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Stopping a domestic

(33 Posts)
NanKate Sat 08-Dec-18 21:54:13

DH has the annoying habit of asking if cooked food, such as roast chicken, is properly cooked. He usually carves and will say ‘does it look a bit pink to you’?

Tonight we had a Tesco Finest Chicken and Prawn Paella. I asked him to serve up the meal while I did something else. He then said ‘this prawn feels a bit tough’. I tried it and it tasted fine but chewy. I told him I had cooked the paella for the correct amount of time. I then went and found the cover to check that I had done everything properly. Then I noticed it said, stir half way through, which I hadn’t done. We then decided to give it another minute in the microwave and all was well.

I decided to broach the subject of the turkey at Xmas and suggested we bought some device to check the bird was cooked through as I didn’t want the usual old barney of is it or isn’t it cooked. I heard DH mumbling ‘I won’t say a word but I will eat the outside of the bird’. I almost poured the paella over his head ?

We have very few arguments but this is a perennial one. Your suggestions please.

Oakleaf Sat 08-Dec-18 21:58:18

Stick a fork in him to see if he's done?

Maggiemaybe Sat 08-Dec-18 22:00:20

grin Oakleaf.

Anja Sat 08-Dec-18 22:03:26

A meat thermometer? You could stick that in him too.

GrannyGravy13 Sat 08-Dec-18 22:13:52

Let him cook ?

Nandalot Sat 08-Dec-18 22:26:08

Snap! DH does a lot of the cooking and always allows a little extra time, “Just to be on the safe side”.

NanKate Sat 08-Dec-18 22:27:29

Yes I think the thermometer is the answer. I think I shall avoid poking him with it as he is so helpful with other things.

He will cook whenever I ask but usually is too slow for me. He still asks me if meat is cooked when he has his pinnie on ? and he has cooked the meal.

FarNorth Sat 08-Dec-18 22:35:15

Stop serving meat.

Pittcity Sat 08-Dec-18 22:35:43

My DH is the same. He cooks and so we often have tough overcooked meat.

NanKate Sat 08-Dec-18 23:02:27

We are not Veggies FarNorth. Not that I have anything against vegetarians.

Pythagorus Sat 08-Dec-18 23:19:40

Just ignore him and give him the outside of the bird.
Life’s too short!

janeainsworth Sat 08-Dec-18 23:28:46

Kate
I can understand your not wanting to delegate the cooking of the entire Christmas dinner to your DH.
What I suggest is this - partial delegation.
Get out your oldest, very basic recipe book. You know, the one that tells you how to boil an egg that you were given when you left home.
Get DH to look up turkey cooking times and temperatures.
Get him to weigh your turkey, including the weight of stuffing, if used.
Tell him to work out for how long, and at what temperature, your turkey needs to cook for. Don’t forget to add 10 minutes if you’ve covered it with foil.
Remind him it needs to stand for 15 minutes after it comes out of the oven, before you can eat it.
On Christmas Day remind him to take the turkey out of the fridge an hour before it’s supposed to start cooking, so it will get up to room temperature.
Remind him that during the morning that he’ll need to check on the turkey and baste it occasionally, more frequently if it’s not covered with foil.

I predict that after you’ve given him all these instructions and advice, he will beat a hasty retreat out of your kitchen and leave you in peace, and never dare to question your cooking again grin
Merry Christmas!wine winewine

allsortsofbags Sat 08-Dec-18 23:34:16

I solved that argument a few years ago. I bought a food thermometer.

Other such domestics have been solved by letting OH have the jobs grin

The thermometer is good for any kind of food, including things we've microwaved, so now I just send OH to test whatever needs it and he has control for the doneness lol.

And he has learnt the value in standing time.

However, there are still plenty of things that I don't do correctly.

He's learning that if I don't do things to his liking he gets the jobs but it's taken him a few years to catch on

Loading the dishwasher was one of them. I don't know how I coped when he worked away grin but that's another job passed on, oh and the vacuuming is his now too.

Good Luck with finding a solution to your dilemma before cooking the Turkey.

maytime2 Sun 09-Dec-18 13:32:31

My daughter spent a gap year in Australia some years ago. She shared a flat with some boys so the cooking of the Christmas turkey was left to her. She said that all turkeys in Australia came with a built in thermometer which changed colour when the bird was cooked. Why can't we have the same device here ?

Blinko Sun 09-Dec-18 13:34:43

Ah, from the title I thought it was about the best way to sack your cleaner....

Jalima1108 Sun 09-Dec-18 13:43:15

Follow janeainsworth's advice to the letter grin

And buy a meat thermometer. They are very useful and quite sharp!

Greyduster Sun 09-Dec-18 14:06:25

Tell him if he sticks a skewer into the thickest part of the leg and you can hear it hit the bone, then the bird is done. Brook no arguments. If he doesn’t like it, give him nut roast. Maytime I once bought a turkey with a device that popped a little button up when the bird was done. I’ve never seen one since.

NanKate Sun 09-Dec-18 14:11:22

Yes Jane very sound advice, plus a thermometer. Thanks All.

At this point I must say that DH will do any job asked, at anytime. Never complains when I go galavanting with my friends. I wouldn’t swap him with anyone. He knows he is a perfectionist and nit picker extraordinaire, against my slap dash fun temperament and surprisingly we rub along very well together.

Jalima1108 Sun 09-Dec-18 14:22:18

Tell him if he sticks a skewer into the thickest part of the leg and you can hear it hit the bone, then the bird is done.
Alternatively stick a skewer into the thickest part of his leg ……

Perhaps not if you want to enjoy the rest of Christmas!

Jalima1108 Sun 09-Dec-18 14:24:30

If you don't have a thermometer then stick a skewer into the turkey where the leg joins the body and if the juices run clear then it should be done.
Leave it to rest for a while too.

You could buy an oven thermometer too, to make sure your oven reaches the correct temperature.

GillT57 Sun 09-Dec-18 14:29:53

Actually, I must be related to your DH, for I too was always checking if chicken is pink, and I am often accused of overcooking it ( I do). If the idea is in my mind that something is 'off' or underdone I won't eat it. DH on the other hand is our resident bio-digester and eats anything with no side effects.

Greyduster Sun 09-Dec-18 15:00:17

I don’t think men understand the concept upon which most women rely when they cook; to whit experience and instinct, and when that fails them, they fly by the seat of their pants. I am married to a man who has to have a recipe, which he will then follow slavishly. If it says cut into one centimetre dice, then that is what he painstakingly does. You could waste away waiting for him to produce anything, and timings are all, even if the net result is bordering on uncooked “because that is what it says in the recipe!”

Atqui Sun 09-Dec-18 16:28:43

Snap Blinko

Granarchist Sun 09-Dec-18 17:03:58

buy a digital probe - brilliant for turkey - any meat - pannacottas - cakes - go to Nisbets catering suppliers - they are brilliant and I have given them to all friends and relatives - peace now reigns -

kittylester Sun 09-Dec-18 17:11:44

I can smell when something is cooked - I think that's similar to gd comment.

I do have a digital fork thing but I don't really trust it!