Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Original poster

DH put a full chicken in a cold oven

171 replies

Pinkkahori · 19/09/2022 22:36

Our oven is old, it takes a while to heat up. DH just told me that he forgot to preheat the oven today so he put the chicken in to a cold oven. He didn't allow any additional cooking time.
I didn't eat it but he and the kids did.
I'm worried about the possibility of food poisoning.
Does everyone preheat their oven?
Is it likely to be a problem?

OP posts:
Neverendingdust · 19/09/2022 23:33

Mind blown by the I never preheat camp. Madness. How the hell do you cook things properly?

MelodyPondsMum · 19/09/2022 23:35

I get you're annoyed about his attitude but tbh you seem to be making a big drama out of the fact he forgot to preheat the oven. (fwiw you don't need to preheat the oven) Either the chicken was cooked or it wasn't. You either trust him to cook for himself and the DCs, or you don't. But if you don't then there's no point saying he has to cook.

DSGR · 19/09/2022 23:35

Also can’t understand people not preheating ovens to cook chickens! The cooking time is for a preheated oven, otherwise it’s undercooked surely

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

General food
Porcupineintherough · 19/09/2022 23:38

He's looking for a reaction from you, I suggest you don't give him one.

MelodyPondsMum · 19/09/2022 23:38

You just adjust the time at the other end. You know its cooked by its internal temp and the juice running clear.

FrankTheThunderbird · 19/09/2022 23:38

I never pre heat the oven. I just leave the food in slightly longer than the packaging says.

Original poster
Pinkkahori · 19/09/2022 23:41

MelodyPondsMum · 19/09/2022 23:35

I get you're annoyed about his attitude but tbh you seem to be making a big drama out of the fact he forgot to preheat the oven. (fwiw you don't need to preheat the oven) Either the chicken was cooked or it wasn't. You either trust him to cook for himself and the DCs, or you don't. But if you don't then there's no point saying he has to cook.

I don't think I'm making any drama. I wasn't there for the meal. He mentioned that the chicken wasn't nice and maybe it was because he put it in a cold oven.
We discussed it briefly and I came on here to see if there is a consensus on preheating/not preheating.
I haven't mentioned it to him since.

OP posts:
CandyLeBonBon · 19/09/2022 23:43

Why wasn't the chicken nice? Did he explain?

Original poster
Pinkkahori · 19/09/2022 23:44

It was quite moist but very rubbery apparently.

OP posts:
ZeppelinTits · 19/09/2022 23:45

Is he deliberately doing things badly so he won't be asked to do them? In this case, make dinner. In other cases, make dinner that isn't just meat and also has carbs, veg etc. Like when kids do a job badly so they won't get asked to do it again (they hope). Except he isn't a kid... Hmm

MyDogStoodOnABee · 19/09/2022 23:45

My ex did this and ended up in hospital!

SueDCreme · 19/09/2022 23:46

He's deliberately making a pigs ear of it so that you won't ask him to do it anymore
Potentially giving his kids food poisoning is a new low though to get out of cooking a basic meal 2 nights a week

Aquamarine1029 · 19/09/2022 23:47

So basically, what we're dealing with here is weaponised incompetence. Lovely.

NoMoreChubRub · 19/09/2022 23:48

I never pre heat.
Never had food poisoning

Toddlerteaplease · 19/09/2022 23:51

I don't pre heat either

CandyLeBonBon · 19/09/2022 23:54

Pinkkahori · 19/09/2022 23:44

It was quite moist but very rubbery apparently.

My mum insists that Aldi free range chicken is the business but I find it moist but rubbery too. Properly cooked. Just a bit of a weird texture!

MelodyPondsMum · 20/09/2022 00:00

You said it's exasperating, an ongoing issue, that he doesn't want to do it - they're all quite dramatic statements in response to someone forgetting to preheat an oven.
You either think he's capable of deliberately cooking badly and risking giving himself and the DCs food poisoning ... or you don't. If you don't think he'd risk everyone's health, then step back. Let him cook his way whether that involves preheating or not.
You can't have it both ways. If you want him to cook, he gets to cook his way. If you want every meal to be cooked how you would do it, then you need to cook.

5zeds · 20/09/2022 00:08

It’s probably fine. Ignore and move on.

Redsquirrel5 · 20/09/2022 00:09

My eldest cooked a chicken, Roast potatoes and veg and made an Apple Crumble for his Cub badge for cooking. He was 8 and he knew to put the oven on to preheat it.

He sounds very lazy. Cooking meat and nothing else. They would be better off with an M&S meal deal.

solution. Buy an Everhot they are on all the time and cook the most delicious roasts.

Crosswithlifeatm · 20/09/2022 00:13

You're reasonable to expect him to cook a couple of days a week.Leave him too it, he'll soon be fed up of eating crap food himself and your kids will be ok.
Smile sweetly,send him delias recipe for cooking chicken and sympathise that it was probably not a great chicken but not to throw it out next time as leftovers could still make pie/curry/soup.
Then step away and leave him to it!

Japanesejazz · 20/09/2022 00:25

I feel sorry for the chicken which was likely grown in the most horrific conditions and half of it was just thrown away
thats a life, something that lived, breathed, was produced solely for human consumption
yeah we bought it, we fucked up cooking it, we binned half of it
You can now come back OP in mumsnet style to tell us that you purchased the chicken from a chicken sanctuary and you’ve retrieved it from the bin and will be making soup for the rest of the year from it (but you will be lying)
and chickens are fab, but on the plus side factory farmed ones are full of carcinogens so at least the children are only half cancerous

sadeyedladyofthelowlandsea · 20/09/2022 00:29

ExP once cooked frozen chicken as if it were fresh and made us both so ill for about 2 weeks. I didn't realise, and didn't want to complain that it tasted a bit weird, then got to the middle of what was still very clearly raw chicken. I quickly knew it was a problem within about twelve hours.

I think the problem here is a bit more than just undercooked chicken though.

Arenanewbie · 20/09/2022 00:30

Sorry OP, but I think 1hour 20 minutes for biggish chicken in not preheated oven was not enough so the chicken was undercooked.
I suspect your DH gave it to children first and when they complained he checked and realised that the chicken was undercooked so he put it into the bin. Of course it depends on temperature but 1 hour 20 min is never enough if it’s an old not preheated oven.

nettie434 · 20/09/2022 01:01

I think the cooking times on chicken packaging are on the generous side and assume that the oven hasn't been preheated to reduce the risk of food poisoning. I suspect he just didn't cook it well rather than it was undercooked. If he is going in for weaponised incompetence, then it might be better to encourage him to make something safe like a pasta bake which is more likely to turn out the way it's meant to.

DeanStockwelll · 20/09/2022 01:05

You could pre heat a over for 2 hrs and still under cook it or not preheat it at all and cook it perfectly.
FWIW I don't preheat heat and don't have any problems been able to tell if the chicken or any other meat / veg is cooked properly.

However all that said your DHs attitude and incompetence is a much bigger issue.