I love Nesco...I've had one for years and it has served me very well. I make everything in it including garlic mushrooms and I've never been diappointed with the results.

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.

What great ideas for using my electric roaster-which I haven't even used yet!!! Yes the liners are great. The only place I have been able to find them is at a resturant supply store and you have to buy a case. Our church buys a case and then sells them to whoever-$1.10 each for the 18# roasters.Works good for me. Again I want to thank all you good people for your help. Now, I have a question-why do I have to type in my password and user name every time I want to post a follow-up here? Yes, I check the box to keep it on the computer.

Browning is a little different in an electric roaster than a conventional oven. You need to understand the cooking process to understand what happens. In a conventional oven it's more open and moisture evaporates. Cooking in an electric roaster is more like cooking in a covered roasting pan in the oven. As mentioned about the oven heating up the kitchen, that's because ovens leak more air than people realize so it vents more moisture out. You will definitely have trouble browning in a roaster oven, covered roasting pan, slow cooker, dutch oven, etc unless you take different steps. What you're doing is more of a braise than a roast. To really "roast" you'll need more dry air and the bird (or whatever) will need to be a bit more dry. This is why you brown your pot roast, ribs etc before braising. Remember the tip for conventional ovens to get a good browning - pat that bird dry. So, there's essentially 3 or 4 ways to go about it, maybe more. 1) The easiest way (if you have a Nesco, don't know if other brands have the option) is to get the "Roast Air" kit. Essentially it's a lid with a fan on it and converts the unit to a convection oven. I have it for my 6 quart. You'll brown like any oven with that baby blowing that hot air around! I usually don't run it the whole time though. I hook it up toward the end. I also pull the juices out of there, especially if I want them for gravy or something. 2) Second option as mentioned is to use your oven or broiler to crisp/brown it up. 3) Virginia Olson from Nesco used to be on QVC often and she suggested using Kitchen Bouquet to baste it if color was what you were looking for. Again, I suspect she would pull liquids from the roaster because her turkey sure looked fairly crisp too. 4) Another thing I occasionally do is pull the juices, paper towel the bird dry and then cock the lid and crank up the heat on the roaster. That will brown it up too.