18 qt Covered Roaster question

13 years ago

I picked up a Proctor Silex 18 qt Roaster at my local Supermarket a few days ago (on clearance for $19.99!!!) and am planning to use it for Jambalaya for the upcoming Derby Day party here. Here is my question - should I plan to make my doubled batch of Jambalaya in the oven and transfer it to the covered roaster to keep it warm for serving? Or can I plan to cook the doubled batch IN the roaster?

I have never used one of the covered roasters before so I have no idea what to expect.

Here is the recipe I make and I am attaching a link to the roaster (it has a temp control)

Thanks so much for any advice and help you can offer!

Alexa

Oven Baked Jambalaya

Servings: 16

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter

1 large onion, diced

1 large green bell pepper, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste

3 tablespoons Creole Seasoning Blend

4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

2 (28 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes

7 cups chicken stock

3 cups chopped cooked ham

3 cups cooked andouille sausage, sliced

3 cups cooked chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces

3 cups frozen cooked shrimp

4 cups uncooked long-grain white rice

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. Melt butter in large stock pot. Saute onion, green pepper, celery and garlic until tender, being careful not to burn the garlic. Add tomato paste and cook to brown slightly, stirring constantly. Stir in Creole seasoning blend and Worcestershire sauce. Pour into a large roasting pan. Squeeze tomatoes to break up into pieces, and add to mixture in pan. Stir in juice from tomatoes, chicken stock, ham, sausage, chicken, shrimp and rice. Mix well. Cover tightly with aluminum foil.

3. Bake in preheated oven for 1 1/2 hours, stirring once halfway through baking time.

Here is a link that might be useful: Covered Roaster

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Comments (8)

lindac
13 years ago
I'd make it in a large fry pan until you get to the part about "pour into a large roasting pan"....then I'd put it in the covered roaster.
for the sake of a dirty fry pan.....don't mess with what you know.
Linda C PS....do you really cook the pre cooked shrimp for an hour and a half????
danab_z9_la
13 years ago
Cajun Jambalaya expert here.........

Use "extra long" grain regular white rice if you can find it. Otherwise long grain is fine. (Parboiled rice will give it an off flavor, medium and short grain rice will come out sticky or gummy.) Cook as directed above then put into the covered roaster that is already preheated to 350. Above recipe is fine and will work in your roaster.

FYI, for small batches of Jambalaya like this one, I cook mine in a cast iron or cast aluminum (Magnalite) dutch oven or roaster. Cook as directed above; however, once you add the water.......continue to cook it on top of the stove using a medium high heat and "with stirring" every few minutes (no stirring will not make it get gummy) until the water level gets even with the top of the rice. Add your defrosted shrimp at this time. Then place the pot in your preheated kitchen oven, cover (no foil needed) and bake for 1 1/2 hours with a stir after 45 minutes. Rice will come out perfect every time..... I guaranteeee cher.

Dan
Semper Fi-cus
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A reminder that the Nesco does a wonderful roast chicken, or two if you get the larger roaster. I have a 6 qt. Nesco and fix the delicious Sticky Chicken in mine often: Roast Sticky Chicken 3 pounds whole chicken 2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon paprika 3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1/2 teaspoon onion powder 1/2 teaspoon thyme 1/4 teaspoon white pepper 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1 large onion -- quartered Combine all spices together in a small bowl. Rub mixture into chicken WELL, inside & out, patting into the skin & try to make it evenly distributed. Put in a large bag & refrigerate overnight. If you don't have time for this step it will still be delicious! Just before roasting, stuff the cavity w/ onions. Roast uncovered at 250F for 5 hours. Baste often w/ pan juices until they caramelize in the pan. Chicken will turn golden brown. These freeze great and you can make several of them at one time since your oven is on for so long. This chicken is to die for and falls off the bone. For Heating: You can bring these straight from the freezer if you want. From the freezer: put in the microwave on a plate covered w/ paper towels & heat on high 5-7 minutes. Then, place in a 350* oven 15-20 minutes or until hot throughout. Or, you can thaw in the refrigerator overnight, wrap in foil and heat in a low oven for 20-30 minutes.
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Well, I have an 18 quart and I have the 6 quart. It's the most regularly used appliance in my house next to those used for roasting and brewing coffee. I use the 18 quart for stock because I have cattle and chickens and make a lot of stock from the bones and can it. I put the bones of either in the big roaster, add my vegetables (onion, celery, carrot) and seasonings (bay leaf, salt, pepper), and roast the whole thing at 400 or 450 for a couple of hours, then add water to cover the bones and let it simmer all day, sometimes all night. The longer you cook, of course, the more flavorful the stock is. I also use the 18 quart to make things like scalloped potatoes, baked beans, sloppy joes for family parties and I use it to roast turkey or ham when my oven is busy at said parties. That happens a lot. I use the 6 quart in place of the crock pot a lot of the time. There is a learning curve, I've found that the "slow cook" setting on the Nesco is still too hot for my liking, so I turn it down further. That's the beauty of it, it can be adjusted for temperature instead of the mostly high/low crockpot type settings. I don't sear a roast in mine, the heat is on the sides and so it's not great for that, but I just plop it in with no liquid and roast it, then add whatever else I want and turn the heat down for a slow roast. The advantages of different sizes depends on the volume of cooking/product. I use the big one and I use the 6 quart but I don't really need anything smaller or larger, those do what I want them to. I can also put either on the back porch in the summer time to avoid any heat in my kitchen, as I do not have air conditioning, and I can bake in them in lieu of turning on an oven. I've baked brownies and banana bread, and used the small one as a bain marie for cheesecakes although you have to cover the tops to avoid condensation dripping onto the tops from the lid. I do know that others have the fan in theirs and love it, but I've never used one with that option, so I can't help you there. I love my roasters, the 6 quart gets a regular workout and the 18 quart is a lifesaver for big gatherings, I highly recommend them. Annie
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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.
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bryansda
13 years ago
Caliloo, make sure you do a burn off of your roaster before doing any cooking in it. You sure don't want your Jambalaya ruined from any fumes from a new roaster. And you got a good deal on your roaster too.
caliloo
Original Author
13 years ago
Thansk Bryansda, I'm not sure I would have thought of that.

Linda, it is the only recipe I could find that had similar ingredients to the one I use (and haven't typed up yet) so I copied and pasted without reading completely. No, I add the pre-cooked shrimp about 5 minutes before I serve it to heat through.

Thanks Dan - Great advice! I will look for the extra long grain rice.

Alexa
cynic
13 years ago
The electric roaster *is* an oven so for that matter you could just put your pot in there and cook it just like in an oven. The advantage is that you can put the food into the electric roaster where you couldn't in a conventional oven.

You could saute and brown in the electric roaster too but using the stove would be more efficient IMO. Generally electric roasters will have vents in the lid so for a tight seal that most jambalaya recipes want, you may want to top the cookwell with foil or plug the vent holes.

Your instruction book should cover the burn off on it. One of mine took a long time to get rid of the smell, the other took a short time. Do this outside! Sometimes the fumes can be very repulsive. I'd do it first without the cookwell in the unit. Once the smell is gone put the cookwell in and give it a good heating up. Also, check the instructions but you probably should give the cookwell a coating of oil to season it.

Enjoy your electric roaster. They're fabulous appliances. I can't for the life of me understand why anyone would buy a crockpot these days. It's like buying a washboard to wash clothes AFAIC.
annie1992
13 years ago
I love mine too, I have the 18 quart and the 6 quart, and I do everything in mine that I do in the oven, even Boston Brown Bread and I've baked brownies in mine when my oven was on the fritz.

I roast the bones and vegetables for stock right in the roaster and then add the water and seasonings and let it go, everything done in one pot. I've posted pictures of roast chicken on WFD and the skin was as brown and crispy as I get in the oven. And mine has vents, but you can close them.

However, as cynic mentioned, it may be more efficient to do the browning on the stovetop. Not necessary, but perhaps quicker.

And, as cynic has suggested before, the small ones make great crockpots, my 6 quart even has a temperature setting for "slow cooking".

I use the big one several times per year and I'll roast the prime rib in it tomorrow. The small one gets used at least a couple of times a week, and Elery liked it so much he bought one for his house. Far more efficient than turning on the oven for roasting one small chicken for myself, or baking a small amount of beans all day.

I also do huge batches of apple butter and tomato sauce in mine for canning, just leave the lid ajar so that it cooks down, and because they heat up the sides too, you don't have the scorching issue or the spattering that I have on top of the stove.

Enjoy it, Alexa, I love mine.

Annie
danab_z9_la
13 years ago
I had seen the "Roaster Oven" discussions before on this forum and ended up buying both a 6 quart and a 12 quart Nesco convection roaster. The 12 quart is going to the camp.....the other in my kitchen. Roast chicken and Cornish hens come out so juicy in these ovens. And that convection fan helps get that skin extra crispy. I cook my birds sitting on an oval shaped aluminum steak plate and use a silicon tipped pizza pan gripper to remove from the hot oven. These roasters are much more versatile than a crock pot.

Dan
Semper Fi-cus
caliloo
Original Author
13 years ago
Thansk so much for all the info, I will be unpacking it tomorrow and investigating ffurther. It sounds like I made a good investment. It also sounds like it will be great when it is too hot to cook and I can plug it in outside to avoid heating up the kitchen any further.

You all are awesome and I really appreciate all the advice!

Alexa

18 qt Covered Roaster question

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18 qt Covered Roaster question

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