-quality, shop-bought is fine). Allow it to heat through and bubble for a few minutes, add 1tbsp sherry, port or Marsala, then stir well for a further few minutes.

For many people, roast turkey just wouldn't be complete without bread sauce. It's an easy sauce to make but the key is to infuse the milk base. Try a clove-studded onion, bay leaf and perhaps a few black peppercorns, for at least an hour. You can make the sauce ahead then gently reheat before serving, but leave the onion in to add more flavour until reheating. It's even better if you add a few tablespoons of thick cream just before serving.

Get the recipe for bread sauce here

This is a great little sauce which is perfect with ham, and equally good with any leftover cold turkey. It keeps for a few weeks in the fridge, so use it for sandwiches and steaks too. Mix 1tbsp cider vinegar with 50g (2oz) soft brown sugar, until the sugar dissolves. Then whisk in 125g (4.5oz) Dijon mustard and 60g (2.5oz) wholegrain mustard.

Find our best hacks for perfect holiday ham here

Turkey is quite a delicate meat so it pairs perfectly with punchy spices. Nigella Lawson's allspice gravy hits the spot. Prepare a stock ahead of time – it will freeze well – with chicken or turkey giblets. Then add allspice berries, cinnamon, a clementine, root vegetables, bay leaves and black peppercorns. Once the turkey is cooked, add the roasting juices, flour and honey. It's aromatic and inviting.

Get the recipe for allspice gravy here

Brining a turkey makes it moist and tender, but the brine can also add extra layers of flavour and act as a marinade. In this recipe, the basic brine of water, salt and sugar is laced with white wine, cinnamon, cloves, black pepper, star anise, caraway seeds, mustard seeds and garlic. In this recipe, the brine is only used for the turkey crown, but you can happily brine the whole bird.

Get the recipe for roast brined turkey here

If you love plenty of spice and heat, this recipe from British TV chef and author Jamie Oliver will hit the spot. The jerk spice is made with chillies, herbs, honey, spices, rum and vinegar. Once the ham is cooked, remove the skin and spread the jerk spice all over, then leave it to marinate in the fridge for 24 hours. The ham is then glazed with marmalade, orange zest and rum until it's crisp, golden and sticky.

Get the recipe for jerk ham here

Who better than the queen of entertaining, Martha Stewart, to share her favourite turkey brine recipe? To salt, sugar, water and vegetables, add chilli, cloves, allspice, black pepper, cumin, garlic and bay. Once the turkey has been brined, it's rubbed with a spice butter before roasting. This could be one of the best turkey recipes ever!

Get the recipe for spice-cured turkey here

Nigella Lawson's "spiced and super juicy roast turkey" does exactly what it says on the tin. The turkey is brined for 24 hours (or more, if you can), in orange, sea salt, sugar, honey, maple syrup, fresh ginger and a whole range of spices. During cooking, it's basted with a maple syrup and butter glaze, for super crisp skin. 

Get the recipe for spiced and super juicy roast turkey here

This idea is a dry brine which tenderises the turkey (or chicken). Buy a flavoured sea salt or make your own. Herbs such as rosemary, thyme or oregano work well. Truffle salt would be delicious, as well as indulgent. You need 1tbsp sea salt to 1.8kg (4lb) of poultry. Rub all over and under the skin where you can. Leave loosely covered (a turkey roasting bag is ideal) in the fridge for 48 hours. No need to rinse before cooking – just pat the skin dry. Then use one of our rub ideas to roast.

This zingy rub from Martha Stewart needs to be prepared the day before roasting to achieve the full citrus and herb flavours. Lemon and orange zest are mixed with salt, pepper and fresh thyme leaves, rubbed all over the bird then left to rest in the fridge overnight. The lemon and orange juices are used with cider and butter as a baste for the bird. You may also love the cider gravy which goes with it.

Get the recipe for citrus-rubbed turkey here

Make a spicy herb butter and have your turkey all ready to roast the day before. We love the combination of softened butter (250g/8oz for a large bird), mixed with 1tbsp chilli flakes, the zest of a lemon and 2tbsp freshly chopped sage. Just gently loosen the skin from the flesh on the breast and spread the soft butter around with your hands. Rub over the legs. Any leftovers are perfect for sprouts or other greens.

Jamie Oliver's cranberry-basted turkey just screams Christmas! Make a butter with dried cranberries and fresh thyme, and spread between the skin and flesh of the breast meat. Rub all over the rest of the bird. You can prepare it all the day before roasting too. The butter is great melted over vegetables too.

Get the recipe for cranberry Christmas turkey here

This is a Christmas-spiced dry rub which you should apply to the turkey the day before roasting. Whizz together 2tbsp cinnamon, eight allspice berries, 1tsp nutmeg, 1tbsp coriander seeds, zest of an orange, 1tsp chilli flakes, 1tbsp sea salt and 1tbsp black pepper in a blender. Top tip – if, while roasting, the spices begin to darken, cover the bird loosely with foil. Use the orange juice for carrots, or add it to your gravy.

Find our best speedy marinade recipes and ideas here