Tell me what roasting pan to buy

[preslove]

So, for the first time I'm not traveling home for Thanksgiving, and my mom is coming here. I don't have a roasting pan for the turkey, and I've been making roasts & chickens in my slow cooker, so I am now looking for a roasting pan. I want one big enough for a small turkey (it will just be me, my mom, and my girlfriend), but also good for whole chickens, beef roasts, and whatever else I decide to roast.

Anything wrong with this one? http://www.amazon.com/Granite-Ware-R...543228&sr=1-42

Would this one be too small for a ~14 lb turkey? http://www.amazon.com/Progressive-In...544063&sr=1-33

 

[GagHalfrunt]

I like disposable roasting pans. I only need a pan of that size once or twice a year. Pay $1, roast, throw it away rather than clean it up.

 

[jaedaliu]

Both pans look good. the 2nd seems a little small, but it's got those pretty handles!

You sure you need a turkey for 3 people? What's your target for leftovers? I would suggest just getting a breast or a large chicken for 3 people.

 

[vi edit]

I picked up a $10 one from Ikea that works well. Won't hold a 20 pound gobler...but will do a ham/roast/small (10 pound bird).

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50055863/

 

[iRONic]

I like disposable roasting pans. I only need a pan of that size once or twice a year. Pay $1, roast, throw it away rather than clean it up.

Yep. We fill it up with all the table scraps, veggie peels, bones, etc. after the meal and toss the whole thing out.

Just be sure that your roasting rack fits the pan.

 

[Corn]

I prefer stainless over nonstick because I like to deglaze all those yummy burnt drippings to make a gravy. I find that stainless will hold up much longer than nonstick pans....

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Might consider this one.

I've found the cover to be quite useful for some things.

 

[Drako]

I've got one of these, as you posted in the OP:

http://www.amazon.com/Progressive-In...ng+lasagna+pan

Comes in handy for lasagna as well as roasting.

 

[Puppies04]

I like disposable roasting pans. I only need a pan of that size once or twice a year. Pay $1, roast, throw it away rather than clean it up.

Whenever I do a roast I do the meat and the veggies in the same pan then make the gravy in the pan whilst the meat rests. Leaves the pan ready for a quick wipe over with soapy water, a rinse and dry and straight back in the cupboard before the meal is even served.

 

[preslove]

Might consider this one.

I've found the cover to be quite useful for some things.

My mom has one of those. I was looking for something different, heh.

What can you do with the top?

 

[gotsmack]

Just use a large frypan. I have a large roasting pan and the only times I use it are when I want to fry like 6 chicken breasts at once.

 

[Imported]

Might consider this one.

I've found the cover to be quite useful for some things.

I have one of those.. Gets used about twice a year for chicken and rice.

 

[Fritzo]

That pan is fine. I myself like to use a roasting pan with a lid to stop browning if I need to, but not all ovens are big enough for them.

 

[who?]

Try to find the covered version of the second one to keep the moisture in.

 

[Paperdoc]

We have one like Hayabusa Rider recommended, that you say your Mom has - dark blue enamel with lid. The link says "19-in." size. Ours is 19" from tip of handle (on one end) to tip of other handle. It easily handles a turkey in the 15 lb. range, and we've used it for 20-pounders, too.

What I really like about it is, it's fast and flexible. With the lid on, you can roast long and slow at 325 to 350F, or hurry at 400 F, or rush it at 425 F if you got a late start. At any temp, the turkey cooks faster than the cookbooks say because it is so good at absorbing and trapping heat. But it reduces browning, so remove the lid for maybe 20 to 30 minutes at the end to get a nice deep brown top.

If you're doing a big turkey that touches the lid inside, place a single piece of aluminum foil over the turkey at that spot to keep it from sticking to the inside of the lid.

To help lift the turkey out onto a serving platter, we bought a flexible (silicone cookware) "rack" with loop handles. You put it in the pan under the turkey at the start so you can lift it out at the end. As you do that, test that the position is right so that the turkey is close to balanced (end-to-end) when you lift up the handles, so it does not try to slide off when you lift from the roasting pan at the end.

 

[iGas]

French handle turkey roaster

I have one of these and it serves me well.

 

[who?]

This looks good.
http://www.amazon.com/Columbian-0511...d+roasting+pan

 

[slag]

Yep. We fill it up with all the table scraps, veggie peels, bones, etc. after the meal and toss the whole thing out.

Just be sure that your roasting rack fits the pan.

Just do it in the microwave. Crinkle some aluminum foil and spread it over the skin. the sparks it gives off will roast the skin and get it crunchy. Insert a balloon (preferrably latex) in the body cavity of the bird and blow it up. The air will superheat inside the balloon and cook the turkey from the inside out. Only takes about a minute a pound and the flesh is delicious.

:whiste:

 

[Scarpozzi]

I have an older one of these: http://www.amazon.com/Calphalon-Clas...n+roasting+pan

Calphalon makes some pretty good stuff and this is hard-anodized. I just cover with oiled aluminum foil to stop browning.

 

[notposting]

Bought this a couple years ago (on Dec 21st, had in time for Christmas, yay Amazon Prime), has worked well the few times we've needed it. Cuisinart 16"

Handles have some clearance out and away, though the included rack handles don't flare out (is nice to have them out, easier to grab without burning self on the roast). Total length with handles is about 21".

It's a solid stainless jobby, the bottom is "bumped up" a bit in the center so not perfectly flat.

Decent price for it right now, too, though I got it for $40 at the time (!!!).

There is the more expensive tri-ply version of it here: das linky seems to be a flat bottom as well, would be a bit better if you wanted it on the range, (though I have never even considered that as a possibility for myself on a standard sized range).

 

[Howard]

Have this one, works great.

http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-MCP1...?s=home-garden

 

[Puppies04]

That pan is fine. I myself like to use a roasting pan with a lid to stop browning if I need to, but not all ovens are big enough for them.

But the brown bits are the best!

 

[iRONic]

Just do it in the microwave. Crinkle some aluminum foil and spread it over the skin. the sparks it gives off will roast the skin and get it crunchy. Insert a balloon (preferrably latex) in the body cavity of the bird and blow it up. The air will superheat inside the balloon and cook the turkey from the inside out. Only takes about a minute a pound and the flesh is delicious.

:whiste:

I'll pass on turkey dinner at your place.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

My mom has one of those. I was looking for something different, heh.

What can you do with the top?

It's a matter of control. If you haven't a lid you can't control moisture and might dry out some foods before they are finished. By having a lid you can prevent that. The majority of benefit from roasting comes from surface changes , not deep down. When the time is right you can remove the lid and dry out the surface and get the benefit of direct contact with dryer air. Someone mentioned that the "brown bits" are best, and that's true to a point. Burned and dried out is not tasty.

Since it costs little more the flexibility would be worth having, at least to me. As far as "something different" there's nothing bad about that, but one embraces change in order to improve. Sometimes functionality has already been figured out. Most (but certainly not all) "improvements" are merely a matter of marketing driving consumerism.

 

[Fritzo]

But the brown bits are the best!

Brown, not black If the skin gets to the point where it starts to cook away, you need to cover the bird or you'll get dry breast meat.