I have an old Nesco Roaster I bought at a garage sale. It has the enamel porcelain and the inside is 11x15 inches. I think I could get a turkey in it. Do I have a 12 qt or an 18 qt? It doesn't say. Stamped on the bottom it says it was made in Granite City, Ill, and on the side is stamped the number 41E04044. The cord is rubber not braided. Any idea when it might have been made? It's white with a stainless top, bakelite handles, black porcelain, has a rack with sides you can lift and a little extra square tall pan with a lid for side vegetables, so I was told. Has the logo Nesco in script over a dial with numbers up to 400. I measured and I think I can even get my cast iron pan in there to bake cornbread. That's what I wanted it for, to bake. My regular oven is so big, why waste all that heat on that big space for a couple loaf pans. Can I use a silicone muffin pan in the Nesco or will it melt on the rack? Oh and I have seen people put water in the heatwell, under the cookwell, I was told it made for more even heating and to prevent damage to the enamel. But you don't want to do that, do you? If the water got through the heatwell seams it would get into the electrics.

My first thought was an expander ring too! There's times I put foil over the top of the roaster and the lid on to hold it in place when I want all moisture in there. But using it as the lid, well, essentially it'd be like putting foil over your oven door and leaving the oven door partly open. I think it could work but you'd lose a *lot* of heat and it'd affect the cooking. I'd try to cut off the bottom of the bird a bit or cut it into pieces and cook the pieces. Or maybe drop it on the floor a few times or sit on it to flatten it out a bit! ;) 22# is about the max for an 18 qt Nesco. One other thought is Rube Goldberg, jerry-rigged thought. You could take the cookwell out, use a large aluminum pan in it, top it with foil and invert the cookwell as a lid. You'd still probably lose a lot of heat & steam but not as bad. Another possibility is by removing the cookwell it might give the depth you need. I would not cook the food directly in the heatwell though, definitely use a pan or line it with several layers of heavy duty foil. Are you using a rack? Maybe eliminate the rack?

I always use a thermometer probe with the alarm and set it for 150ð. Once it hits 150ð I turn the temp way down and start getting ready because residual heat will continue to cook. I call a turkey breast done at 160ð. The unit keeps so much moisture it's a moist heat, rather than a dry heat, which they claim will prevent cheesecake cracking but I don't eat cheesecake so I don't know about that. To brown the skin more you have to keep the skin dry. Dry it well when you put it in there, pull out juices as you're cooking, pat it with a towel or paper towels a you go, and Kitchen Bouquet, soy sauce or the like are tricks to brown it but I don't eat the skin anymore so I don't really care. I do occasionally put the RoastAir fan on and THAT will crisp it up! I used to cook the turkey breast to 180ð per some recommendations and it was fine in my Nesco. Not dried out like in an oven. But there's no need to cook it that much but it doesn't matter if it goes a little over. Use a thermometer and turn it down to 150ð and it'll stay hot and moist. Don't limit your use to just turkey or ham. Soups, stews, meatloaf, pot roast, chicken, ribs, casseroles, sausage, and virtually anything you'd put in a regular oven, since that's what it is! :) Great for baking potatoes, au-gratin, roasting cauliflower, steaming veggies and the like too. I've baked bread in mine and some of the best lasagna I've ever made came out of that Nesco.

I have one and love it too, mine was a gift from my sister for Christmas one year. She had one and I commented to her how useful it was and the next year she gave me one! They make a beautiful turkey and you can make huge batches of stuff in them, I have made soup, gumbo, dirty rice, jambalaya, etc. Plus it works great as a warmer to keep things warm at an event or party. I too have the warmer trays that go on the top to serve from, that was a gift from my other sister. Mine is a GE I know they got it all at Walmart, I have seen them there in the past. My friend saw mine at one of our summer cookouts and loved it she went to walmart and got one just like it. They sure come in handy when you need to use the regular ovens for other dishes. Only problem is they are large and take up a lot of storage space, I keep mine in the original box and store it on our shelves in the garage.