Roasting Pans: The Topic

[Jinmyo]

Agreed. In fact, most "roasting" pans defeat the process of roasting.

[mags]

I just got an All-Clad roaster at the Broadway Panhandler sale, for about 60% off retail, so the price makes me happy. And the size is good, and they threw in a free rack. However, I find the handles bizarre. They curve in, toward the roast, meaning that if you want to grab the handles -- you know, actually USE them -- you have to do it be inserting your hand into the handle (which is essentially an open rectangle, with the top of the pan forming the bottom end). That wouldn't be a problem, except that the opening in the handle -- the insert-your-paw-here bit -- is barely three fingers wide, and that's without any kind of potholder or oven mitt. Unless someone has a bright idea here -- warmly welcomed -- I can't help thinking this is one majorly bad design.

[Richard Kilgore]

Anyone have experience with the Bourgeat heavy stainless roaster? Saw them on the Broadway Panhandler site while checking their price on the A-C Roti pans.

[Marlene]

I just got an All-Clad roaster at the Broadway Panhandler sale, for about 60% off retail, so the price makes me happy.  And the size is good, and they threw in a free rack.  However, I find the handles bizarre.  They curve in, toward the roast, meaning that if you want to grab the handles -- you know, actually USE them -- you have to do it be inserting your hand into the handle (which is essentially an open rectangle, with the top of the pan forming the bottom end).  That wouldn't be a problem, except that the opening in the handle -- the insert-your-paw-here bit -- is barely three fingers wide, and that's without any kind of potholder or oven mitt.  Unless someone has a bright idea here -- warmly welcomed -- I can't help thinking this is one majorly bad design.

I have never had a problem using the handles with oven mitts on either of my all clad roasting pans.

[Rachel Perlow]

I doubt it's the best roasting pan ever, but for the price ($10 down from $30), this Wearever roasting pan set (12-by-16-inch roasting pan with rack and baster) can't be beat. It would make a nice housewarming present for the recent graduate with a new apartment or a great bridal shower or engagement gift.

[jmcgrath]

I doubt it's the best roasting pan ever, but for the price ($10 down from $30), this Wearever roasting pan set (12-by-16-inch roasting pan with rack and baster) can't be beat. It would make a nice housewarming present for the recent graduate with a new apartment or a great bridal shower or engagement gift.

It sounds like a great deal except for the non-stick exterior. Do anyone think that would hold up when making gravy on the stove-top?

Jim

[paul mitchell]

Le Creuset! I call it a braising pot but I fit a smaller turkey

in that sucker last week. I got it for christmas. I wanted one

of them for ten years but $300 buys a lot of beer. You'll never

want to use another pot again.

[Marlene]

I doubt it's the best roasting pan ever, but for the price ($10 down from $30), this Wearever roasting pan set (12-by-16-inch roasting pan with rack and baster) can't be beat. It would make a nice housewarming present for the recent graduate with a new apartment or a great bridal shower or engagement gift.

It sounds like a great deal except for the non-stick exterior. Do anyone think that would hold up when making gravy on the stove-top?

Jim

I have never liked a non stick interior for making pan gravy. It just doesn't work well in my humble opinion

[fiftydollars]

Admin: Threads merged.

As I was making Christmas dinner I realized that my roasting pan really sucks. It is a very cheap all-stainless steel pan that somehow I acquired and have never bothered to think of replacing until now.

So I have been looking at various offerings and can’t decide what to get. I first thought about getting the all-Clad roasting pan because I always thought it looked like a pretty damn good pan. But on Amazon’s reviews I read that it actually does not have an aluminum core so I am not really interested in another all-stainless steel roasting pan given this metal’s relatively poor cooking performance (According to Slkinsey’s EGCI course on understanding stove top cookware). I can also get an aluminum or anodized aluminum pan, but these are generally non-stick coated and I really want to avoid that and I don’t really like un-coated aluminum/anodized aluminum (aluminum because it is reactive and anodized because it is a bloody pain to clean). Should I look for a stainless steel pan with an aluminum core (or copper core)? A roaster is, of course, not exactly a piece of stove top cookware, but I assume the same characteristics that make for good stove top cookware would also make for a good roaster… is that a correct assumption?

Williams Sonoma has an enameled cast-iron roaster from Le Creuset and it is on sale at a pretty good price. But is cast-iron a good metal for a roasting pan? It holds heat pretty well, but for roasting do I need a more responsive metal?

I know clay and ceramic roasters are good, but I seem to think I would not be able to deglaze them on the stove top and I think I would like to be able to do that. Any comments on this?

Thank you.

[NancyH]

We have the All Clad roaster and love it. For the longest time, my mother's brisket recipe was ruined by non-stick or disposable pans, but we do everything from braising brisket to roasting meats and fowl (our Thanksgiving Turkey came out perfectly this year!) in the All Clad. Do not get non-stick - it soaks up liquid and will leave your pan (and meat) dried out. I hear good things about LeCreuset, but can't comment from experience. My mom uses good old stainless steal pans made by Farberware in the 1960s, but they don't make them like that anymore.

[Safran]

Williams Sonoma has an enameled cast-iron roaster from Le Creuset and it is on sale at a pretty good price. But is cast-iron a good metal for a roasting pan? It holds heat pretty well, but for roasting do I need a more responsive metal?

←

fiftydollars,

I have the cast-iron roaster from Le Creuset...it weighs a ton. I use it for lasagna, etc but find that the weight of the roaster plus that of a 12 to 16 lb turkey just too heavy.(Oh, and it's not easy to clean...)

I bought two other roasters: a thick stainless steel one that is a copycat of the petit roti All Clad....except that I paid 45$Canadian at Costco. I ADORE IT! It has no aluminum core.

The second pan is the size of the larger All Clad but is by Calphalon (sp?) and consists of two layers of stainless sandwiching a layer of aluminum. I paid 89$ Canadian at Linen and things and ADORE IT too. These two pans clean beautifully.

So happy shopping...there are excellent roasting pans to be had without paying too much.

Edited December 27, 2004 by Safran (log)

[EdS]

If you're roasting a chicken or other small fowl, a frying pan or skillet will work as well or better than a roasting pan. Deglazing on the stovetop is easier due to the handle, you can size the pan better to the fowl so the juices don't burn in the oven, and you won't have trouble finding one made of something better than plain stainless steel like the current All-Clad roaster which is a poor choice for the stovetop.

[Richard Kilgore]

Sur La Table now has a substantial tri-clad roaster similer to the old All-Clad tri-clad roaster. It is 16 inches long, which is between the sizes of the large and small All-Clad I think. It's $150 US.

[Marlene]

I have two All Clad stainless steel roasters and I swear by them.

[mrbigjas]

williams-sonoma has this one on their 'secret sale' right now. but i can't seem to figure out what it's made out of. i suspect stainless steel, but the picture makes me think aluminum. i'm thinking about picking it up; i have a w-s gift certificate from christmas, and like fittydolla my roasting pan is a cheapo stainless steel thing that it's hard to make gravy in on the stovetop after roasting something.

[robyn]

I have 2 circulon roasters (a big one and a smaller one) that I bought quite a few years ago. They're non-stick - but have a nice "heft" to them. I looked them up - and think they've been discontinued (at least that's the message I got on Amazon). So although I don't think you can buy them - my two cents is don't automatically reject something that's nonstick as junk. I can sear things on the stovetop with these pans - put the pans in the oven to finish the dish - leave the pans out all night - and wash them up in 2 minutes in the morning. I can also deglaze the pans if I want to - and all the little bits and pieces of stuff in the bottom of the pan are easily incorporated into the sauce/gravy. Robyn

[fiftydollars]

...don't automatically reject something that's nonstick as junk...

←

Oh, I didn't mean it that way.

I just know I am not responsible enough to take care of anything non-stick and a few roasts down the road I'd be eating it.

[Richard Kilgore]

But Marlene, your A-C roasters are tri-clad, which they don't offer anymore.

[RETREVR]

Non-stick is junk...unless you are making an omlet. A roaster would make a mighty big omlet. Non-stick is a vast conspiracy of cookware makers to get you to replace your cookware every five years.

That maviel roaster at williams sonoma someone linked is a nice peice. I was lucky enough to buy one at auction for $5, but I might consider buying another one for $70. I am sure they are phasing them out in favor of the non-stick version. Buy the non-stick and replace it every five years. Buy the traditional finish (Aluminum....thick, thick, aluminum) and your great grandchildren will be using it to roast turkey in their nuclear convection ovens.

[mrbigjas]

so it's aluminum, then? excellent. i may have to pick one up.

[fiftydollars]

It sucks that all-clad no longer has an aluminum-core roaster available.

[marie-louise]

Those Le Creuset roasting pans are terrific for anything you want to put a crust on-I use them for baking stuffing, roasting vegetables, baked penne, that sort of thing. I occasionally roast a chicken or pork tenderloin in them, although I also tend to just use a saute pan for that. While I think they are a great addition to my cookware collection, I wouldn't want them as my only roasting pans. They are too small and shallow. I have a set of Calphalon roasters that are about 15 years old-they work well enough, although I don't like that they're dark-harder to see what you're deglazing afterwards. Their shape is like the link to that W-S pan someone posted above-big handles, deep sides, sturdy but not too heavy. Sorry to hear that All Clad has changed their line; I would love to have a SS roasting pan made like my saute pan. At that sale price, I'd recommend that W-S pan.

Edited December 28, 2004 by marie-louise (log)

[Richard Kilgore]

Here's a link to the Sur La Table Tri-Clad Roasting Pans I mentioned above, but at sale prices. 13½" x 9½" x 2" for $80

17" x 12½" x 3½" for $100

These are essentially duplicates of the old All-Clad tri-clad pans. I would choose them over the Mauviel roaster mentioned above only because they will not react with acidic foods. The Mauviel is a solid piece.

[Marlene]

But Marlene, your A-C roasters are tri-clad, which they don't offer anymore.

←

Yes, I supposed that's true Richard.

Here's a link to the Sur La Table Tri-Clad Roasting Pans I mentioned above, but at sale prices. 13½" x 9½" x 2" for $80

17" x 12½" x 3½" for $100

These are essentially duplicates of the old All-Clad tri-clad pans. I would choose them over the Mauviel roaster mentioned above only because they will not react with acidic foods. The Mauviel is a solid piece.

←

If Sur le Table is offering a tri clad stainless steel roaster comparable to the All Clad that I have, run don't walk, to pick one of these babies up. It is an amazing roaster.

I am not a fan of non stick surfaces for roasting. I had one, I hated it. Both my stainless steel roasters get a lot of work and they are easy to clean, are dishwasher safe, and still look great. They are fabulous for reductions and gravies too.

[mrbigjas]

ok so we're all agreed, then: nonstick roasters bad. cheap stamped thin stainless roasters bad.

here's my real problem with nonstick roasters: have you ever used a rack with one? trying to haul 10-15 pounds worth of meat at 400 degrees out of the oven while the thing is on a rack that's sliding around the roasting pan like an eel on an ice rink is a real bitch.

really, roasting isn't the problem; it's what you're doing afterwards that makes the difference. small chickens or pieces of meat i roast in a cast iron skillet or a saute pan. but with big stuff--trying to make a large chicken, turkey or something--it's tough making gravy in that thin stainless roasting pan without scorching it.

anyway, i'ma look into those slt pans. they look nice.