cynic, as an aside to the roaster discussion, I use a big green unbreakable Stanley Thermos. It's not pretty, but I got mine because all th farmers and construction workers I know used them. Mine will keep a pot of hot chocolate steaming hot for several hours while the kids go tobogganing, so we're talking outside in a Michigan winter and usually stuck right into the snow. I used them a lot for camping, I could make coffee at breakfast, put it into the Stanley and it would still be drinkable at supper. Oh, and I've put ice water in it or iced tea when spending a few hours out in the hay field and it keeps ice in the liquid for a couple of hours too. I can definitely recommend them, although my oldest one is over 20 years old, so I'm hoping they haven't "improved" them. Annie

I use both a small Nesco and a 25+ year old Rival crock pot in my cooking. Although I have not tested the temp in either, I think the differences may arise from the shape and size of the two appliances. A crock pot is usually deeper and maybe be more round than a Nesco oven. And I think the crock pot has the heat source from the bottom and the Nesco has a the heating elements of the sides for their "Circle of Heat." IMO, the Nesco is the better choice for roasting, baking, and long cooking than a crock pot. I have made the 5 hour @ 250 degrees Sticky Chicken recipe in the Nesco that I originally baked in my large oven and it actually took a little less than 5 hours. I use the crock pot now for recipes that are more liquid - soup, stew, spaghetti sauce, pepper steak, etc. I confidently go off to work and let the crock pot cook away for 8 hours. Because I think the Nesco is a hotter appliance, I have not gone off and left it unattended - although maybe I could do so, but just not for 8 hours. The only (edible) flop that I have had with the Nesco was trying to make chicken and dumplings (the thin slider version). The broth didn't reach a low boil to cook the dumplings the way I like them. But I still could eat the results. And, I know the crock pot won't cook the dumplings right for me either, so chicken and dumplings will always be made on the stove top. Teresa

Again, if you want dark brown, crispy skin you don't want to use a covered roaster, electric or non-electric. If you put a bird in a covered roaster in the oven it'll not be that mahogany color that some insist on. You need *dry* air to crisp the skin. Roasters keep the moisture in and it partly steams the food. I have the Roast-Air lid for my 6 qt and use it occasionally but I don't eat the skin anymore so I don't bother. I usually only used the lid the last 15-20 minutes, crank the heat up a bit too after I had removed all the juices. (Got to get rid of moisture to get dry, browning heat) You'll also have a lot more juice left in a roaster since it doesn't evaporate like in a dry oven. I've also cocked the lid to let the excess moisture out and cranked the heat up when I wanted it more crisp. Although even then I often microwaved the skin and ate it as a snack. I don't know what they do to the birds these days but I don't like the skin anymore. Even when it's dried out and crisper, I don't like the taste of it. Dry air is also going to give a bigger danger of dry meat. The appliance is a tool. The cook makes it good or bad. You can't always blame the tools when the carpenter is incompetent. FWIW I've never seen an electric roaster that didn't have a removable cookwell. Oh and removing the lid often loses a lot of heat and moisture. I highly recommend a probe thermometer that you can read outside of the oven or roaster. Yes the outside gets very hot. I've never burned myself but I've used some not-so-nice language when I've touched it. I've thought about wrapping it similar to a water heater blanket. Thought it might save some energy too. Target has an 18 qt Oster oven for $29, Menards has the 18 qt Nesco for $38.88 and Target has a Sunbeam 16 qt for $26. I imagine Target will put them on clearance before long too so if you want to wait you can pick up a bargain. Last year they had one on clearance for $17 (not a Nesco though). AFAIK, Nesco has never made a 16 qt unit. Nesco's have come in 4, 5, 6, 12 and 18 qt. If you measured water, it could be they consider the domed lid as part of the capacity, I'm not sure. Virginia Olson of Nesco always used to say that the 18 qt would handle up to a 20# bird, however, I read all the time about people doing 22# birds in the 18 qt. That sounds like about the max but many say if you can stuff it in there, it'll cook! And I'm sure it would. If anything you might have a crisper skin.

Hi Annie, I too would get browned skin without it but boy does the fan crisp it up quick and picture perfect. So many people seem more concerned with looks over taste it seems. I use it to crisp up most anything. Ribs, roasts, even chops. If I want it good and brown (which occasionally I do) then turn on the fan and let it go. Keep in mind it will evaporate a lot of the juices. So I often cook it first, suck the juices out that I want to keep and then turn on the fan for a while. You likely would not use the fan during the whole cooking process. Other things to use it for? I use mine to make burgers and convection makes them look like they're off a grill and helps the taste IMO. Baking certain things.It's a convection oven then. Much is subjective. Personally for things like brownies I think it's fine, maybe better without? I never think to try it when I make biscuits or rolls in there but should try. Not sure if the convection would work like some claim to make things rise higher. You probably would minimize or eliminate the need to rotate pans if you put in layers and side by side pans in a larger unit. One of the problems with a roaster oven is the occasional issue of the edges of the food or pans next to the side of the unit will cook faster or overcook, and the fan would minimize to eliminate that issue. Virginia Olson of Nesco used to recommend a sacrifice noodle be placed against the cookwell to absorb and even it out when you make lasagna in the cookwell. I never did it and never had a problem but then, I like a bit of the crunchy noodles in lasagna and pasta anyway so if it happened, it wouldn't bother me. Before I bought the Roast-Air adapter kit I used to just cock the lid to let out some of the excess moisture. Things brown more in dry heat. Electric roasters, slow cookers and pressure cookers for example are more moist heat environments while a conventional oven is a dry heat environment. That's why things will stay more moist in a roaster than a conventional oven. Here's a link to a convection roaster manual that might give some other ideas. People make a big mistake by assuming. Roasters are a different appliance and they operate a little differently. There's a bit of a learning curve to maximize the benefit. It's not difficult to learn and learning is also tasty. I often tell people that although it's an oven and for the most part think of it as an oven, but sometimes you need to think of it as a slow cooker the way a slow cooker oughta be. Maggie2094, that's a good looking (and may I say NON FLABBY) bird! :) You bring up a good point I often forget. They're lightweight and easy to move around. My mother's was heavier but then it had an insulated lid and I think had insulation around the sides too but that was an OLD roaster.