Having second thoughts...

[PurpleCrazyHorse]

... regarding my Lidl Five Bird Roast

Getting cold feet. We so should have tried it first and now a bit worried it will be awful. Thought it would be nice to try something different (we usually have chicken).

Anyone tried it, is it okay, any cooking tips?

I personally haven't, but a lady who I used to care for has and she said it was vile lol but her son thought it tasted delicious have a back up plan? Stick a whole chicken in the slow cooker just in case it doesn't go to plan?

I haven’t tried it sorry, but was going to say if you want a fallback option maybe you could have duck? More special than chicken but not too expensive. And all the usual Christmas sides will go nicely with duck too.

Great idea @WhenLifeGivesYouLemonsx I think I might also defrost a chicken and pop it in the slow cooker just in case.

Can't face another trip to Tesco (it was heaving this morning when DH went out to get veg) so will go with what's in the freezer rather than purchase something else. Plus I've never actually cooked duck (well if you exclude a M&S dine in dish).

Even the internet hasn't come up with much in the way of reviews. Sigh. At least it's only me, DH and the kids!

We've had the three bird one and it was lovely.

Oh and I can always freeze the cooked chicken if the 5 bird roast turns out to be lovely. I'll make pies with it in the new year. Ok. Feeling a bit calmer now.

Obviously first world problems and I'm very grateful that I can indeed enjoy a hot meal, in a warm house with my family. Even if it's a dubious Lidl offering.

Oooh, that's reassuring @ScreamingValenta

I'm hoping to get the five bird to cook on New Years Day this year!

I’m sure it will be fine, and if it isn’t all that great you’ll still be able to get lots of cosy mileage out of it in years to come - ‘remember that Christmas when...’

Enjoy!

I will attempt to update the thread after we've eaten it (and before a sugar induced coma commences - we have a huge roulade to eat for dessert!!)

Yes @HolgerLowCarbingLoser, we'll be having chicken every year forthwith if it all goes wrong . At least we'll have a nice Christmas dinner with PIL a few days later. Their beef is cooked to almost cremated, but smothered with gravy it's pretty good.

An actual tip for cooking it is don’t necessarily go by the cooking time as they often vastly overdo it and it could get very dry.

If you have a meat thermometer you’ll be able to judge accurately when it’s cooked and safe to eat so I’d take oven temp down by 10 degrees and about 15 min off the cooking time, then check if it’s ready.

If you don’t have a thermometer it’s worth getting one as it takes all the stress and guesswork out of it.

Yes, I do have a food thermometer so will definitely test early and adjust. I did wonder if it might go dry as it's not a joint rather a meat roll.

Confessed to DH and he's on board with a slow cooked chicken as backup and pies in the new year if we don't need it. Looking forward to it now.

UPDATE:

Well, I cooked from frozen as per the instructions and it was actually quite nice. A tiny bit too rich for me but DH really liked it. I was therefore quite pleased to have some simple chicken to eat alongside it and the children only chose plain chicken. However, I was pleasantly surprised. It was a bit tricky to slice but we aren't so hot on presentation in our house

Lidl's white chocolate and raspberry roulade was also delicious. If you see that in the freezer, it's worth a punt.

DH would like to have it again. I'm a bit on the fence as it's a huge roast and I could only eat a little. However, our Christmas Dinner was the best yet (according to DH) so definitely not a fail.