Do you have an easy way of doing a roast dinner?

[PriscillaTheHun]

I'm currently in the throes of trying to produce a roast dinner. I seem to have used every saucepan, bowl and roasting pan in the house!

Surely there's a better way!

If you're really good at roast dinners and can do it without ransacking the kitchen, I'd love to hear your hints and tips!

And maybe some people don't want to, Hydrogen. I like the ready made ones, especially with jam and milk for pudding!

Thank you for all your advice. There's plenty of ideas to keep me going!

@Fizzypoo has got it right! Don't waste an opportunity to make a spectacular meal, by using mediocre ingredients.
Imagine dinner is at 6pm. and Joint needs 1 and a half hours.(Adjust time meat goes in according to how long it needs, but make sure it will be cooked in time to give the potatoes an hour.) Write a time plan.
2pm Prepare veg, put in steamer pans. Boil potatoes for ten mins. Drain.
4pm Heat oven. Put meat in.
4.45 turn oven up high. Put another roasting tin in oven with duck or goose fat or beef dripping
5.00pm Put in potatoes
5.05pm Rinse potato pan ready for putting under steamer pans
5.30pm Put parsnips in with potatoes and turn everything over in the fat.
5.45 Steam the veg, carve meat and re-cover it, and make gravy in the meat roasting tin.
6.00pm Serve dinner!

I like ready made roast potatoes a lot better than making my own when I don't feel like it although I do like the idea of roasting unpeeled charlotte potatoes so might try that.

Sorry 5pm take out meat, put in potatoes. Cover meat with foil, then teatowel, then oven gloves to rest and keep warm.

Aldi, frozen cauliflower cheese

I wouldn't use frozen roasties etc as I'm not a heathen but that stuff is fab. And equal if not nicer than the one I make.

The rest is easy. Make sure there's plenty of roasties tho.

Meat in roasting tin. Par-boil potatoes. Put potatoes around meat with 45 mins to go. Make Yorkshire mixture in a jug as easy to pour into tray. Sorry but frozen Yorkshire puds are not good enough. Make some real ones and grease tin with juices form the meat. Boil carrots in saucepan and ten mins before add in frozen peas to same pan. In another pan add cauliflower. Once cooked add cheese sauce. For gravy put wine and milk into water you par-boiled potatoes in along with gravy granules and an Oxo cube, and keep stirring as it comes to boil. Allow meat to rest for 15 mins before carving. I make stuffing balls too and cook on casserole lid in oven for 25 mins.

I do what I call my Friday night roast dinner as an alternative to a takeaway. Cheaper and better. Some washing up but minimal. Whole chicken in roasting tin with bag of Aunt Bessie roast spuds (not McCain's as they are not nice). Bag of mixed fresh veg steamed in microwave. Aunt Bessie Yorkshires popped in on top of roast a few mins before serving. Frozen peas with boiling water poured over them..let stand for 2 mins then drain. Instant gravy. Oh and of course bottle of wine while cooking. Yum.

Since it's usually just Dh and me, and since I begrudge spending my precious weekend peeling potatoes etc we make use of as many time saving devices as possible. So, we buy the lovely thick cut lamb chops / pork chops from Costco and cook them in the halogen oven. Chicken also gets cooked in the halogen whereas beef goes in slow cooker. Finest goose fat roasties. Finest yorkie's. Fresh veg prepared and cooked in microwave in a steamer bag to keep the flavour. Ready made fresh gravy. Home made stuffing if required ( I keep a supply in the freezer). Very quick, very easy, very little mess and very, very tasty.

Todays roast went like this.

Put beef in the slow cooker with onions cut into quarters and chunky carrots.

Make Yorkshire pudding batter, put in fridge.

chucked potatoes in a roasting tin(I don't parboil )

Cut up and season carrots and parsnips put in roasting dish with oil.(if we have chicken I'll roast peppers too)

Take meat out and let rest.

Put a shop bought cauliflower cheese in the oven

I bought pigs in blankets this week, so they went in too.

Heat Yorkshire pudding tray, add batter.

Make gravy out of juice in slow cooker and some bisto

boil frozen peas.

only one pan used other weeks I might do mash as well.

Heat oven tray of oil for 10 mins (for spuds)

ASDA chicken in a bag.

Ready peeled potatoes (yes I'm that lazy) in oven tray of hot oil, salt and pepper.

Paxo stuffing in dish into oven after an hour, cook for further 30 mins.

While getting chicken and pots out, lob bag of steam veg in microwave for 4 mins and frozen Yorkshire puds in oven.

Gravy granules, boiling water, juices from chicken in a jug.

I might wrap some sausages in bacon and add these to the oven for the last half an hour if I'm feeling fancy.

Done.

Dutch oven at 325 degrees Fahrenheit about one hour after browning first in a pan

Clean as you go, asdas chicken in a cooking bag, using my colander for a veg steamer, cooking potatoes for roasties and mash in the same pan, disposable foil trays are handy too

I'm a cheat.

Meat in roasting tray with aunt bessies roasties
Veg in pressure cooker.
remove meat, drain juices into saucepan to make gravy from stock (I use bisto powder and cornflour)
Return roasties to oven to crisp, throw ready made yorkie on top
Pressure cooker 7 minutes (real time 20) by which time roasties are crisp and meat is sliced.

For a mid week roast I just do a chicken and then in one tray, carrots, parsnips, sometimes beetroot, new potatoes garlic and herbs, quick and simple, limited washing up, left over chicken for lunch the next day.

I never think to use the slow-cooker for whole joints of meat. Don’t think it can be counted as roast beef when it’s not roasted though?!

Cauli cheese with steamed leek underneath is great with pork or chicken.

Broad beans and roast parsnips with beef .
Don't get the rotisserie chicken tbh especially with dangers associated with rewarming . Not very big and pretty pricey . You could cook chicken thighs as quickly by the time you've cooked frozen roast potatoes.

I don’t want to seem immodest but I make the best roast dinners on the planet. They are lovely but do generate a lot of washing up. My hints are cook ahead as much as possible - I often peel and parboil potatoes the day before and cool overnight. I might also cook and carve the meat in advance and reheat before serving. I use a lot of frozen veg (Spinach, peas, green beans, carrot and swede, sweet corn, sprouts) but Yorkshire’s and roasties have to be cooked from scratch. Gravy is a mix of granules/meat juices and veg water.

I use a hostess trolley to keep the veg side dishes warm while the roasties and Yorkshire’s cook. I also have an electric plate warmer.

Oven on while potatoes/carrots are par boiling, roasting dish in oven.
Drain potatoes and leave to 'dry' for 5 mins, drizzle with oil/add seasoning and tip into roasting dish.
Keep pan as-is for all veg (biggest pan in the cupboard!).
We're vegan so 'main' doesn't take long, but put your meat or whatever in the oven with the pots/however long it needs.
Cauli and sprouts, together with stuffing in the oven 25 min before serving, veg for boiling prepped and in the pan.
5 minutes to go boil kettle for the veg and start to cook, mix gravy (instant!), remove items from the oven.
Drain veg.
Plate up!

Voila, one roasting dish for the potatoes/carrots, small try for the cauli/sprouts, one for the main and one pan for all the boiling (gravy mixed in the boat!), all in about 90 minutes

Oo oo I have the best way of doing leeks with minimal full. Chop leeks into microwaveable jub/bowl add loads of butter, salt and pepper, clingfilm and pop in microwave for a couple of minutes. Perfect leeks

We love the Aldi rotisserie style chicken in a bag.
Heat the oven and when ready stick the chicken in. Set timer for 40mins
Peel potatoes, carrots, parsnips and chop to sizes you want.
I cube the potatoes and then parboil in boiling water for 5 mins
Put the potaotes in a roasting tray with olive oil, seasalt, fresh rosemary and whole unpeeled cloves of garlic. Put in oven
Slice carrots and pasnips lengthways and put in tray, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with oregano and season, Add to oven about 40mins from the end of cooking for the chicken
make stuffing - soften finely diced onion in butter, add to breadcrumbs, add lots of mixed herbs, season. Put in oven proof dish and put in oven
simmer no soak marrowfat peas for 20mins, wrap them in foil and put in oven
once chicken and potatoes are cooked - remove. Make gravy and serve

Thank you for all your tips. If I take on all your excellent advice, I'll soon be the roast dinner queen!