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.

I do one every couple weeks in the winter. Sometimes midweek. Less so in the summer

I rarely cooked a roast dinner, enjoy the food when I do and make light work of it.

I have lots of other stuff happening at the weekend so not really practical

As a child, we had one every weekend during spring, autumn and winter. We weren’t as busy with activities as children though. We have too much going on with sport over the weekend to cook one at home, but my MIL does a mean roast. If we had time I would probably do one every Sunday as it is one of my favourite meals.

[quote ineedaholidaynow]@Voomster953 why is it so fatty and calorific? Some meat and veg, you don't have to pile your plate up high[/quote]
It’s about a thousand calories+ and that’s a lot in my opinion for one meal. I’m not keen on huge slabs of meat anyway but I do like the sundries of a roast, especially the potatoes and yorkies and stuffing and bread sauce. I just don’t like them frequently as it feels like a gluttonous amount of food if you have all the trimmings and it’s a lot of work to make.

Christmas only here, and that’s for the benefit of the wider family.
I hate roast dinners, huge faff for a dull and stodgy meal. My DC also hate roast dinners, none of us are fans of a chunk of meat on a plate generally though.
DH loves a roast dinner but not enough to actually cook himself one

Love roast, doesn’t have to be a Sunday, it’s a straightforward meal no more or less of a faff than any other type of dinner.

My Sunday lunches are nowhere near 1000 plus calories, depending on how many roast potatoes you have. You can’t get much healthier than roast chicken and steamed vegetables.

I do a roast most weekends. DH (European) had never had one before he met me, but absolutely loves them and can cook a mean one himself now. We usually rotate beef, chicken, lamb, pork, duck, sometimes venison. Vary the vegetables, may give it a Middle Eastern vibe occasionally, sometimes have it with just salad, but we ALWAYS have to have roast potatoes. We’ll do it in the summer too, unless we’re bbq-ing (which also usually involves roast potatoes). I don’t understand people saying they couldn’t eat the same thing every week. The only thing that’s the same is that we cook a piece of meat in the oven (apart from the roast potatoes of course ). We use different herbs and spices and varying degrees of effort, depending on how we feel. It’s really not a huge chore (apart from Christmas, but that’s at a whole other level!

Obviously, you might not be so keen if you’re a vegetarian - but on the other hand the veg/salad are just as important and interesting as the meat (although a lot cheaper!) and DD who’s veggie also loves it.

"I hate when people seem to think that they are the only person in the country who is sophisticated enough to eat anything better than the rest of the population who eat such ‘disgusting’ food."

Quite the reverse... I think that food - like music - is all about ordinary people and not elites or sophistication.

I think that all of the best food is peasant food - fish and chips, pizza, simple pasta dishes, relatively simple veggie indian dishes. Roast dinners are the absolute reverse, they are luxurious feasts, or ordinary people's attempt at replicating the luxurious feast that the lord of the manor has any time he wants, but the peasants can only have once a week.

We're weekly here too. Usually roast turkey breast joint and a ham. The meat is mixed with lettuce, onion etc for lunch box wraps during the week. I learnt long ago to peel the night before though. Potatoes, carrots, shredded cabbage can sit in water overnight. Sweet potato, parsnips absorb water so I store them in airtight container. Everything is steamed or roasted. I find it one of the most low maintenance meals - no need to hover over anything while it's cooking. I suppose anything is easy when it's a habit. I find making a selection of sandwiches way more painful. At Christmas, we "peeled and sealed" all the veg on 23rd using vacuum sealer. Makes a world of difference. It's certainly not "necessary" but it does make our lives easier.

I make one every week unless something crops up, even then I usually do one on a Monday to make up for it! I wouldn’t say it’s unnecessary as I love them and so does my fiancé. I actually enjoy making it aswell 🤷🏻‍♀️

I love a roast dinner, and like to make it special. We all sit round the dining room table, we use the cutlery that my grandmother left me and it just feels lovely. Usually just roast chicken, roast potatoes, broccoli and carrots or if I'm feeling brave yorkshire puddings, and for a real special occasion I'll make cauliflower cheese. DH might make a crumble for pudding. It's a family tradition for me, and as I cook it no one minds.

I only cook a roast if fil comes for dinner. We make sure he has a good feed otherwise he’d eat pizza, fish and chips and ready meals. I make there’s plenty of vegetables. I rotate the meats, chicken, beef, lamb, pork/gammon.
If fil is not around we’ll have burgers, quiche, pasta, anything but a roast.

Love a roast but only I cook them at Christmas, New Year and Easter (although sometimes at Easter we’ll have a bbq depending on how warm it is).

Every Sunday we have a roast but we switch up the meat and vegetables for variety. In the summer we BBQ the roast and make salads from the veg, so same food just presented differently

@LifeinPieces21

I also agree it doesn't take that long, well not my version of a Sunday Roast.

Agree - and even less time if you don't peel the potatoes or the carrots or the parsnips.

We have a ‘cheat’s’ version of a roast most weekends from October to around April but it’s usually just roast carrots, couple of types green veg, roast carrots and a ready marinated roast chicken to chuck in the oven. Maybe lazy roast potatoes (new potatoes just chopped in half) or ready done Yorkshires.. so time-wise I feel like it takes about the same as other meals or even easier. If I was making my roasts authentically and chef style I definitely wouldn’t bother with every week!

Ooh & for carrots, not peeling them is a total game changer.

@Darkbrownistheriver

I do a roast most weekends. DH (European) had never had one before he met me, but absolutely loves them and can cook a mean one himself now. We usually rotate beef, chicken, lamb, pork, duck, sometimes venison. Vary the vegetables, may give it a Middle Eastern vibe occasionally, sometimes have it with just salad, but we ALWAYS have to have roast potatoes. We’ll do it in the summer too, unless we’re bbq-ing (which also usually involves roast potatoes). I don’t understand people saying they couldn’t eat the same thing every week. The only thing that’s the same is that we cook a piece of meat in the oven (apart from the roast potatoes of course ). We use different herbs and spices and varying degrees of effort, depending on how we feel. It’s really not a huge chore (apart from Christmas, but that’s at a whole other level!

Obviously, you might not be so keen if you’re a vegetarian - but on the other hand the veg/salad are just as important and interesting as the meat (although a lot cheaper!) and DD who’s veggie also loves it.

Yeah DP is also not British (well has just got British passport but not the same) he didn't grow up with the tradition of roasts every weekend and whilst he enjoys them I doubt its something he'd outrightly ask for. He grew up in a house where the Sunday meal was important, but never the same every weekend. He enjoys cooking as well so most weekends he'll cook something from Central/Eastern Europe on the Sunday. I like the meals so it's no issue for me and I love having the variety.

@JediGnot but a roast is traditional simple fare too. The Yorkshire pudding was sometimes served first to fill people up, then they would have the joint of meat and veggies. My DF came from Yorkshire and that is how he ate roasts.

You don't have to have all the trimmings every week.

Why is a roast 1000+ calories @Voomster953?

I love a roast and do 1 probably 3 times a month especially in the winter, it's just feel good soul food. During the summer, probably roasted meat but served with salad, new potatoes.

We rarely have a Sunday roast - no one particularly likes it and we have a tradition of a Sunday brunch at our local deli.

I love cooking and in winter or bad weather tend to do one on Sundays. I love pottering round the kitchen, glass of wine on hand, listening to The Archers omnibus whilst doing the roast. We don't have them in the summer though.

But I wouldn't think twice if someone didn't ever do one.

Another reason I like it is it’s low calorie. Half plate is veg. I don’t eat fat on meat. My roast potatoes are in airfryer with spray oil. I do SlimmingWorld and it’s a free meal just syns for gravy. Very diet friendly.

I like a roast, but not every week. DH and i normally have meat on a Sunday, whuch is sometimes roast but somtimes stew or pie or something else. Teens are veggie/ vegan and its easier to cook the same for everyone midweek, so i look forards to my Sunday meat day.