AIBU to cook a 1KG chicken for 5 people at Christmas?

[ChickenChristmasDinner]

Our family have voted to have chicken at Christmas this year. We normally have a 1KG chicken for 4 people. Two people have a breast and the other two have a leg each.

However, at Christmas, there will be 5 of us at the table. I was thinking that as there will be starters, sides and a pudding at the feast , then our usual 1KG chicken might stretch to 5 people?

Am I being over optimistic?

I think it depends what people like.

This is clearly a wind up. Who on earth would serve a pre-cooked chicken on Christmas day?

I guess. But I’ve never heard of cutting a whole breast off a roast bird for one person. Just seems odd to me.

We have cooked a chicken and a duck for 4 of us. That way, people can choose whatever they would like on Xmas Day , there is plenty of food and there are plenty of leftovers for Boxing Day sandwiches.

We also have had a fairly standard chicken on Christmas day, with shedloads of pigs in blankets, at the specific request of my kids 😀

A 1kg chicken is too small for five people at Christmas. Either buy two or have another type of joint - pork or gammon, both are good accompaniments to poultry. The other thing you could do is buy breasts of chicken as extras.

Is money tight, is that the problem?

each time I cook a roast chicken I take the breasts thighs and drumsticks off.
Then I slice the breasts into 1 inch strips and leave the others whole.

DH always wants a thigh, I prefer breast and one of my children likes to have 2 drumsticks.

It's not illegal to import them. And Capon is plentiful in France for Christmas.

I'd imagine it would be sliced. But one breast of a 1kg chicken is only going to provide enough sliced chicken for a very small, tight portion for one person. For five people, that chicken would give a tight, measly portion of breast for 2 people, a small portion each of a small leg for two people, and presumably the fifth person would have to have carcass scrapings. It doesn't screaming "festive feast", more "miserly minimums".

Genuinely the thought of a some cooked chicken breasts for Xmas dinner is making me quite sad. Surely chicken breast needs to be cooked in some kind of sauce or flavourings?

I did this last year, but cooked two extra chicken breasts just in case.

Are you struggling for money OP? If not, then get two FGS. People generally don't enjoy rationing the meat at Christmas.

I am not a showy under eater. I just don't have much of an appetite. 1kg is fine for any normal dinner the meals I would make for a crowd. But it's not great for xmas. I know there's all the trimmings but it's meant to be a fancy one. Get a bigger one and enjoy leftovers the next day.

Seriously? Is a 1kg chicken even a thing?
Are 4 of your guests vegetarian? Or are 3 of them toddlers?
Surely a 1KG chicken is probably 400g of bones and bits you can't eat?

Maybe I'm conditioned/traumatised by my Mum defrosting a 16lb turkey in the garage for a few days before Christmas back in the 80s. That was for 4 of us, although we did have a lot of turkey-themed dishes for a couple of weeks afterwards. Possibly that's why I've been a vegetarian for 30 years.

Ooh a second person who prefers the breast! At last, two people to share a roast chicken with where everyone is happy 😂😂

Someone who doesnt want to cook or doesnt have the confidence to cook it themselves and cant afford the risk of wasting the money if it goes wrong?

My son buys a lot of pre cooked food. If he was hosting Christmas he would buy this. Why? He is disabled and wouldnt be able to manage to roast a chicken of any size.

Other people are different to you....who knew?!

I suspect it didn’t used to be 1.5kg or they’ve added more stuffing.

I'd actually say with a bird that small you'd be lucky to get 400g sliced meat, maybe 450-500g if you pick the carcass and include all the scraps.

Its not suitable for a Christmas meal for 5.

If money is an issue, buy an appropriate sized (2kg ish) uncooked bird, or even a 1kg boneless pork joint would be a better bet.

Depends how you’d feel if someone wants seconds after a small portion and it’s all gone. I’d give someone both legs, and then 4 portions 2 x breast and thigh.

Why not just buy a bigger chicken? My 19 year old DS can eat a chicken almost that size on his own.

Depends who is coming - increasingly my 75+ IL don't eat much though teen DS eats loads - and what else there is and how big a meal is usual.

My parents did heaped large plates for any roast meal - huge amounts that left you in a food coma later - my DH who tend to cook does a much smaller meal on side plates (ones we usually use not huge main plates).

Also are you expecting left overs - increasingly finding they aren't as popular with kids so want less of them here but others love them but you don't want not enough meat on christmas day either.

Basically - how long is a peice of string.

I appreciate that pre-prepared food is useful for disabled people.

But - it is curious to volunteer to host and cook the Christmas lunch for guests, if not able (skill or disability) to cook at all.

That's probably a good back up plan to have if you do just get one.

I would just get the chicken you like and something else - ham or whatever other meat. If you aren’t a leftover fan then 2 will be too many for you.

My kids are massive fans of eating so that would be nowhere near enough for the 4 of us but aware we tend to over indulge! My kids like the legs best but one wouldn’t get them anywhere l

You're not being unreasonable as such but it is a tad over-optimistic & there'd be no cold fowl for Boxing Day. If your budget's too tight for a big bird, throw in a packet of cheap supermarket drumsticks.
BTW, the current bird flu epidemic makes it likely that fowl prices will go up in time for Xmas - there are big culls going on ATM so if you have space, you might want to buy now & freeze until the big day

YABU to refer to a 1kg chicken and some trimmings as "the feast" as if you're in a Dickens novel (presumably Oliver Twist).

A 1kg chicken is very small tho. I just checked in my freezer and the free-range one in there is just a snip under 2kg. It's enough for four-five people IMO and cost less than £7.