Nesco roasters have been around for more than half a century. They're very good. They also make multiple sizes, so if 6 qt. isn't big enough for you, you could get a size larger.

The alternative is a slow cooker, but that's a whole different way to cook.

I don't know about other brands of roaster. We've used the Nesco (a big one) for everything from baked beans to baked potatoes to reheating casseroles, but we don't use it for roasting meats. I have lots of experience with roasting chicken and vegetables, however, and I do think that 6 qt. would be too small. Probably just big enough for the chicken. It should do your other tasks just fine at any size.

Other than the roasting part, another thing to look into is the new immersion sous vide regulators.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=immersion+sous+vide&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Aimmersion+sous+vide

People are making all sorts of "wet" dishes in canning jars in the water bath. But that's probably more akin to slow cooking than the roaster.

Of course I love my Aroma multi cookers but I do have one of the big roasters mine I believe is a GE 18qt but looks just like the Nesco roasters. I use it cooking turkeys, hams, big Briskets, and big batches of gumbo, chili, jambalaya, etc. Oh and Cajun dirty rice. It's great for me to take in the RV. I have cooked thanksgiving and Christmas meals for the whole family using that roaster. I do have the 3 section cooker that goes on top, replacing the lid for heating side dishes.

But for the things you listed my go to device would be my aroma cooker which does sauté and browning, plus the slow cooker for stews, soups, and of course it does terrific rice. It's a 6 qt. It makes the best steamed veggies and foods.

How about an enamel coated cast iron Dutch oven? Le Creuset style, but competing brands available for much less money.

Very versatile, usable on the range and in the oven. High temp or low. Easy to clean.

(I personally avoid single purposes kitchen electrical appliances. Exceptions made for a toaster, a blender, and a food processor. I like to avoid the clutter they seem to cause when existing equipment can perform the same tasks and more and better)

P-log said (in the thread where I wrongly first posted the above comment):

" The reasons for not doing it in the main oven are many:

• Depending on the oven, to heat the kitchen less.
• Use it outside so as not to heat the kitchen.
• Use it in another room besides the kitchen to keep the kitchen free and/or cool.
• The kitchen oven(s) is full.
• Bring it to a relative's house to cook away without taking over her kitchen.
• Use electricity when the gas is out."

There must be a geographical component to your thinking? I can see the heat issue. We try to avoid making things that require long oven time when it's too hot to do so. Warm weather is the time to grill/BBQ.

I've never known gas service to go out. Have you? (I have two ovens, one gas and one electric, though I know most people just have one).

Your other what-ifs would fail my "350 day" test. Anything expected to be unused 350 days of the year I consider to be not needed.

I'm looking for an appliance that will not require the oven or stovetop. I do have an excellent Dutch oven that gets used quite often. It's a necessity. The cooker I'm eying is reported to roast, bake, braise, stew, steam, slow cook, etc., without the oven. Seems like a multi-tasker, to me.

Edited to add: I just saw your second post, Snidely. Yes, I do live in an area where it can be pretty warm for several months out of the year. Our outdoor grill is fired up very frequently, and it'll be nice to have a convenient and versatile alternative.

I'm sure that I don't want a large roaster, Raven. Yours sounds perfect for you, I know that you cook for a gang on the RV sometimes.

Pillog, I looked at the sous vide suggestion but it just doesn't ring my bell. Thanks, though.

Here's the model that I'm looking at pretty seriously.

I don't abide by your 350 day test. I think if something is needed at least once a month, it has a good purpose.

I've had my gas out, when there was some kind of fault in the lines. I've also lived where gas was delivered in "balloons" on a set schedule, and if you ran out of gas you did without gas until more was delivered. There are many people on GW who depend on LP, and others who RV (and depend on LP). It's possible that an electric backup is needed.

Heat might be geographical, but most of the places in North America that get very cold can also get very hot. Outdoor cooking isn't an option for everybody. Open flame cooking isn't an option for everybody. Many apartment dwellers are allowed to use an electric appliance on their balconies but not gas grills or any barbecues.

You're not wrong that a good pot can be used for all those things on the kitchen equipment that most jurisdictions require be there for a certificate of occupancy, but if Rhizo wanted a good pot, I bet the post would have been about that. There are tons of good reasons to have a spare cooking appliance, and your distaste for one only means that you don't want it. I'm not trying to convince you that you should! I was just trying to give some reasons why someone else might. Sorry that makes you cranky.

Raven, would you mind posting a link to or a pic of your Aroma multi cooker? Thanks!!

Loved my Nesco roaster and used it often through the years until I started cooking for one. Put it in my garage sale last year and it was gone the first 10 minutes!! Now I use my slow cooker as I don't cook large roasts, etc. anymore.

Sure thing I posted about it recently when I bought a new one for a great price at Costco. I will link to it.

I do have several enamel cast iron pots and roasters and love them for oven cooking, however I can no longer use them unless someone will be there to lift them. I am not able to do that now they are just too heavy. When my husband is home I will use them. That is another big plus for the aroma cooker for me since the inner pot is very light and easy for me to handle and it's a cool touch appliance so no worries about heat.

Thanks Raven!!!

By the way if you prefer to have an inner pot that is stainless steel medical grade aroma makes a line called aroma Nutriware they have most of the same functions including the saute and simmer. They are more expensive but worth it. Here's an example of one.

Nutriware

Me cranky? Nope, not ever. But I'll stick to my 350 day guideline and recommend it to others. I don't do any "just in case" choices. I buy for the 350 days utility I can be sure of, whether cars or household items or whatever, and figure I can borrow, rent, or work-around what might be needed a few days a year that I choose to not have. For many such things, the need turns out to be never.

We're not (yet) dealing with any movement limitations but my larger (maybe 7.5 qt) coated cast iron piece is indeed heavy and a challenge to lift from our under-counter ovens, especially if full. My wife leaves it to me to do. It may be 20 pounds or more. But I sure like the variety of things I can do with it.

Hi, All! The Aroma Cooker sounds so great. Are you referring to the Rice Cooker? Or is there a different model? Thanks!

snidely, rhizo wasn't asking us to talk him/her out of buying it, was she/he?

rhizo-

Have you looked at the owner's manual for a 6-quart to see if the recipes and recommended uses meet your criteria? http://www.nesco.com/files/pdf/6qt.pdf

I'd also take a look at the NESCO web site for more recipes to help you out for even more ideas. http://www.nesco.com/recipes/?category%5B%5D=700&submit=Search

-Grainlady

Thanks, grainlady! I hadn't even downloaded the manual yet! That's very useful in helping me make up my mind. I'm going to order it today!

And I also want to thank Snidely! Yes, YOU, Mr. Whiplash. I took your opinions in the spirit intended, I think. (Trying to be helpful.) But I certainly disagree wholeheartedly with your 350 rule.

I have a few small appliances that I rarely use, but will never part with. Our rotisserie, and the ice cream maker (if you tasted my lemon custard ice cream you'd understand), for example. Heck, we only use the coffee maker a couple of times a month! Edited to add the microwave to the list of appliances that miserably fails Snidely's rule of 350.

The Nesco will be a much used item, however. It will absolutely be plugged in outside on the back porch for our fall get togethers.

I am also extremely fortunate in having plentiful 'parking space' for countertop gadgets in order to keep them off the counters when not in use. My pantry has wide shelves and I also have a wall of shelves just off the kitchen in the laundry room.

Yes indeed, you got it right. Thanks, and I'm glad you understood. I became an enameled Dutch oven devotee late in life. It was perhaps a dozen years ago when after hitching my wagon to Cooks Illustrated, I soon realized that most recipes they do required one. I love their versatility.

As for my 350 approach, it was an adaption of anti-cluttering strategies I'd read about. It applies nowhere better than in a kitchen, but in lots of other parts of the home as well. It helps me to streamline and avoid accumulations. Although another member of the household doesn't observe it as stringently as I do, I won't mention her name.

lovemrmewey, yes the aroma cooker is also a rice cooker but it is much more than that. They do make just rice cookers too. These are multi cookers since they have several settings for slow cooker, steam, sauté and simmer, there are settings for white and brown rice. Different models have different functions so it's very important to check out the settings on the each model. My older model doesn't have the slow cooker so I was happy to see it on the new model at Costco.

As many know, I've had electric roasters for years, actually decades. I had my mother's Kenmore roaster after she died and my sister borrowed it from me and it was never returned once she experienced the versatility of it. Not a big problem though since that was probably a 20 qt unit, used for BIG turkeys, hams, multiple roasts, etc. I bought a 6 qt Nesco and a 4 qt Nesco. I will take issue with anyone who suggests that it's any sort of a one-trick pony. Far from it. People compare them to slow cookers and that's an insult to the roaster. They are a roaster oven. They will slow cook, they will bake, and I know people who have used them to make pancakes for cryin' out loud, but I do not suggest it's the best unit for that. I personally have baked bread in mine many times. Why heat the big oven for one loaf? More heat loss and more expensive to operate the big oven. For slow cooking chili, soup, stew or what have you it's FAR superior to a slow cooker. It's peoples' own choice but there's no way I'd keep a slow cooker and get rid of my Nesco. The Nesco, and I use that term for all roaster ovens, the roaster oven will do everything a slow cooker will and much more and with less hassle. You get precise temperature control, not just high and low. Cleaning is far easier than a slow cooker. As I've said before I got rid of the slow cookers soon after getting the roaster oven. There's no comparison and no use here for a slow cooker dedicated unit. It was great to take to the cabin to supplement the "Coleman" stove and having an oven really expanded the menu. I've used it for hot cider, keeping hot dogs, brats and burgers warm at picnics and outdoor functions. One of these days I'm going to try using it for no-knead bread. For me, the electric roaster replaces the need for a Dutch Oven. For others it's the other way around.

A large unit is often used only at holidays. Admittedly that's when my mother's unit was used. But at the same time there was no substitute for it either. The extra oven was required to feed the family and guests.

I agree with the basic idea of the 350 "rule" as an assist to declutter and prioritize and Snidley admitted that there's exceptions to it which there has to be. But, even if I only used my roaster once a year, I'd keep it rather than having a blender or food processor. Turkey from a blender isn't the same as from the roaster! :) And clearly rules are made to be broken or a lot of people would be tearing out the second oven they have built into their houses!

FWIW I used to use an electric fry pan more often than the stove. Handy, quick to heat up, easy to clean. Coupled with the Nesco I made a very mean pot roast, batch of chili and other things.

I use the roaster to steam things. Sweet corn and other vegetables are great. I didn't realize how well it made baked potatoes until I used it in there when I wanted to just make a couple without firing up the big oven.

For the 6 qt size, I can't tell you if it would work well for a whole chicken. i don't do whole chickens. I do use it for a large turkey breast and often there's not a lot of room between the meat and the cookwell, but it still cooks just fine. I do use it for maybe a dozen or so chicken drumsticks. I make up a bunch and have for OAWC, snacks, salads and the like. You might try cutting up the chicken and roasting it. That might work well.

That said, it should also be stated that it's a TOOL. It's not going to do everything for you. It's there to help you, not unlike a Dutch Oven, a fry pan, a knife or a can opener. You have to make it work for you. Every pet I've had enjoyed the roaster too and they'd generally lie very close to it when the aromas wafted through the house.

Turkey from a blender isn't the same as from the roaster!

Truer words were never said!