27 December 2023 , 15:50
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There are two ways to do Christmas, you can either decide to take on the responsibility of hosting the entire family and run around like a headless chicken until the very last minute - or you can dish out some of the tasks.
One daughter shared her frustrations after her "useless" dad failed the only festive job he was responsible for. According to her, the blunder "ruined" the family Christmas dinner - but he doesn't see what the big fuss is about.
She shared her fury online after her dad bought the Christmas meat days before the big day. The busy woman asked people for a "sanity check" on Mumsnet to make sure she wasn't overreacting. In her post, she said: "We're hosting Xmas for 10 adults and 2 small children (as usual). My dad's one contribution to this is ordering the meat from his local butcher for me or him to collect close to Christmas."
She continued: "After chasing him up for a week asking if he'd managed to order the beef joint and pigs in blankets, he finally confirms today [19th December] that be has bought it all and it's currently sitting in his fridge. When I expressed concern that it's not going to last until next Tuesday, he replied: The butcher said it'll be fine. The pigs were frozen and my fridge is cold."
"I thought that you had 24 hours to eat something that was defrosted. I also thought that meat was good in the fridge for only 3-4 days. I am very concerned that if we wake up on Xmas Day and it's turned, we're absolutely f*****d.
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"I'm also worried that we're going to make my elderly in-laws and breastfeeding sister-in-law sick. We can't refreeze the pigs if they've already been frozen. I don't particularly want to eat a frozen joint, but maybe I should tell him to stick it in his freezer and I'll buy a replacement of everything. Money is not an issue but the waste makes me sick.”
The responses were varied, with one person writing: "Oh heck! Let's be generous as it's Christmas and presume he didnt know! Sorry, but I learned very early on if I want a job doing, do it myself!"
Another person who just didn't see what all the fuss was about said: "Ask any butcher and they'll confirm the meat will be fine by Christmas. I don't know what the backstory is but you sound really critical and ungrateful calling him useless and saying it's his one contribution when in fact it’s quite a decent contribution."
A third person who identified themselves as owning a butcher shop said: "I own a butcher and can confirm what a lot of posters have said, don't freeze the beef, there's really no need and if you freeze it and it's not been vacuum packed then you're at risk of freezer burn.
"If it's wrapped in plastic take it out and let some air get to it, either on a plate wrapped in paper or in a Tupperware tub. Don't worry about the colour going a bit darker. The older beef gets, the more tender it becomes as the fibres in the meat breakdown. You can cook it as you normally would, so if you like it pink it's fine."
A fourth person who had simply had enough said: "The butcher said it'll be fine. The butcher is correct, stop worrying about it and stop calling your dad useless."
When it comes to freezing and defrosting and then refreezing food, the Food Standards Agency website says: "It doesn't matter if you cook your meat from frozen, once defrosted, or fresh, you can use your leftovers to make a new meal. This new meal can then be frozen, but make sure you only reheat it once (freezing in smaller portions will help)."