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?

I bought a 2kg free range chicken for around €10 (supermarket only had huge ones). DH and I will have roast tonight, another substantial meal (either cold chicken with home made oven chips and veg or chicken in a white sauce with mushrooms, onions and tarragon, with rice), then soup later in the week (broth with onions, carrots, mushrooms, noodles and plenty of chicken), plus probably a sandwich each. Portions are generous, definitely not a mumsnet chicken! I guess the veg/accompaniments for each meal might add up to one or two euros, so that's 6 main meals for approx €15, or €2.50 a meal (and the sandwiches are free). Not super cheap but very reasonable!

Time is money so any meal that takes a load of faffing about is expensive! Regardless of the ingredients themselves

Twins separated and brought up independent of one another but with symmetrical lives.

Also I mean a real 'roast dinner' with all the trimmings potatoes, vege
I could make one for £6 total, yes, but what a lot of faff..

Maybe it's the same newish friend working their way around, questioning the cost of their friends dinners

YANBU
Are you sure she didn’t mean because of the time it takes rather than the cost?

I have roasts quite often as they’re cheap, easy and tasty but I usually cook the meat on the weekend and have the leftovers during the week.
On a weekend I’ll chop veg, have stuffing etc but during the week I’ll use frozen veg and have a frozen Yorkshire but no stuffing or extra trimmings due to time.

Very economical depending on the cut and providing its all used. Too many people have one meal from a joint and throw the rest away.

If you make enough there's the leftovers for the following day.
Heaven and no cooking.

We do a roast every Sunday we can. My eldest ds wouldn't be very happy if I didn't cook one!
It can be a cheap meal. I don't buy lamb or beef unless it's on offer but frozen veg, bag of potatoes, gravy mix etc is all cheap enough in lidl etc. If I buy a large joint my eldest usually eats it all so no chance of getting 5 meals out of it though(I could if I really wanted to but I'm happy for him to have the meat)

@Justcashnosweets

I don't know a single person who makes their stuffing from scratch with bread, onions and homegrown herbs 🤣

Really? All my family does! As do my two best friends and their mums! I never tasted paxo type stuffing until I met my MIL..........

We often make a nut roast, or occasionally chicken (free range) and it's a fairly inexpensive lunch. It can cost more if you want it to. Eg top cuts of beef.

@DiddyHeck I'd definitely say it about cheap meat too.

I agree with justcashnosweets. I add a bit of pork sausage meat to mine.

I do a dinner every Sunday (unless we’re out or have plans, even then I’ll do it on a Monday if possible) We had chicken today and it’s probably cost around the same as yours. Plus I make up a bowl for the dog and have a few bits leftover. I didn’t know it was seen as posh to have one 😂

I only ever make stuffing with Paxo! I also only ever make veggie gravy (onion, stock, & Marmite) because of too many horrendous meat juice based monstrosities served up by exMiL. The lumps used to dangle from the lip of the gravy boat with congealed hatred.

My mum always makes her own stuffing, she would never use a packet. I don't like it so don't make it.

YANBU, a roast is not a posh meal, it is a cheap meal to feed a family. She is probably the same sort of person who says she can't afford to buy a roast but will happily spend £20 at KFC without even thinking about it.

@Porcupineintherough

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.

I agree. I don't think meat should be cheap. I don't tend to spend less than £10-£13 on a chicken and only buy organic free range... hence, we eat VERY little meat these days! We gave up red meat a while ago and can make a large chicken into 6 meals for the two of us, plus a sandwich or two and a bit for the cat.

It is a fairly pricey meal here. We aren’t in uk, and meat and most food is way more expensive. Ie 500g carrots were €1.99 yesterday

We will have roast chicken today. 2 adults and toddler. There will be enough to use second meal Tomorrow ( probably fried rice). Chicken cost €14. I have never seen super cheap chicken here like you can get in hulk in Tesco etc.

@SmallChange11

Sorry op but your roast sounds like a cheap version a particular relative of mine cooks. Cheap meat, watery gravy and basic veg, not very enjoyable and not my idea of a decent roast.

My gravy is delicious, nothing watery about it at all! It's what my chef brother calls "proper gravy". I'm very good at roast potatoes and roast parsnips..........nothing wrong with basic seasonal veg like swede and carrots!

... oh, and I make my own stuffing with medium oatmeal, fried up with white onion, butter and herbs from the garden then baked int the oven. My Grandmother used to do the same (her version was 'skirlie' as the Scots call it).

I often cook a roast, normally free range chicken ( not organic) for my neighbour and I.
About 6 meals, cat food, sometimes soup, and yes packet stuffing

Today I fed four adults
900 gram pork joint (one of my 3 for £10 choices from Asda) - so say £3.50
Potatoes £1 bag from Aldi
Carrots 0.50
Cabbage 0.50
Stuffing mix - 25p - but I added some skinnned sausages into it so another 60p
Broccoli - 50p
I also made a giant Yorkshire pudding - 40p
Apple sauce 60p
Add oil and seasoning 20p
Total = £8ish (so £2 a head and it’s our ‘biggest’ meal of the week).
Best of all I have a plate of leftovers - mostly veg, potatoes and stuffing and a packet of frozen puff pastry (85p Aldi) in the fridge which will make pasties for lunch tomorrow.

I can’t believe I’ve just and worked all that out ☺️

@user1471541711

Do I feel a mumsnet chicken coming along?!

Beat me to it!

So I'm £6.30 plus 4 carrots and 2 onions left over from last weeks shop. And a stock cube!
There will be leftover chicken and potatoes for tomorrow's dinner.
It's roast chicken, with thinly sliced potatoes and onions cooked in stock, with sprouts and carrots. I forgot the bit of grated cheese to go on top on the potatoes but again from fridge stock. So I'm definitely under £7!
We shop in Tesco as DH gets staff discount.

I've always considered it a fairly cheap meal to make, and also one that is fairly easy to do too - I've been making it every Sunday for quite a while so have the timings down to a 't'!

Today we're having roast chicken, roast potatoes, Yorkshire puddings (shop bought), cauliflower cheese (also shop bought), sprouts, cabbage, broccoli, gravy - the total cost will be around £10.