Oven cleaner ought to do the job. Take it outdoors, spray it with the oven cleaner, place in a plastic bag and leave it in the sun for a few hours. Ought to clean it right up.

I have used steel wool on mine but prolly not a good idea. Also, you can use a green Scotch Brite & Comet on the gelled up (amber) grease to reduce or eliminate having to resort to oven cleaner after it gets really baked on & black.

Another possibility might be Dawn power dissolver. I know a lot of people love that stuff but I can never remember to buy it.

SOS pads are designed for just such clean up. I use them all the time on my Nesco.

Teresa

Ok, thanks, I wasn't sure if the sos pads would scratch or not and didn't want to do it until I got the ok.

i have bought both the porcelin and the teflon
and i would not buy the teflon again
but there is nothing to compare to the nesco

So how is the Nesco Roaster different from a crock pot? Or can you use the roaster as a crock pot too? What do you use it for?

Sheila, I use both the 6 quart and the 18 quart. I've baked brownies in the big one when my oven went on the blink. I use it in place of a crockpot, it has a "slow cook" temp, although I turn it lower than that. The big one is great for roasting a bunch of bones, then adding veggies and making a huge batch of stock for canning.

I use it for roasting whole chickens or a Thanksgiving turkey, for baking things from ham to cobbler, for soups and baked beans and au gratin potatoes.

I use mine in place of the oven when I'm making something for just myself, or I put it on the back porch when it's too hot to turn my oven on.

I love the Nesco and Elery liked mine so much he got himself a 6 quart one too.

I use SOS pads and plastic scrubbies to clean them, although I've occasionally gotten a really sticky batch of something like baked beans and just simmered the roaster with water and baking soda in it to remove some of the gunk.

Annie

Annie,
Why do you put it on the back porch? I mean, you use it when it's too hot to turn on the regular oven, right...well, does the Nesco heat up the kitchen? I'm going to be guying one, or two, soon, I hope. There are just two of us, is the 6 and 18 quart size the way to go? I would love it if I could get a nice, browned turkey with it. I try and find 10-13 pounders... is the 12 quart too small for that? Lots of question, I know.
When do you know to use a rack in these things? Same as a normal oven? I don't bake, but you never know...we have a house in Florida.. and I HATE, hate, hate this heat! And DH LOVES, loves, loves roast turkey dinner! Believe me, he doesn't get it often. Anyway, I could set this up in the pantry/laundry room that is away from the kitchen if I had to.. want to avoid heating the house up, at all costs! But would rather the kitchen.

Thanks,

Sea

I've been toying with the idea of getting one after seeing all the great reviews here. It would be so nice to have that extra oven space!

Thanks for the push in the right direction.

AM

AM, I love mine and Elery liked it so much he bought his own, you won't be sorry.

Sea, I started using mine has an "extra" oven for holidays and for cooking the lamb that Elery loves but I don't even like the smell of. I put it on the back porch when it's hot because my small kitchen heats up quickly, not nearly as much with the Nesco as it does with the oven, but still, it generates heat. More than a crockpot does, when you're roasting at 350F or more.

You won't get the same darkly crispy skin in the roaster as you will in the oven, but it gets brown enough for me.

I don't know about a 12 quart, I only have the 6 quart and the 18 quart. If I had to choose only one, I'd take the 6 quart because it's just Elery and I and I can easily roast an entire chicken or duck in there, a filet of salmon or whatever.

The rack? I use it when I want to keep something up out of the juicwes in the bottom, like when roasting a chicken. I use the rack when I bake something in a pan like brownies, because it's easier to take the pan out. In other words, I guess, LOL.

Annie

I just finished cooking a chuck roast in my 6 qt. Nesco, simmering it for about 4 hours in homemade barbecue sauce. The thing that makes it different from most crock pots or slow cookers is the ability to set an exact temperature. For example, I started the chuck roast at 275 then turned it down to 225. When the meat was perfectly tender, I removed it and turned the temp up to 350 to reduce the juicy sauce. The response is much quicker than my slow cooker; the sauce was bubbling in just a minute or so. By the way, my roaster's glass top has a couple of steam vent holes, so I don't have the problem of creating too much liquid during cooking.

A Nesco (as any electric roaster) makes heat so naturally it will give off heat. It will also add humidity to the air, as will a slow cooker. People who say they use a slow cooker because it "doesn't heat up the room" don't have it turned on or are fooling themselves. A light bulb gives off heat. A hair dryer gives off heat. So do all cooking appliances, even a microwave to a point. So yes, if you leave a hair dryer going for hours will it heat up a room? Sure. Will a Nesco? (Or a toaster, or an electric frypan or a space heater?) Of course it will. However, since it's probably smaller than your ovens, it likely would heat up less then a conventional oven.

A 10-14# turkey should work fine in a 12 quart but if you want to put some potatoes around it or something you might want to get the 18 qt, or if you have occasional use for something larger, you might want to go with the 18 qt. Size-wise they're not much different. A guideline is 1#+ per quart size so a 12 qt would handle a 12# but they will take a little more. I've put 7.5# turkey breast in my 6 quart and it's fine. I believe the max recommended is 14# on a 12 qt. and 22# on a 18 qt.

Many people put the roaster outside on a patio, porch or whatever for various reasons. Some don't like cooking odors, some don't want the heat and/or humidity, some want the extra room.

For browned items, you need dry heat and electric roasters generally retain moisture, which is why things are so tender, juicy and tasty. If you must have browned skin on a turkey, the best way is to use the Roast-Air fan. Alternatives: Use a browning agent. (I never have) Cock the lid and let moisture out, but you'll lose heat. Frequently drain the juices out of the cookwell. Or, when you're pretty much done, pull all juices, pat the turkey dry and crank up the heat.

What I do when I really want something browned, is to cook it normally without the fan and then the last 15 min or so, pull the juices and turn on the fan. I don't eat the skin anymore so it's not an issue with me anymore.

The difference between a slow cooker and a roaster is an electric roaster is a portable oven with the cooking container. You can do everything you can do in a slow cooker and more and essentially you can do *most* everything you can do in a conventional oven but more.

I have the nonstick and the conventional cookwells for both of my Nescos and the porcelain only gets used when I need the second one. Cleaning? I don't use abrasives. I soak it and the stuff comes off quite easily. Occasionally I need to use one of the plastic scrubbers. I would never use steel wool, SOS, and *definitely* not Scratchbrite pads. I'd be hesitant to use oven cleaner on a cooking surface. I wouldn't use cleanser although baking soda would probably be fine an Barkeeper's Friend is supposedly not abrasive. I'd still hesitate to use it *in* the cookwell though. Dawn Power Dissolver probably would work and the (relatively) new Dawn Power Clean dish detergent has been highly recommended by friends. If you have seasoned your cookwell and soak it a bit, you probably won't have trouble. I don't. Also, clean as you go instead of letting it crust up will help too. Frankly there's so much moisture in there you shouldn't have much trouble cleaning it right away or soak it right away. If you're getting a black crust you're probably letting the heat dry it out and bake it on there. That's a big mistake.

Keep in mind that if you season your cookwells properly you won't have many cleanup issues. In that respect it's similar to cast iron. My porcelain cookwell for my 6 quart is damaged from using it for a humidifier on dry winter day. The minerals and stuff from the water clung to that thing and I made the mistake of using cleaning pads I shouldn't have used. So when I use that one now I line it with foil most of the time.

As for uses, I've gone into detail in other threads, but suffice to say anything I'd put in a slow cooker or the oven I'll put in the electric roaster, including breads, baking potatoes, casseroles, soups, chili, stew, etc. As I said before, you won't get a good crusty meatloaf in it unless you use the fan. Occasionally I want that thick crust on meatloaf so it goes in the oven and of course it'll be dried out. (And no, I *still* won't bury it in 2 inches of ketchup! HA!)

One other idea for browning if you don't have the Roast-Air is you could cook it most of the way in the Nesco and then dry it out and crisp it up in the conventional oven on a high heat.

Also, be sure to use a thermometer. I have one with a probe and alarm and set it for 150°-155° for the breast. Then I turn off the heat and it'll come up to 160° quickly.

Sorry it took so long to get back here..thank you for the info. and helpful tips!

Sea