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Thread Number: 66336
/ Tag: Ranges, Stoves, Ovens
Counter top roaster vs. oven - pros, cons, benefits, etc? |
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Post# 889403 7/14/2016 at 17:02 (2,841 days old) by RevvinKevin  (Tinseltown - Shakey Town - La-La Land) |
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 My grandmother had a Westinghouse roaster (similar the photo below) and always used it for the Thanksgiving turkey, because the oven was full of pies or other things. Honestly I don't know if she used it for anything OTHER than the big day-O-turkey. Aside from the "cool factor" of being a vintage appliance, what are any pros / cons, or advantages / disadvantages of using an roaster versus an oven? Are these specifically designed to be a "turkey roaster"? I imagine you can use it for things too, but want to ask all of you. Thank you in advance! Kevin
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Post# 889406 , Reply# 2 7/14/2016 at 17:25 (2,841 days old) by Frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie) |
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Honestly, I use an electric roaster more for reheating and holding large quantities of grilled burgers, pork chops, or meat for sloppy joe/tacos when serving big groups of people. Have never actually used it to roast a turkey---but may give that a try this summer. I've heard more than one grandma say it produces a very flavorful, moist turkey.
Here's a vintage TV commercial about the Westinghouse Electric Roaster. It shows the roaster being used to cook a Thanksgiving turkey and then a complete ham meal. I'll bet cooks in the 1950s wished they had these wonderful roaster liners available to them to make cleanup a breeze. post was last edited: 7/14/2016-20:06] | ||
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Post# 889407 , Reply# 3 7/14/2016 at 17:32 (2,841 days old) by turquoisedude (.) |
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| Post# 889408 , Reply# 4 7/14/2016 at 17:40 (2,841 days old) by LordKenmore (The Laundry Room) | ||
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| Post# 889409 , Reply# 5 7/14/2016 at 17:44 (2,841 days old) by LordKenmore (The Laundry Room) | ||
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wonderful roaster liners
I have to admit I'm not very wild about the thought of such liners. I may hate doing dishes, but I also hate the waste of buying stuff that gets used one time and then thrown. And one wonders, too, about chemicals in the liner possibly leeching into the food, and causing long term health problems.
I have similar reservations about liners for other products, like slow cookers. | ||
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Post# 889411 , Reply# 6 7/14/2016 at 17:52 (2,841 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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Countertop Roasters and "Ovenettes"
Pros:
Most models of vintage offerings are quite good for baking, roasting, and other things you normally would do in a full sized oven. This while either acting as a second (or third) oven and or not having to use the full sized one during hot weather. The latter keeps your kitchen cooler.... Cons: These units often have nil to no insulation and also really draw power. That being said once brought up to temp and you resist the temptation to open/lift lid the thermostat shouldn't call for heat that often. If you ever want to see how much power those vintage Westinghouse and other roasters pull, hook one up to a Kill-A-Watt device. That or go look at your electric meter when one is started up from cold and watch those dials spin. Mind you all this was before air conditioning was not as common compared to now. Many family members simply turn up/on the AC and use their ovens even on the hottest days of summer. My mom and others when I was coming up usually served something "cold" on such days and or we either ate out, ordered take-away or grill was fired up and we had BBQ in the back yard. Great thing about the Westinghouse and most other vintage roasters is that the liner comes out for cleaning. You can do all sorts of dishes for a crowd from lasagna to chili with very easy clean up afterwards. | ||
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Post# 889417 , Reply# 7 7/14/2016 at 18:20 (2,841 days old) by rp2813 (Sannazay) |
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 Since finding my big 1946 GE roaster a few years back, I've used it to make two things: Corned beef for a crowd on St. Patrick's Day, and to bake a loaf of banana bread on the back yard patio when it was 97 outside (we have no A/C). It lives in the basement, but it's very handsome to behold when it takes its place in the kitchen.
For the beef it was like a giant slow cooker, but it also provided the advantage of using the temperature control to speed recovery to a steady simmer after adding the vegetables. The more amazing result was beautifully baked banana bread. It took a little longer than in a conventional oven, but it was perfectly done.
Long ago I used my mom's Westinghouse (like the one in the OP and in similar, if not worse condition) for a big batch of cioppino, and another time for chili. I didn't want that roaster at the time it was up for grabs, so it got re-homed.
The one thing to remember is, don't peek. Most Westinghouse roasters have a handy window in the lid, but for those that don't, lifting it will have the exact opposite consequences of doing the same thing with a chest freezer, and the more you do it, the more your cooking time will need to be increased.
I've read both pro and con about turkeys in roasters. Some have said they don't brown well, while others have said they turn out beautifully. In late November, all issues with a kitchen that's too hot are pretty much history around here, but I can see the advantage of using the large conventional oven (particularly if it has a convection setting) for multiple side dishes and letting the turkey do its thing in the roaster.
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This post was last edited 07/14/2016 at 18:40 | ||
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Post# 889427 , Reply# 10 7/14/2016 at 19:44 (2,841 days old) by appnut (TX) |
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 Kevin, I had a modern-day Nesco 18-qt roaster. I kept it in the garage when not in use. I tripped one day and fell on the Nesco and bent the lid and destroyed one of the little legs. It was my second oven for several years. Turkeys were cooked perfectly in it. I also used mine to make meat loaf; wonderful cheesecake; pound cakes; bundt cakes; baked chicken breasts. I may have even baked small pizzas in it. When in use, it was in the laundry room on top of the chest freezer. | ||
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Post# 889436 , Reply# 11 7/14/2016 at 21:44 (2,841 days old) by polkanut (Wausau, WI ) |
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 Our ladies guild at church uses the several Westinghouse roasters they have for making large batches of chili mac, and other types of soup for our annual Lenten soup suppers. They also use them for making WI-style goulash for funeral luncheons as well as ham & scalloped potatoes, baked beans etc. They are great for quantity cookery.
P.S. I'm including the recipe for WI-style goulash. Our family adds peas & green beans also. CLICK HERE TO GO TO polkanut's LINK | ||
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Post# 889438 , Reply# 12 7/14/2016 at 21:50 (2,841 days old) by Frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie) |
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Lord Kenmore-- I can certainly understand and empathize with your skepticism concerning the safety of plastic liners for roasters and slow cookers. However, the gravitational pull of ease and convenience vanquished all such fears, LOL. I've also used Reynolds Roasting Bags for years. My rationalization: I've done so many things which could cause major health problems that the occasional use of plastic liners seems a comparatively small risk. 🍸💊🚬💉🛁 | ||
| Post# 889470 , Reply# 13 7/15/2016 at 07:00 (2,840 days old) by Xraytech (Rural southwest Pennsylvania ) | ||
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Post# 889483 , Reply# 14 7/15/2016 at 09:14 (2,840 days old) by RevvinKevin (Tinseltown - Shakey Town - La-La Land) |
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Post# 889486 , Reply# 15 7/15/2016 at 09:36 (2,840 days old) by dermacie (my forever home (Glenshaw, PA)) |
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Westinghouse | ||
| Post# 889487 , Reply# 16 7/15/2016 at 10:00 (2,840 days old) by ken (NYS) | ||
I picked up a used newer Rival roaster to prepare last years Thanksgiving bird. First time we did it that way rather than in the oven.
Not only did it cook much faster in the roaster it was very moist. I've read some comments in the past concerning birds done in a roaster won't brown like in the oven but it definitely browned just fine. I actually let it cook a little too long and the internal temperature raised higher than it needed to be because it cooked much faster than the min/lb guide printed on the bag. But it was still moist. | ||
| Post# 889508 , Reply# 17 7/15/2016 at 14:36 (2,840 days old) by mrb627 (Buford, GA) | ||
Hmmm... | ||
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Post# 889516 , Reply# 19 7/15/2016 at 16:32 (2,840 days old) by Dermacie (my forever home (Glenshaw, PA)) |
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Post# 889523 , Reply# 20 7/15/2016 at 17:06 (2,840 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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Vintage roasters will not heat up a space same as a larger oven. However you can t throw a "blanket" made from oven or similar insulation over or around the thing to keep more of the heat in. Do this with the Ovenette and Maxim convection oven.
As noted previously main thing is to *NOT* keep lifting/opening the lid on these things. Once they reach temperature it remains surprisingly constant long as you keep the lid on/door closed. Because you are cooking in close confined space you'll probably find things are done a bit faster and or you must adjust the temperature a bit lower. This makes sense as unlike a large oven you aren't heating lots of dead air space around your pan/dish, so there is probably a more efficient transfer of heat. | ||
| Post# 889575 , Reply# 22 7/16/2016 at 09:18 (2,839 days old) by fan-of-fans (Florida) | ||
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Steam table I remember some of these had a kit that consisted of a rack and three small containers so you could put water in the bottom and use it as a steam table to heat your side dishes. Did anyone ever try this, and how well did it work? | ||
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Post# 889582 , Reply# 23 7/16/2016 at 10:37 (2,839 days old) by abcomatic (Bradford, Illinois) |
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My aunt Jean had a Nesco roaster and had the stand on which it stood. Her's had a clock in it too and storage below. She used it for Thanksgiving dinner back in 1958 and it was wonderful as I remember. I have no clue what ever happened to it. | ||
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Post# 889601 , Reply# 24 7/16/2016 at 13:56 (2,839 days old) by rp2813 (Sannazay) |
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I've never come across a vintage roaster that has all of its accessories, particularly the extra cooking containers, except maybe on ebay IIRC. I think people found these useful and kept them for use in their conventional ovens or as storage containers for leftovers. AFAIK, they were standard equipment as demonstrated in the Studio One video clip above.
My GE came with its load & lift rack plus an additional adjustable height rack. Tom, would I be able to use the additional rack for a Bundt pan instead of a PC trivet?
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| Post# 889602 , Reply# 25 7/16/2016 at 14:03 (2,839 days old) by Artcurus (Odessa) | ||
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@rp Should be fine. Mine came with the lift out rack and the second shelf. The point of the trivet is to get the bundt pan off the floor of the oven | ||
| Post# 889622 , Reply# 27 7/16/2016 at 16:18 (2,839 days old) by perc-o-prince (Southboro, Mass) | ||
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We've run across lots of the containers; some with covers and some without. Hall pottery made some in colors for the roasters as well. Chuck | ||
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Post# 889627 , Reply# 28 7/16/2016 at 16:47 (2,839 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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Many of those roaster containers pop up on fleaPay, estate sales, CL, thrifts, etc... labeled as "refrigerator" use. Which I suppose is fine.
A NIB set recently sold on eBay for a good price: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Westinghouse-3-P... Roaster accessories often got misplaced over the years so often you find racks, owner's manual and other things missing. As with so many other things in the early eBay or whatever days you could get complete Westinghouse and other roasters for very little money. Now as with so many other things (such as wringer washers) sellers assume their rusted and clapped out roasters are worth several hundred dollars. | ||
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Post# 889634 , Reply# 29 7/16/2016 at 17:45 (2,839 days old) by Frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie) |
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Post# 889637 , Reply# 30 7/16/2016 at 18:13 (2,839 days old) by whirlykenmore78 (Prior Lake MN (GMT-0500 CDT.)) |
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I have a post-war Westinghouse myself.
NOTHING save for a smoker cooks a better turkey. Mine also has the template with the 3 aluminum pans for use as a steamtable. Clean-up is a snap as well just pre scrub the cooking vessel with some hot water and Dawn, rinse it and send it through the dishmachine. I have cleaned dozens this way at church.
WK78 | ||
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Post# 889686 , Reply# 31 7/17/2016 at 07:39 (2,838 days old) by polkanut (Wausau, WI ) |
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Malcolm, I couldn't find any other online reference to our Aroma 20qt roaster other than the instruction manual PDF. We have all of the extras to use it as a steam table as well. We bought it about 10 years ago from QVC of all places. Only thing I've ever bought from a TV shopping channel. lol CLICK HERE TO GO TO polkanut's LINK | ||
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Post# 890684 , Reply# 34 7/23/2016 at 23:12 (2,831 days old) by rp2813 (Sannazay) |
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New Cord I'm pretty sure I saw the big roaster oven replacement cords at ACE Hardware recently.
For cleaning the exterior, I got excellent results from a bottle of brush-on white appliance touch-up (apply very sparingly with nearly-dry brush) and liquid car cleaner/wax to polish.
This is the same GE roaster pictured above in as-found condition:
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Post# 890692 , Reply# 35 7/24/2016 at 00:41 (2,831 days old) by Tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD) |
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Congratulations! I hope that you have lots of fun cooking in it. | ||
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Post# 890702 , Reply# 36 7/24/2016 at 05:36 (2,831 days old) by Frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie) |
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There's a user manual/recipe book for a Westinghouse roaster in Ephemera. Forgot I'd purchased it! I was going through my Ephemera collection on the iPad and there it was, LOL. Quite a few recipes in it.
Didn't realize our little grocery store doesn't stock turkeys in the middle of the summer. How did I not realize that before? I have two of those whole, frozen turkey breasts, but I'm making cheesy hot turkey sandwiches with those. Besides, it just wouldn't be the same as cooking a nice, big turkey. Will have to wait, I guess. Or go hunting, LOL. 🦃🔫🍽 | ||
| Post# 890792 , Reply# 37 7/24/2016 at 17:14 (2,831 days old) by LordKenmore (The Laundry Room) | ||
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Or go hunting, LOL. | ||
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Post# 891054 , Reply# 38 7/26/2016 at 08:04 (2,829 days old) by polkanut (Wausau, WI ) |
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Eugene, | ||
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Post# 891109 , Reply# 39 7/26/2016 at 12:40 (2,829 days old) by Frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie) |
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Post# 897100 , Reply# 40 9/4/2016 at 07:16 (2,789 days old) by polkanut (Wausau, WI ) |
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I know this should be in "Shoppers Square", but I thought it was appropriate for this thread.
For sale is a nice old Nesco roaster w/ stand. CLICK HERE TO GO TO polkanut's LINK on Wausau Craigslist | ||
| Post# 897126 , Reply# 41 9/4/2016 at 10:27 (2,789 days old) by Xraytech (Rural southwest Pennsylvania ) | ||
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Yesterday I made cabbage rolls, only made about a dozen large ones, but I use my Westinghouse roaster because it's easier than layering them in a big pot. I also use the roaster liners for a no fuss clean up
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Post# 897127 , Reply# 42 9/4/2016 at 10:49 (2,789 days old) by polkanut (Wausau, WI ) |
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Sam, | ||
| Post# 897151 , Reply# 43 9/4/2016 at 13:36 (2,789 days old) by Xraytech (Rural southwest Pennsylvania ) | ||
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Post# 897467 , Reply# 44 9/6/2016 at 13:42 (2,787 days old) by Tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD) |
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If you have a dishwasher, at least a KitchenAid, the inset pan fits in the bottom rack and washes clean as a whistle. | ||
| Post# 1041572 , Reply# 45 8/12/2019 at 21:26 (1,717 days old) by 3lephant (Los Angeles) | ||
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Such ovens are specially made for turkey, I think. CLICK HERE TO GO TO 3lephant's LINK | ||
| Post# 1043257 , Reply# 46 8/30/2019 at 23:36 (1,698 days old) by sarahperdue (Alabama) | ||
Roasting on the porch
Yup, here in Alabama, we still use ours on the porch
I have a Westinghouse like Xraytech's and a Nesco with a window and vent in the lid. I have the original enamel pans for the Nesco and the glass pans for the Westy. I think the Westy glass loaf pans with lids are the easiest to find. The three dish sets were intended for cooking a full meal in the roaster. I've done it before, and it works well. I've done a nice Turkey in the Nesco and opened the vent towards the end. I've never done a cake, but will have to try one now. Sarah | ||
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