To not enjoy a 'Sunday Roast'?

[ManicUnicorn]

Is it just me who doesn't get the love for it? It's probably the most boring and bland meal there is. A massive lump of tasteless meat and boiled vegetables, smothered in gravy.

My DF insists he has to have one every single Sunday, but quite honestly I'd rather have a curry, or pizza, or slag Bol, or anything other than a roast fucking dinner.

Why are we so obsessed with having a roast dinner on Sunday in this country?

I do tend to be one of those people that if I have spent ages cooking something I am sick of looking at it by the time it comes to eat it.

Tender roast chicken (with pan gravy, no watery Bisto here!) and crunchy veg are two of the simplest and economical things you could make -- so why not try it!

I love a roast. Chicken, beef or lamb. All yummy anytime of the year. We don't have one every week , we just have them on random days.
I think we would of had one today but my friend invited us to dinner yesterday ( a simple BBQ but tasted fantastic as I didn't prep or cook it!!) so we had the kievs we had out for yesterday today !

I would feel lost on a Sunday if I wasn't cooking a roast.

I don't do them often now.

But they are also a good base for future dinners. The leftovers from a joint of meat can be the basis of sandwiches, stews, salads, casseroles.

Left over veg and chicken carcasses for soup and stock.

I think you have to be fairly good at timings to get the different elements to come together at the right time. Also it helps if there is somewhere you can buy good meat.

A massive lump of tasteless meat and boiled vegetables, smothered in gravy

That sounds minging so I'm not surprised you don't fancy it. That said, I do love a good roast, my favourite is lamb leg that has soaked in garlic, rosemary and red wine for a night before cooking. Maple basted chicken is lovely too. I can't bear overcooked veg and bland, chewy meat though. My late mum was a lot of lovely things, but a good cook wasn't one of them (sorry Ma). Thankfully my dad is shit hot at cooking which salvaged many a family dinner!

I do one a fortnight-ish.

Big chicken or beef, then there's loads of leftovers. A big chicken does loads of meals (chicken pie, and normally a casserole too) and it's one of the few meals everyone actually likes.

I draw the line at Aunty Bessie's anything though. Roast potatoes done from scratch and big yummy fluffy Yorkshires (with ANY roast!) are just the best.

That said, other weeks I do other family dinners. Spag Bol last Sunday, and toad in the hole tonight. Next week will be a Sunday roast week.

It's a roast dinner, therefore you should have roast, not boiled, vegetables.

If you hate all the oily washing up after a roast dinner just buy some of those disposable large foil traybake tins for the roasties/cauli cheese and one of those sturdier foil container for the meat/chicken. Makes clean-up a breeze.

OP I am silently weeping for you. A good roast is a thing of beauty!

Honestly, buy yourself a decent cook book, pour yourself a glass of wine and enjoy a couple of hours in the kitchen cooking up a storm. All the time & attention is IMHO worth it for the end result.

I like a roast if I cook it.

tender rare quick roasted beef, yorkshire pud, roasties - fluffy in the middle, crispy outside done in a mix of goose fat and oil, roast parsnips/carrots, steamed cauliflower/green beans, gravy made with meat juices and veg water.

(but if DMIL/DM cook it - rubbery chicken, dry pork or beef incinerated to within an inch of it's existence , paxo, hard roasties, boiled to death carrots and cabbage, gravy from the bisto jar. no thanks.)

I love a good roast. One made by me or dh. My Nan's roast is pretty good too. I wish we were having one today but we haven't got time. We probably only have one once a month.

Sunday roast is by far my favourite meal and regard it as a family very happy ritual....

I really don't think bland is a word I would ever have applied to it [shocked]

For a lot of people the words 'enjoy' and 'the kitchen' don't go together at all.

What people like eating is so personal that you're YANBU to dislike any sort of food at all.

But having said that, I agree with pp that the roast dinner's you've had sound badly cooked and like poor examples of a roast dinner. So I think you should try a well cooked roast dinner before writing them off altogether.

I bloody love a roast dinner and, apart from when the weather is hot, we have one most Sundays. It is the most non labour intensive meal ever, because I prep everything on Saturday and can cook it without thinking.

OP you just haven't had a good one!

Today was really tender thick slices of pork with crackling
Apple sauce made from apples from the garden
Homemade stuffing
A mountain of roast pots
Green beans from the garden
cabbage and carrotts all with a gallon of tasty gravy

All our family love a roast

What's not to like?!

You've definitely been having a bad sort of Sunday dinner... It's amazing when done right

These descriptions are mouthwatering! (apart from OP's! )

i'm actually happy that the weather has turned now and we're heading into winter. much more acceptable to have a roast dinner.

agree with the others OP, if the meat is bland and the veg is boiled to buggery then its not being done properly.

honey roasted carrots and parsnips
fluffy golden roasts
yorkies (not just with beef....)
beautiful silky flavoursome gravy
roasted sweet potatoes and butternut
lovely succulent juicy roasted chicken/beef/pork/lambylamblamb
stuffing
peppery buttery leeks
mashed carrot and swede
cheesey brocoli

(not all of the above in one roast though...although that would be awesome!)

I love a roast generally don't have one on Sunday tho its a very busy day for us so I like to eat something that will cook quicker. But done properly a roast is delicious and could never be described as bland.

Roast dinners are only good if cooked by my mum or my sister. I apparently make ones just as good, but I don't enjoy it after cooking it.

I hate roast dinners cooked by anyone else. MILs are perfectly adequate, but they involve stuff that isn't roast dinner-ish to me. And she does that weird bird in a bird in a bird shite at christmas, which I hate. She also insists on a starter, whereas if a roast dinner was big good enough, there would be no need for starters.

YABU, although I love a good slag bol too.

Sunday roast can be amazing, mostly to do with the extras, condiments and the way the meat is cooked. There must be herbs, crunchy potatoes with garlic, some spicy mustard or horseradish, yorkies and proper gravy made from the bottom of the pan. Beef must be rare, pork must have crackling.

i have given up over the years, so if i do cook one it turns into a bit of an event! plus joints of meat tend to be pricey ( for a good one) and the mess is also off putting. i hate cooking now the children are much older too and its all become a chore.
I must admit, that a really well cooked roast is lovely , its just that i cba.
( if someone else cooked it for me then i would enjoy it i bet)

I agree with you OP-the only bit of a roast dinner I can hack is the stuffing and maybe the veg and potatoes, but I'd happily eat nearly any over dinner over it

Sounds as though you've only ever had rubbish roasts. Pork, lamb, beef or chicken, when cooked well, are not tasteless. Steamed vegetables retain the 'bite'as well as the flavour. Crisp on the outside, fluffy on the inside roast potatoes are amazing. Roast parsnips are my favourite and Yorkshire puddings are the crowning glory of a roast. Accompaniments, such as home made stuffing, cranberry sauce, mint or apple sauce along with the homemade gravy, are the finishing touches. I don't make them often, but when I do, everyone loves them. The only reason I don't make them more frequently, is because of the time it takes to do properly - I don't have time after work and most weekends we are busy with other stuff. The one thing a good roast isn't, is boring and bland.