I got the red 6 qt. non stick. Jude, we have to do a smoke burn on it in a well ventilated area for an hour (read manual!) before we can cook in it. Darn. It's snowing like mad here! And I have a baby shower tomorrow to go to. I am thinking about making the sticky chicken recipe that teresa_nc7 posted in my original post for my first run. Annie, I'm looking forward to it. I am hoping it will work good for us in the RV. Especially to keep the heat down in the summer! Carol, do you use tomatoes in your swiss steak, or is it a brown gravy? Mine is a brown gravy. If yours is, can you post your recipe, please? Tami

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

I live in Wisconsin where the Nesco is a tradition. I believe it is made here or at least it was, who knows anymore, but it is a great device and I use it all the time. Just realize that it is not all things for everyone and you will be happy with your purchase. I first saw the Nesco in use at a friends house where Mom would cook with it a lot particularly game. So it has a lot of nostalgia for me. I make their chili recipe for the 6 qt a lot adapted a bit to my own tastes and people seem to enjoy it. It's great when it's too hot to use the oven. I own several 6 qt models and a 18 qt size which I use to cook for large family gatherings and for turkey. You'll want to experiment with it before you use it for an important family gathering or you may be disappointed. There is a technique for getting a turkey to brown correctly and if you don't do it right the turkey won't brown and may have a steamed taste. Still good but maybe not what you were looking for. On sale I have seen the 6 qt size selling for $25, buy one and support American industry and get a bargain to boot!

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.