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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To think cooking a roast every weekend is completely unnecessary

418 replies

ChristmasAlone · 03/05/2021 15:32

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.

OP posts:
KingdomScrolls · 04/05/2021 07:21

Interesting that a lot of people who are saying it's easy are using prepared or processed components, paxo, gravy granules, ready made Yorkshire puddings etc or just having near, potatoes and a couple of steamed veg. I can see that makes it easier but I prefer it when everything is from scratch so we probably have one a month in winter, not at all in summer. I also like different textures of vegetables rather than everything just steamed or boiled and that adds hassle. Standard for us would be the meat, roast potatoes, roast parsnips, carrot and swede mash, a green veg (spring greens, tender stern broccoli, sprouts etc), then either home made Yorkshire puddings or stuffing made with sausage meat, if we have guests I'll also make cauliflower cheese. It's a lot of components, different cooking times and methods, lovely meal but I've often got other things to do on a Sunday and work during the week.
I do sometimes do a Mediterranean mid week roast, chicken stuffed with lemon, garlic, herbs and a one tray combination of new potatoes , courgettes, peppers, red onions, mushrooms, aubergine etc all roasted with garlic and herbs. That's a good WFH day dinner as it takes about ten minutes to get it into the oven then just leave it for an hour or so

funtimefrank · 04/05/2021 07:28

I cook a roast most Sundays. The actual meat I do little to as dh likes it c traditional but I do roast spuds, sometimes other roast veg, 2 x other veg inc one green plus home made yorkies and hm gravy. Sometimes a proper pud but quite often a shop bought one.

My mum comes down and it's a family day. I find the cooking relaxing tbh and refuse to let anyone help.

Mooda · 04/05/2021 07:31

I used to do one quite frequently then went mainly vegan (more for environmental reasons than issues with eating animals tbf) and I'm surprised how nauseous this thread is making me feel - all that roasted flesh! Every week is a LOT of meat. Still do one for the DC every now and then though and they (teens) make their own occasionally.

PMcGintysGoat · 04/05/2021 07:34

Im out of the house and so can't keep and eye on the clock

If you are out all day and return to the house 30 minutes before you want to eat then obviously you'll not be roasting a piece of meat that needs 60+ mins in oven plus resting time. The point was that, assuming you're at home, cooking a roast doesn't need to routinely take more time than anything else.

DarkCloudComing · 04/05/2021 07:42

We do a roast most Sundays whether meat or non meat

Tbh I like the roast vegetables and Yorkshires that go with it as much as anything else!

PMcGintysGoat · 04/05/2021 07:43

Yeah sounds like a lot of the cook them weekly just do a very generic low quality roast with little to no effort put in

Just because it doesn't take alot of effort doesn't mean something is very generic low quality OP Hmm

There are very few home cooking things that are genuinely alot of effort, even when cooked from scratch.

stayathomer · 04/05/2021 07:46

Same with any food though, isn't it? When you start feeling like you're in a rut, you stop. For us it's a chance to take proper time over food and then sit down and savour the results, yes we probably have it forty something times a year but we probably have bolognese sixty times a year and that never gets old, whatever floats your boat!!

bishbashbosh99 · 04/05/2021 07:47

I do every other week. And some nice brunch type thing or out otherwise. I could have one every week, I could even cook it every week as I love so much bug the mega we get is too expensive to do that often

bishbashbosh99 · 04/05/2021 07:50

What I really love is how the day revolves around it. Start cooking very early, husband will take the kids out in the last hour of it and I open the wine and have a glass with my feet up waiting for the magic to happen then the last few mins of getting it all ready and plating up is slightly wonky after the glass of wine ...Ooh bliss

Loubylou79 · 04/05/2021 07:51

Not a necessity but we do one every Sunday in the winter and enjoy that time to sit down as a family. The kids love roast dinner so why not do one every week?

RosesAndHellebores · 04/05/2021 07:56

@Darkbrownistheriver - I completely agree - a good quality joint is essential. Rib of beef - the small rolled ones are tolerable; leg or shoulder of lamb; pork loin crackling joint; free range chicken.

When there are four of us I usually buy a small joint because none of us like cold pork or lamb in particular. In fact the only thing I hated about a roast as a child was coldest, mash and pickle on Mondays.

HappydaysArehere · 04/05/2021 08:04

It used to be set in stone years ago. Everyone had some kind of joint to roast. Then cold on Monday and minced up on Tuesday. Times changed and so did the food we ate. More food variety was on offer and people valued their time to do different things at the weekend. When I was young most shops were closed and people had their roast dinner in the middle of the day. Today it doesn’t matter what you do. In fact prior to lockdown people often ate out. As said have what suits you. I enjoy a roast dinner but no longer want it too often.

LolaNova · 04/05/2021 08:06

A roast can be a relatively inexpensive, healthy meal depending on how/what you cook. I however like to go all out and seem to use all the tins and pans and make a huge mess... so it’s an occasional treat for us 😂

Parker231 · 04/05/2021 08:15

I think why many, including our family, don’t regularly have a Sunday roast is that we are rarely home during the day to spend the time preparing and cooking it. Sunday is our usual day to be out for the majority of the day.

DelBocaVista · 04/05/2021 08:18

Yeah sounds like a lot of the cook them weekly just do a very generic low quality roast with little to no effort put in

Bloody hell. You sound nice.
I don't find making a roast hard work but I could do it with my eyes closed because I do it so often and it's my favourite meal.
It's certainly not low quality and I make most things from scratch.

UntilYourNextHairBrainedScheme · 04/05/2021 08:32

bishbashbosh99 as well as the terminology issue, the sentiments you express in your post also at the core of it - what you describe as bliss isn't bliss for me, its a tie, a dreary, dreary commitment to not leaving the house or getting properly absorbed in doing something else. Its a reminder of how my mother's Sundays were ruled by church and the roast (and the unforgivable sin I committed as a teen of telling her she didn't have to give up her Sundays as none of us would mind making ourselves or everyone soup and a sandwich instead at all - in fact we'd prefer it - that just got me ranted and wept at for being ungrateful).
Baggage obviously.

Different people like different things - yes, a simple roast is piss easy, but its a tie and not worth blocking such a large chunk of time, preventing the person cooking fromleaving the house.

Or its a blissful routine, a wonderful relaxing way to spend time.

Never the twain shall meet, I suspect!

ChristmasAlone · 04/05/2021 08:39

@DelBocaVista

Yeah sounds like a lot of the cook them weekly just do a very generic low quality roast with little to no effort put in

Bloody hell. You sound nice.
I don't find making a roast hard work but I could do it with my eyes closed because I do it so often and it's my favourite meal.
It's certainly not low quality and I make most things from scratch.

It was a throw away comment on response to people that don't cook them weekly can't cook
OP posts:
ineedaholidaynow · 04/05/2021 08:41

If we are going to be busy on a Sunday we would normally choose a beef joint, about an hour in the oven with roasted veg to save time. Whilst cooking can do other things as don’t really need to do anything with it whilst in the oven.

Forwardroll · 04/05/2021 08:45

@KingdomScrolls

Interesting that a lot of people who are saying it's easy are using prepared or processed components, paxo, gravy granules, ready made Yorkshire puddings etc or just having near, potatoes and a couple of steamed veg. I can see that makes it easier but I prefer it when everything is from scratch so we probably have one a month in winter, not at all in summer. I also like different textures of vegetables rather than everything just steamed or boiled and that adds hassle. Standard for us would be the meat, roast potatoes, roast parsnips, carrot and swede mash, a green veg (spring greens, tender stern broccoli, sprouts etc), then either home made Yorkshire puddings or stuffing made with sausage meat, if we have guests I'll also make cauliflower cheese. It's a lot of components, different cooking times and methods, lovely meal but I've often got other things to do on a Sunday and work during the week. I do sometimes do a Mediterranean mid week roast, chicken stuffed with lemon, garlic, herbs and a one tray combination of new potatoes , courgettes, peppers, red onions, mushrooms, aubergine etc all roasted with garlic and herbs. That's a good WFH day dinner as it takes about ten minutes to get it into the oven then just leave it for an hour or so
Interesting that a lot of people who are saying it's easy are using prepared or processed components, paxo, gravy granules, ready made Yorkshire puddings etc or just having near, potatoes and a couple of steamed veg.

I've said it's easy and have never used Paxo or gravy granules or ready made Yorkshire pudding mix ever thank you very much! I prepare home made stock for gravy and stuffing in advance. You can have both of these things ready in the freezer or fridge. We usually have a very easy fakeaway or takeaway on Saturdays so any prep for Sunday gets done then eg pudding or stuffing prep. I often have my stock pot going mid week. You can make the batter for Yorkshire pudding the night before. My mother had a way of baking Yorkshires in advance and freezing them which I haven't tried yet but they always tasted excellent. One of my teens peels the spuds and sets the table on the day. Another may prep the pud the day before. We all clear and I load the dw. DH soaks and scrubs the roasting pan clean while he feeds the dogs their Sunday lunch . If you are having roast spuds you can parboil them and rough them up and set them in a roasting tin in the fridge or cold pantry with goose fat in advance and then shove them in the oven directly. Ditto you can place meat on peeled veg in its tin, add herbs, garlic, season it etc, and have it ready in fridge or a cold place ready to shove in oven. I might steam one veg but I may roast or grill another on a griddle pan. And personally I don't think cauliflower cheese belongs in a Sunday roast, or braised red cabbage tbh, I love both those dishes but I would serve cauliflower cheese as a dinner on its own, maybe with a bit of bacon or gammon ham, and braised red cabbage with sausages or game if it's a special occasion. I only serve one or two veg because it's about the quality of them and how carefully they are cooked, not the quantity imho. Each to their own!

My point is that there are all sorts of ways you can make it less hassle by prepping the components in advance. We have to do this because we are always out on Sunday mornings and one of us, usually DH, runs ahead to put the meat on. The key is the mid-week planning so you do all the shopping in advance and have all ingredients in place by Friday night/ early Saturday morning for Sunday. I personally find it more of a hassle if I Ieave the shopping any later than that. I like all the ingredients gathered in early and then I have plenty of time to relax and enjoy the prep.

I do exactly the same Mediterranean chicken dish with roasted vegetables as you KingdomScrolls (although I leave out the mushrooms) and I agree it is really easy and delicious.

DelBocaVista · 04/05/2021 08:45

It was a throw away comment on response to people that don't cook them weekly can't cook

It read like you were suggesting that those who do cook them weekly tend to cook low quality meals. Such a bizarre response.....

Some people love a weekly Sunday roast others don't. Yet the world keeps turning!

CounsellorTroi · 04/05/2021 08:45

I do like an occasional roast but feel that the time it takes preparing, cooking, eating, clearing away is time I’d rather spend doing something else.

Forwardroll · 04/05/2021 08:46

Oops didn't mean to double quote there and write an essay Blush

ChristmasAlone · 04/05/2021 08:54

@DelBocaVista

It was a throw away comment on response to people that don't cook them weekly can't cook

It read like you were suggesting that those who do cook them weekly tend to cook low quality meals. Such a bizarre response.....

Some people love a weekly Sunday roast others don't. Yet the world keeps turning!

Oh so similar to the don't cook can't cook type comments

Got ya

OP posts:
Bumblebee1980a · 04/05/2021 08:55

I really don't think they're too much bother.

It's basically just sticking a chicken and potatoes in the oven and then steaming some veg. We make stuffing too and Yorkshire puddings if we want to make it special.

We tend to not bother as much during the summer.

DelBocaVista · 04/05/2021 08:56

Oh so similar to the don't cook can't cook type comments

Got ya

Nope! I'm not judging people 🤷🏼‍♀️

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