To think cooking a roast every weekend is completely unnecessary

[ChristmasAlone]

Stems from a conversation I just had, I'm cooking a roast at the moment and mentioned it was the first one I've cooked this year. I love a roast, but just think cooking one every weekend (I know it's Monday) just feels completely unnecessary and takes away from its beauty if you're having every Sunday.

We have roast dinner every Sunday (unless we are eating out in which case I never order a roast, always a let down). Its a bit of a routine, I generally do all the cooking with a large glass of wine while DH irons and DC do their homework.
We don’t have the same thing every week - different cuts of meet chicken, pork, lamb, beef and different sides - roast, mash, Parmentier or dauphinois potatoes and various vegetables. Today we had slow cooked lamb with mash and roast root veg. Pork with crispy roast potatoes is probably the favourite, DC love the crackling.

*meat not meet!

I do not get the British love for a roast dinner - takes ages to prep and cook then the pots afterwards! They fill the dishwasher and sink 😠

You obviously make your roast dinners in a very different way than I do!

However if we did like them, there's absolutely no way we'd have one every weekend. Surely you prefer to vary your weekly menu?

I do, by varying meat, veg and accompaniments roasts can vary widely.It's like saying a lasagne is the same as a spag bol or chilli. Or that a goulash is the same as beef bourguignon. Just because there are some similarities doesn't mean it's the same thing every week.

Oh and yes the leftovers are a bonus- we will be having a curry tomorrow with the leftover lamb

I hated Sunday’s as a kid. Horrible roasts every week- steamed up windows and feeling claustrophobic. Usually with a drunk dad and a huge argument. We’d all then have to sit round and pretend to have a lovely dinner. Ugh!
Therefore as an adult I refuse to have a Sunday ritual. We all love a roast but usually once a month/every 6 weeks

I love a roast. The thought of a roast is more work than the reality but I don’t cook one every weekend, probably every 2 or 3 weeks.

Beef yesterday. It was scrummy!

I do them whenever I feel like it. Sometimes once in a month. Sometimes twice in a week. Just had a very garlicky roast chicken with garam masala spiced roast potatoes, aubergine masala (leftover from Saturday) broccoli and asparagus. Moisture from the veg curry and chicken juices. Too small a chicken for leftovers for everyone, but a leg left for another meal for ds2.

@1AngelicFruitCake

I don't try to do a quick roast so much as an easy one and we don't mind using some ready made products, to be honest my DH loves Bisto, but you can do a reasonably quick and easy version from scratch following Delia's quick roast chicken recipe. Par boil the roast potatoes while the chicken is sitting out of the fridge to take the chill off and they will cook in a pan above the chicken if you only have one oven. Then do some simple vegetables along side.
www.deliaonline.com

Every Sunday without fail, and pudding.

It’s designed to be an easy, low effort meal that’s why it’s served on a Sunday/feast day in the Christian calendar.

I'm lost, cooking a roast doesn't take any more time than other meals surely?

I'm sick of cooking in general, but it doesn't make a difference to me whether it's a roast, a chicken, lasagne, a casserole, a bolognese etc.

My tip is to parboil and freeze potatoes in big batches and then cook roasties from frozen. I find they crisp up far more quickly/reliably than freshly boiled ones, possibly less moisture/steam generated as they fry.

I love a good roast. We have one most Sundays because we enjoy them. DH always cooks them too, which is a bonus.

Sorry I can't do a direct link but search for fast roast chicken on the Delia site.

I don’t do one every week, but to me they’re a lot less faff than many other meals. A lot of washing/clearing up, though. Not that it bothers me since dh does that - fair division of labour since he doesn’t cook.

I think that in the UK - a country famous for only having come up with one edible meal in it's entire history - fish and chips - people eat disgusting food and have a weird obsession with having the most disgusting of their disgusting food every single week, probably because that fits very nicely with man getting his proper reward from his woman for doing all the hard work all week

That's my (male) take

U ok hun?

I'm lost, cooking a roast doesn't take any more time than other meals surely?

It depends on what form your roast takes and what kind of other meals you're comparing it with! The meat itself doesn't necessarily take more time to cook than other things you might put in the oven, but if you have lots of different veg, including something with a sauce, and make gravy from scratch, yorkshire puddings, parboil your roast potatoes etc, it all adds up! It's certainly more effort than the majority of things I make for dinner, and I'm a fairly decent cook.

We have one most Sunday’s. And in the summer with swap the veg and roast potatoes for salad. Will often have a mini roast mid week too!! It’s a great way of getting loads of veg into us all too.
I have an autistic child and the Sunday roast is the one meal we all eat. (Other days I make at least 2 different meals every evening).

Yesterday we had a Greek meze at the deli for lunch and then salmon and vegetable kebabs (bought ready prepared) with rice in the evening. This probably pretty standard for us. We might have a roast on Christmas Day - they do a good one from Cook.

It's one of the only meals that we all like and enjoy and will all finish. It's hard to find meals that both kids like and will both eat and enjoy! So have one once a week!

I do a roast about 2 or 3 times a week because it's something the whole family enjoys and will eat. I don't do it just cos it's the weekend and if I feel like cooking something else I won't do a roast.

I’m surprised how many people have cauliflower cheese with their roasts! I’m in the UK and have never heard of this before.

Have one every single week without fail.

Some are more extravagant/more effort involved than others. Some are just meat, two veg and potatoes.

I love them, it's an institution in my house. It is NOT Sunday without one.

I guess cauliflower cheese is a roasted dish, I roast everything bar two vegetables of choice - that way everything goes in the oven, just at different times. I always leave the meat to rest under foil and tea towel for 90 minutes whilst I just roast everything else

I’m surprised how many people have cauliflower cheese with their roasts! I’m in the UK and have never heard of this before.

What's odd about it though? It's just a vegetable dish. Surely not much different than serving something like potatoes dauphinoises with meat?

I think cauliflower cheese is evil so it has no place in any of my roast dinners. I just don't think cheesy sauces and gravy belong on the same plate. Too congealy.

I'm lost, cooking a roast doesn't take any more time than other meals surely?

but I can prepare a cottage pie and leave in the fridge until we get home then pop in the oven for 30 minutes, same I guess with fish pie or a lasagna. I can't do that with a roast dinner and come home and have supper on the table in 30 minutes or thereabouts