To think it is obvious that you are roasting the chicken...

[Neverenoughbiscuits]

DH and I both been out with different DC today. Had a discussion in the middle of the day around what we were having for dinner (Chicken Caesar salad with diced roast potatoes). Likelihood was that he'd be home first and would get dinner on.

We have a whole chicken (no other chicken) in the fridge for the salad. He sent me a message asking if he "should roast the chicken". I didn't see the message so have just spoken to him and apparently he was waiting for me to reply so hasn't put the chicken on. Given that we have no other chicken and he is aware of what we were having, AIBU to assume that it was bloody obvious what to do with the chicken and that he didn't need me to tell him?

I'm pretty grumpy that we're going to eat really late and he's having a strop because I asked him if he thought we'd be eating it raw.

I have and it's absolutely superior to cold chicken!

In my student days my favourite meal in our student union was chicken caesar salad. The chicken was served warm on the salad. Absolutely flipping delicious! If we were busy talking or doing work when it arrived I was always sad if I didn't get around to eating it until it had cooled down.

OP, I think roast chicken caesar salad with roast potatoes sounds absolutely drool worthy, and I will be eating exactly that at my earliest possible opportunity this week! I've been going through a phase of eating chicken caesar salads for my lunches so this is perfect, I'll have it warm roasted with potatoes for an evening meal and the leftover chicken meat and salad veg for lunches. And then I'll be happy because I have a chicken carcass and I can make proper chicken pho broth for soup. Perfecto!

I think that was very much @IbizaToTheNorfolkBroads's own point.

It's also been an eye opener to me how many people are thrown by the idea of cooking a whole chicken and then using it in various meals. (Is the word 'roast' the root cause of some of this?) You can't buy free range chicken pre-cooked anywhere I can shop easily, and it's hard (and expensive) to find free range or organic chicken breasts in some too, or thighs, which I prefer to cook with when I can.

It's incredibly easy to roast a chicken too - it requires virtually no attention - and then you've got a whole chicken's worth of meat to do interesting things with. I also now very much want a warm chicken Caesar salad.

We roast a chicken every Sunday mainly for use on salad, wraps and sandwiches throughout the week. Sometimes we have a roast dinner but not every week. I agree it’s much better chicken and a warm freshly roasted chicken on a salad is delightful!

anyway not the point of your threat just thought I’d add my two pennies given that everyone has found it so odd!

We also regularly roast a chicken to top off risotto, make sandwiches etc and stock. We sometimes have it as a proper roast but only occasionally. A whole roast chicken is so delicious and I get the brown meat and skin

I'm astonished by some of these answers and think people are getting side tracked by their personal cooking/eating preferences. I see the point of OP's post as, why does she have to do the thinking for her DH?

They discussed if he were home first, he would put dinner on. He knows what's for dinner and he can see there is a whole, raw chicken in the fridge. Does she really need to tell him a chicken has to be cooked before it is eaten? And if he was that perplexed by the different ways in which a chicken can be cooked, why not make a decision and make another meal ready for when OP and DC got home?

What madness is this? Yorkshire puddings are for all roasts.

This, this, this! He's an adult, and shouldn't need instructions to make a common sense decision.

Traditionally Yorkshire Puddings were made with the dripping off roasted meat, generally beef or mutton. Beef then became the mostly widely eaten.

We have always stuck with this. I generally use beef dripping as fat in my yorkies. Don't feel the need to have them with any other roast.

What's the problem with the biscuits?

Does the blame also lie with your DH? 😁

I hope your salad was nice and you've forgiven your DH!

Traditionally we beat our children, it doesn’t mean we can’t improve 😂

Vegetable oil smoking hot, batter added, big pillowy Yorkshire puds with the chicken or nut roast, dietary restrictions depending.

Yes, your DH is a numpty who shouldn't need instructions. A second opinion maybe but, when he couldn't get one, he should have cracked on with cooking the chicken

Its also really expensive to buy chicken breasts or thighs per portion compared to what they would cost when coming as part and parcel of the whole chicken.

Poach with vegetables, herbs. Let it go cold and use for salad. Next day you have lovely stock to make soup to which you could add any left over chicken plus small pasta like orzo or butter beans etc for another meal. I should confess this post was dictated by DH who would have done this without thinking.

Pretty sure if the post was “I came home to find my husband had roasted a whole chicken for the salad and not the small pieces we had / waited for me to arrive with chicken breasts. What a waste. He’s an idiot” then you’d be told to leave him…

Sorry your thread has been derailed with people making out that you gave him mixed messages as it was a whole chicken.

When I message someone with a question that needs a timely answer and I don't bother following it up, I'm basically relinquishing responsibility. That's what I'm assuming he did. He should have phoned you once it got obvious that he was running out of time to cook the chicken.

YANBU to be annoyed.

How on earth is it being 'wasted' if it's being eaten in a way they enjoy. What a strange comment.

Leftover roast chicken, @soupyspoon 🤷‍♀️

I would have checked like the DH because chicken Caesar salad is usually a leftover dish for us.

My Yorkshire granny cooked three slabs of Yorkshire pudding for a roast dinner; starter was YP with gravy and onions sliced into vinegar with a sprinkling of sugar, second slab with the beef (more stodge = less meat) and pudding was the third YP served like a pancake with sugar and lemon. A tradition that I continue when my kids are all here.

In our house dh would have been asking as in should it be put in the smoker or roasted.

Loved smoked chicken in wraps with salad 🤤

The majority on this thread seem to favour cold chicken in salad from the comments. If you are going to eat the chicken cold, it is quite wasteful in terms of energy to roast a chicken to cook it down for a cold salad then use the cold leftovers to make a curry or something the next day, @Deboragh.

But this is them and their house. Presumably this isn’t the first time they’ve eaten this dish and eat it warm every time. The OP’s DH isn’t consulting a MN jury at this point.

Maybe itisIbeserk but despite being unanimous in our household that warm chicken has no place in Caesar salad 😂 we all have our own way of making things, different recipes for the same dish and some things that only one person cooks 🤷‍♀️ Unless her DH has roasted a whole chicken to make Caesar salad before, it’s not unreasonable to check. As this thread shows, the majority of people wouldn’t roast a whole chicken for Caesar salad.

But he’s not the majority of people. He’s a man who has eaten the dish before, cooked like that. Or perhaps as has been said already, the OP really just wanted him to have a bit of initiative and prepare some food without needing her to direct him in it.

He's an idiot.

Like you I regularly roast a large organic chicken and I then strip it completely and use leftovers for a chicken curry/stew with loads of veg.
I make great soup with the chicken stock.
Zero waste.

You are being unreasonable! He didn’t know if you maybe meant just pan fry part of it. That would be quicker and easier for the dish you describe. I’m with him on this I’m afraid.