To say think a roast dinner can be a cheap meal?

[HuffyPuffyStuffy]

I grew up eating roast dinners, always on a Sunday and often midweek too. I don't always cook a roast on a Sunday now but we always have a least one roast dinner a week. I mentioned to a newish friend earlier that I was cooking a roast today and she was teasing me about being "posh" and that she only has a roast on special occasions a roast costs so much!
I tried to say that a roast can be a cheap meal and she thought I was lying when I said that today's meal for four (2 adults and 2 teens) would cost under £6.00 and that we would have leftover meat for tomorrow. Obviously, a big joint of sirloin beef or a new season leg of lamb would be expensive but I couldn't get her to accept that a roast dinner could be cheap! I was so miffed I costed it out .........

1.5 kg joint of pork shoulder (Aldi) £4.21
Potatoes - roasted (Wonky Morrisons) 25p
Parsnips - roasted (Aldi) 20p
Carrots - boiled (Aldi) 15p
swede - boiled (Aldi) 20p
frozen peas (Morrisons) 30p
Stuffing made from leftover bread, half an onion and herbs from garden. 15p
Gravy - made from meat juice, plain flour, veg water.......10p

£5.56 for the roast

I didn't use my oven today. Meat was roasted in the slow cooker, potatoes and parsnips cooked in an air fryer and the veg cooked in my pressure cooker.

If you did a roast today how much did it cost?

That’s about right for a standard weekly roast. Need to be in for a couple of hours, but a practical affordable meat-based meal

I've just eaten a roast, it's hard to work out the cost but I'm guessing around £11 and there'll be meat left over for tomorrow's dinner too.

I don't like roasts that are little more than a plate full of vegetables with a few scraps of meat and stuffing though. So if you pack your plates out with veg, I can see how it would be cheaper but it's not my idea of a lovely roast.

Yes, you can do a roast cheaply.

If I see a decent joint/chicken reduced I buy it and freeze it, I rarely buy full price.

Veg is very cheap. I buy the own brand stuffing mix at about 60p though.

Can usually get a casserole out of the leftovers too.

Agree, and I tend to not use all the veg so they go with other meals. Yorkshires would be pennies as well to pad it out.

I don't really do roasts as such, I like a gammon joint in a slow cooker.
Have it wish mash and get etc. But I can then have the leftover tender gammon on sarnies for a few days.. with BBQ sauce and cheese.

I mean that's very cheap. I'm far lazier than you about finding bargains but I can serve four with one £5.50 chicken, and a bag of potatoes, some frozen peas and a bag of some other green veg is about £4. I would so consider around £2.50 a head a perfectly reasonable price.

Made more of an effort and surprised how much cheaper cooking from scratch and thing like roast are .

pressure cooker and slow cooker doesn't have to take hours to do

Do I feel a mumsnet chicken coming along?!

I would add some gravy salt to the veg water too but otherwise this is very like my roast dinners!

Depends on the meat you're using. A bog standard supermarket chicken and I can do a roast for our family of four for about a fiver. Pork is fairly reasonable. Beef and lamb is definitely more expensive

I have never thought of roasts as posh or expensive except paying for them as a meal out when you can replicate at home for much less per person.

@user1471541711

Do I feel a mumsnet chicken coming along?!

Is that the one where they feed a family of four for days on end and on chicken ended up making 36 meals only thing I can think of is chicken must be size of an emu

Hmmmm i suspect mine is usually more but I usually do more veg (but I'm a veggie) and add Yorkshire puds in.

But as a whole it can be on the cheaper side - I always do what my mum would describe as a proper pudding too

I think with a roast a lot comes down to the quality and welfare standards of the meat you are prepared to eat. It's cheap if you get a good bargain or dont mind cheap meat.

@user1471541711

Do I feel a mumsnet chicken coming along?!

It would be coming along but sends its apologies as it’s been roasted, it’s leftovers turned into meals to feed 8 people for a week and then had its carcass boiled for soup

I agree op. Pork and veg is the way to go.
We are not having a roast dinner today but a lentil dish so that's even cheaper!
Yesterday we had lamb chops which were expensive but lovely with mash and a couple of other vegetables.

There are levels of roast. What you’ve described is a standard roast and fine but not a treat roast.

Treat roast would be
Beef dripping roast potatoes
Red wine gravy
Horseradish sauce
A good beef joint

Treat roast.

Yes you can do a roast with a chicken or small piece of pork or gammon very economically. I often buy a large chicken and there's enough for a pasta bake on Monday.

Different if you go for lamb or beef but pot roasted topside gives enough for dinners for two days.

Did you not post this a couple of months ago? Distinctly recall the stuffing made from leftover bread, half an onion and herbs from the garden?

Absolutely, but it all comes back to the price of the meat. You can spend a whole lot or very little on that part.

I spent more on. Decent piece of pork shoulder for today, about £7, but it will do 4 of us today and another meal tomorrow or Tue (curry or casserole). Sides are roast pots, swede, carrots, green beans and cabbage. That was probably another £2.50 ish, so 2 meals for 4 for a tenner or so (more if I make the curry option).

I love pork fillet and stuffing with toasties and veg. It's cheap and tasty and doesn't take hours (roast in low heat for an hour)
It's about 6 euro for the meal and I make my own stuffing

Otherwise chicken (easier since I discovered you can cook a small one in the air fryer)

Roast beef is lovely slow cooker

A roast cN be a very cost effective meal. We will be having chicken (£3.45) with vegetables and yorkshire puddings later. There will be chicken left over for lunches.

I often buy a bag of chicken drumsticks for midweek.

I agree. For 6 of us today

Beef £15.91
Broccoli 45p
Carrots 30p
Green Beans 75p
Frozen cauliflower cheese 1/2 bag 80p (full bag was £1.60
Aunt Bessie's yourkshire puds £1.50
Frozen sprouts 50p

Potatoes are £4.75 for a 7kg bag which lasts for 2 weeks a least 4 meals a week so being conservative then we have used maybe £1 of potatoes.

Without the meat that is £6 at most if we had bought pork or a chicken for less than £5 then it would not have exceeded £10