Poll: Do I NEED a Nesco Roaster?
I am hosting DH's life celebration (it's an open house weekend-long party) in August. Yes, I know I'm crazy...
I am always conscious of food safety for gatherings like this. So I have a large gas grill for the BBQ chicken, hot dogs, etc. I have a two burner gas camp stove and a crock pot, but it's old and I don't want to depend on it.
I am going to do a lot of make ahead casserole-requires baking in the oven type dishes (relatively cheap and easy). I have a portable convection oven - an older model of this one:
It's hard to get 2 9x13 pans in there and make sure they both evenly heat without rotating, etc.
I know a lot of you have Nesco roasters. The 18 quart on amazon is well within my budget, but do I really NEED another appliance to find storage room for and may not use often enough to justify it? It's just me now, so I rarely cook large amounts of food anymore. But it would be handy for making a big batch of freezer meals for me. And I know it would be indispensable at the party. I have plenty of electricity on the deck, and a roll-around stainless table which will work fine for a serving cart.
I vacillate back and forth, forth and back. Please help me say Yea or Nay - I need your vote!
Thanks!!
Comments (7)
11 years ago- 11 years ago
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Nesco 6 Qt Roaster Oven
Comments (55)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!...See Morelooking for: ot? recipies for nesco roaster
Comments (6)Do you have an oven and a cook top? Will you be making rolls and pies that day? Will you be having a side of scalloped oysetrs that need to be baked? Will you ba having a baked sweet potato dish? Do you have a microwave? I would make the rolls the day or more before...freeze and heat at the last minute. Bake the turkey...or breasts in the oven, have the sweet potatoes all boiled and the topping on and ready to bake...Make the mashed potatoes while the turkey is cooking and re heat in the microwave....make the pies in the morning before the turkey is in the oven. When the turkey is cooked and while it's resting cook your sweet potatoes and pan of stuffing and veggie casserole if having one.....when the potatoes and veggies are done, remove from the oven and cover with foil and towels to keep warm, re heat the rolls, carve the turkey, make the gravy while the turkey is resting....and use the roaster to keep the gravy hot. I cooked holiday meals for lots of years with one oven, 4 burners and no microwave. Stuffing in a crock pot is a mushy nasty mess....never gets a crisp top. Lots of sides don't need to be kept hot...salads relish tray, cranberry relish, olives and pickles. Linda C...See MoreNesco Roaster Recipe Method???
Comments (2)First, I NEVER will use cooking spray anymore. I ruined my porcelain cookwell with that garbage, along with some bakeware. It destroys the seasoning on the cookwell and puts a shellac-like coating on there that needs to be essentially sandblasted to remove. Hideous stuff. Use oil. It really is not a big amount of effort. Or put the oil in a sprayer if you must have "spray". Heat the cookwell and oil it, you'll cut down the sticking tremendously just like the old porcelain roasting pans. One of the biggest mistakes made with an electric roaster is not seasoning the cookwell properly. Sadly, few if any recipes mention this. The recipe you have there I have a big disagreement with and that is to use butter only. Butter will burn at high temp. Either use oil or at least mix oil with the butter to raise the burning point. I think you'll be happier with the results. Caramelizing onions is essentially a pretty basic operation. You take onion, fat and apply heat to it for a "long" time (relatively speaking). The Nesco will apply heat nicely. You could also take the cookwell and use on the stove and put it in the oven if you're used to doing it that way, or put it back into the heatwell to finish off....See MoreCan I bake a meatloaf in a dish in a 6 qt Nesco roaster oven?
Comments (8)Thanks linda and plllog! LOL pilllog! Learned that! Was even thinking in the future of getting those special gloves....they might work better than 2 big potholders. The meatloaf tastes good........but I think I ground the meat too fine for this. I've gotten in the habit of grinding chuck roasts myself, so we're eating from 1 cow at a time, and not 100. Anyhow........I ground this last batch fine and it was a little too fine for meatloaf. And when I would bake it in the big stove/oven, I would use a rectangular casserole dish. As soon as it was done baking, I would elevate one side of the dish and scoop out all that fat, before it would get reabsorbed. But I totally filled this 1 and 1/2 quart - tall sided, square dish and couldn't do that. I'm sure I'll learn the tricks of cooking with this thing. I'm really glad I got the small one and the large one....See More- 11 years ago
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11 years ago
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