Electric Roaster Oven: A Humble Kitchen Hero?

An electric roaster oven is inexpensive and simple to use. Does one belong in your kitchen? Chef and food writer Matt Degen explains all you need to know about cooking with a roaster oven.

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[thisnthatcormak]

I bought two at the thrift stores. $14.99 and $9.99. I use them for making bone broth. It works awesome and now I've started using it for meat. Thanks for a great video

[asdisskagen]

I'm so glad to see someone doing a video on this under-appreciated appliance. Growing up, both of my grandmothers only used electric roasters for roasting (large beef/pork roasts and whole turkeys/chickens). They always turned out perfectly. I think these have fallen out of fashion as improvements in home ovens have nearly eliminated the problems of uneven cooking, incorrect temperature gauges, etc. But if you have the space, I consider electric roasters HIGHLY worth the money for anyone who does a lot of roasting.

[damianrhea]

Chef Matt, thank you very much for discussing “electric roaster oven”! ~60 years ago — ~20 years after the end of WWII —, the world was still a lot less resourceful as today, my family used electric roaster oven — because we had no built-in oven in our house — to make some of our favourite dishes, very successfully and deliciously, too, such as pound cake, chiffon cake, roasted chicken, roasted goose, baked ribs, baked ham, etc.. Because of the materials used in those days, ours was fairly heavy, but w/ a glass window through which to see the progress of cooking, which was very fun, instead of having to open the lid and consequently losing a lot of heat. Now I see electric roaster ovens being used as cooking vessels for huge quantities of food, such as oatmeal porridge, chili con carne, hot dog and beans, stew, soup, Indian cornmeal pudding, etc., for large community functions.❤

[philrose]

You can get inserts for that oven and turn it into a buffet. Keeps mashed potatoes and side warm throughout the meal.

[Drmikekuna]

I'm the family's Thanksgiving cook, and over 30 years ago, we got a Nesco Roaster. We used to make massive amounts of things in it, like chili for huge parties. However, we primarily use it now for Thanksgiving, and it is fantastic as it cooks the turkey faster, frees the oven for sides, and produces a juicy result. By the way, we also have a smaller Nesco that we have used for chickens and roasts, and it works great, too.

[mikegu]

Growing up my mom and all her friends had a Westinghouse electric roaster. Unlike your find, the Westinghouse weighed a ton. They cooked turkeys and roasts to perfection.

[jonlouis]

You and Bronco did an excellent job explaining the roaster oven. when I was a child, our pastor would cook large turkeys and roasts for community dinners in two of them. (Very well I might add.) We have three sizes. Nesco makes the best ones, or did, before they offshored production. We use them for holidays, and like you, to cook outdoors when it's hot. Love 'em.

[victoriasrandomstuff]

I love my roaster oven. I think I got my first one in the 90's and I think I am on my 3rd one now. You are right, they do take up a lot of room so mine lives on top of my refrigerator. My mom turned me on to them when she bought one and made her turkey in it and I was amazed with how juicy and tender the bird was. I used to hate turkey before then because it was so dry. It may not be as pretty, but I don't cook to just look at it. I also use my roaster when making large batches of soup. I used to do a little catering and used it on the buffet table along with using it as a water bath for pre-heating cheese for the cheese dispenser. If you want some of the best chicken you will ever have, just put it in the crock pot. Just season and plop it in there. You don't add anything else and 8 hours later, amazing, tender, flavorful chicken with enough juice to make some fantastic gravy.

[janemartin]

I've always been intrigued by these, but we have a very small family, and I could never justify trying to store it even at $20. It's basically a big slow cooker with variable temperatures, not just low and hi. It's great for catering or cooking for big parties or church/community functions. Some of them used to have a fan in the lid to mimic a convection oven, but then you had the extra cord. The French term is "mise en place". I've watched a lot of cooking shows! That's a beautiful Wolf countertop oven. Happy Thanksgiving!

[getoffmydarnlawn]

Most of the $20 thrifting finds that aren’t made anymore are probably higher quality and more reliable then new ones for $80

[mamachicken]

Hi Bronco! My oven broke 4 years ago and I found one on facebook. It only cost $15. Never went back to oven cooking a turkey. My family loved the roaster oven the best because the turkey was sooo moist!! Happy Thanksgiving!!

[bdh]

When I worked in a bar many years ago we did a spiral cut ham in one of these. The only place to set it up was on my bosses desk. Ham turned out great!

[wayneraylance]

Hello from Athens Tennessee. The culinary term is mise en place. I love your Wolf countertop oven. I'm hoping to get one in the future.

[johnstump]

My family and I have been using a NESCO cooker for as long as I can remember (at least 70 years) and they did have a small window on the top at one time. I don’t know if that’s still available, we have never had an issue browning a turkey in all those years. You just have to be on it and keep Baste it through its cooking cycle.

[EFran-qgbp]

I really appreciate you making this video. I have two of these roaster ovens and wasn't sure I should keep them, but you convinced me how useful they are. I live in So. Cal too, and if nothing else using the roaster oven may save me some money on my high electric bill! It's very expensive here.

[bpwjones]

My oven was dying, so I bought one of these at Kohls sale….love it❤❤❤❤

[gloriataruc]

OMG! I just happened to see this! I have a roaster oven for the last 5 years and you’re right- I only pull it out twice a year to cook prime rib ! My prime rib comes out delicious every time! Last year I didn’t clean my roaster after Christmas and everything sticked and I got tired cleaning it so I threw a perfectly working electric roaster! This year I realized I needed one and went looking at Macys and Walmart and I couldn’t find any! So I roasted my prime rib in the oven and it didn’t come out the way I cook it in the roaster! So now I’m looking at Amazon and they’re twice as much now from what I paid for mine! Sorry for the long post! 😢😢😢

[MichaelScheele]

"Mise en place"

I have avoided electric oven roasters because they take up so much space, but I can see the utility when you want to use your oven(s) for sides and desserts while the turkey roasts separately and concurrently.

[herrprepper]

We have two… Nesco brand. They are used for making lard, turkey broth, etc..

[DOSBoxMom]

Just checked Amazon; 7 roaster ovens on Black Friday special, ranging from $60-$100. (Haven't checked Walmart, but assume similar prices there.) I've heard of people removing the lid from the roaster oven for the last 1/2 hour of cooking time for a turkey, to crisp the skin; don't know if that method works, though, since I've never owned a roaster oven (nor helped someone who did with cooking a meal).