World-class roasting pan recco?

[carswell]

After years of making do, I'm about to buy an honest-to-god, damn-the-expense, world-class roasting pan.

Had my eye on the gorgeous All-Clad but was shocked to find that it isn't. Clad, that is. It's solid stainless, raising the spectre of hot spots when used on a burner. Plus there's a shallow moat around the edge of the interior, which I assume would create problems when I'm making a sauce from the pan-drippings. Am I right in seeing these as defects?

Anyway, my lust has moved on to a Le Cruset enameled cast iron number, which also looks like it'd make a mean lasagna pan, to say nothing of a first-rate vegetable roaster. My LC oval dutch oven is probably my single favourite piece of cookware and the roasting pan appears to have none of the design issues that dampen my enthusiasm for the All-Clad. Does anyone have experience with this?

Other reccos also welcome.

Thanks!

[ccbweb]

Bean Counter actually did well. The lasagna pan is the same as the All Clad Petit Roti, it just has different handles. I've got the large All Clad roti (because my Dad doesn't really listen when I specify sizes :) ) and I have abused the heck out of the thing. Thanksgiving dinners, roasts, pan gravies...I've fired it up on one burner, two burners, a flat top, roasted everything you can think of it in and it does a lovely job no matter what I throw at it. Its a great investment, though the large one is huge. I think getting the lasagna pan would be the way to go. $100 will give you enough room to roast just about anything up to a 10 pound turkey and bake lasagnas, enchiladas or whatever else you like.

[NYchowcook]

I want to buy a large roasting pan (or 2!). I have a 9x13" that has served me well, but I want a large one to make a big brisket for passover and a couple roast ducks. While All-Clad is my nirvana, it's not in this year's budget. I believe Cook's Ilustrated or some such mag recently evaluated large roasting pans and found some moderately priced pans quite good. Do you recall those recommendations? thanks.

[Bean Counter]

I have the All-Clad lasagna pan which was around $100. I compromised on this after lusting after the All Clad roasting pan. It is basically similar to their smaller roasting pan. I am really glad I got it. I'm not sure you could do a large turkey in it but I've done a standing rib roast and chickens easily. Also have made gravy with a whisk on the stovetop which is why I wanted a "real" roasting pan in the first place.

[sbp]

Just food for thought. Many of the more expensive roasting pans are pretty deep -- 3 inches or so. I've noticed that unless you use a pretty big rack, the meat sits fairly low and tends not to get as crisp. For roasting chicken (especially cut-up), I use a jelly-roll pan lined with foil. The chicken gets better exposure.

[bbqme]

I don't know if this is big enough for you. It is very comparable in size and build quality of the All-Clad Roti Pan but at a much cheaper price. I bought it from Amazon for around $100 but it is no lonfer avialable there. Scanpan's website has it:

http://www.scanpancookware.com/ecomme...

[PBSF]

If I have the money to spend, I would not invest it in a roasting pan. I have a large LC lasagne baker and like a previous post, I've never used it as a roasting pan. It is just not the right size and one would not be able to roast two chickens in it as someone states in an earlier post. Besides, it feels clunky and I find enamel doesn't brown food well. I also have a large stainless All Clad roaster which I love. I use it for large pieces of meat, turkey and it does hold two chickens. It is a beautiful piece of equipment but it retails for $275.00. I am sure one can find it discounted somewhere.
What I really use most often are a couple Wear-ever thick aluminum roasting pans that one can buy at any restaurant supply store. They are inexpensive, heavy duty and one doesn't have to baby them. I know some say that aluminum reacts with food, but I've never had problem using them with wine or tomatoes. They brown potatoes beautifully when I roast them with meat. One can probably get 3 different sizes for the price of 1 LC. The only drawback is that they are more functional than beautiful.

[Candy]

I have 2 of the large LC lasagne bakers that I use for casseroles, staratas, bread puddings ect. when cooking for a group but have never used them as roasters.

I have 2 roasting pans I like that I have used for years. One is a square shallow Mag-Pro which is a work horse. The other is also on the shallow side but a stainless steel Revere pan,I can deglaze in it on stove top and it cleans up like new. Conductivity is not an issue here because what I am roasting sits on a rack for good circulation. Put some money into a good rack, preferably not one of those adjustable things that collapse easliy. I have a coated one that is rigid and not stick. It is great.

[Sherri]

I own the LC rectangular roasting pan and probably use it at least once a week. Yes, it is heavy (9 lbs) but not nearly as heavy as its weighty 9.5 qt big brother which I also love.

The 10" X 15" LC roasting pan is my go-to pan for roasting chickens, often two at a time, or layered pasta dishes. I have a larger French (stainless lined) copper roasting pan that really rocks and both of these beauties go from stovetop to oven and back to the stovetop beautifully.

The copper is more expensive than the LC but both are sturdy workhorses that are handsome enough to come to the table.

[Sherri]

Carswell, as an addendum to my post, I recommend that you gift yourself with Barbara Kafka's ROASTING book when you purchase your ultimate roasting pan. Having a very sturdy pan that will caramelize vegetables and let you use the delicious meaty fond for saucing makes this the ultimate utensil. Of course you can roast a chicken on a broiler pan or sheet pan, but the versatility of a heavy roasting pan is what makes it so wonderful....it's that oven to stovetop thing again that neither pyrex nor foil can provide.

[cheryl_h]

Well my recommendation may not be sufficiently luxurious for you. I have a Calphalon roaster, large and heavy. I've done all my big roasts in it for about 10 years and it's performed wonderfully. Aluminum conducts heat better than any metal except copper, the pan is rugged and can be scoured without showing any sign of wear and the design is sensible with 2 big handles for lifting heavy loads.

I would not recommend anything this size in cast iron, it would be so heavy it might be dangerous when fully loaded. My Calphalon pan probably weighs around 5-6 pounds. With our Thanksgiving turkey, it's around 30 pounds which can be tricky to manoeuver around a hot stove. In cast iron I imagine it's going to be at least 10 pounds heavier and beyond where I feel secure. You may be a lot stronger than I am, of course.

[carswell]

Thanks for the input. Function is more important than luxury though I'm prepared to pay for quality. Calphalon doesn't have much of a presence in Quebec (don't know about the rest of Canada) but I may have seen the roasting pan at the store where I stumbled across the Le Cruset pan. I've never cooked with Calphalon. How thick is the bottom? Does the non-stickish surface in any way impede browning/caramelization?

The weight issue hadn't occurred to me. While I'm strong, handling a 40-pound, 400-degree pan and bird while wearing oven mitts would give me pause. That said, I never roast anything larger than a duck or standing rib roast.

[cheryl_h]

I just measured my pan. It's 10" x 18" in area, 3" deep. Thickness is 1/4". It's not non-stick, it has a finely ridged interior which may help to prevent sticking. I have put it on the stove top to deglaze and it does well, it's a lot thicker than most saucepans. It really is a functional piece of equipment.

This pan is probably too big for a duck, I'd do that in a smaller roasting pan. I've done crown roasts (around 15 lbs), turkeys (20 - 25 lbs), whole pork shoulders (8-10 lbs) in it successfully. I can manage a big cast iron casserole on top of the stove where I can slide it, but I would feel nervous about trying to lift something very hot that was much heavier than my roaster.

[Lgalen]

You can get a anodized calphalon roaster, which I think is easier to clean, and can be put on top of the stove for gravies and deglazing. The nonstick calphalon will not work, and you'll have to tiptoe around it with non-metal utensils.
By the way, I've been roasting my Thanksgiving turkey on my Weber gas grill. It is so easy, NOTHING to clean, easy height for basting. I just stick it on a Vee rack, with a disposable aluminum pan (recycled take-out) below it to catch the drippings. Last year I soaked hickory chips for an hour, wrapped them loosely in some foil, and placed them on the grill, too. Lovely smokey flavor was subtle but evident. Upshot is, I haven't used my roaster much for the past 2 years!

[cheryl_h]

I guess my reply wasn't clear - I have an anodized aluminum roaster made by Calphalon. It is not nonstick.

We do our Thanksgiving turkey by brining, then smoking in our Smokintex electric smoker for about 1-2 hours, then roasting in the oven (in the Calphalon roaster). We evolved this method with some trial and error. Smoking for the full time gave us turkey skin which was a little rubbery. I emailed Steven Raichlen who said the long smoking time might be the problem. Hence the shorter smoking time following by faster roasting. We get crisp skin, juicy meat and smoky flavor. It's a bit hit with the family.

[niki rothman]

For some reason I can't get the rply prompt to the original post to work.

Original poster, no offense, but you are wanting to spend your, no doubt, hard earned cookware dollars in the wrong place. You could roast a chicken in one of those disposable aluminum foil roasting pans people buy at Thanksgiving (for good reason) and it would come out the same as in an All Clad roasting pan. But, OH God please grant me the blessing of a twelve inch All Clad chicken fryer or a new 7 quart Flame Colored Le Creuset dutch oven. Oh Yeah! Now, That's money well spent!

As far as a roasting pan? I make my lasagna with a Pyrex pan. Pyrex will not scorch the way a thinner pan will above 325 degrees. But for a chicken - use the broiler pan that came with your stove. Foil on the bottom part - easy clean-up. Bird on the top, vented part. Thanksgiving? Disposable aluminum foil pan. Sheet cakes? Inexpensive Non-stick really pays off big here - you can easily turn out your cake onto a platter and ice the sides!

[carswell]

Your thriftiness and ingenuity are admirable, niki, but there are things a first-rate roasting pan will do that a broiler pan (one of my current workarounds) won't do well and a aluminum foil pan won't do at all. For example, roasted poultry recipes often call for you to deglaze the roasting pan on the stovetop by adding liquid and forceably pressing the veggies, wing tips and neck to extract the juices and scraping the bottom of the pan before reducing the sauce over high heat. My boiler pan has ridges and hot spots that often lead to scorching. And I hate to think what would happen if you tried that with a disposable foil pan.

Also, vegetables I roast in, say, a thick earthenware dish always turn out better than those roasted in the broiler pan or on a baking sheet. I imagine the results would be even better in a thick bottomed, heat retentive roasting pan like Le Creuset's.

And, while it's not a huge issue, I try to keep my use of disposables like foil and even plastic wrap to a minimum.

Sheet cakes I hadn't thought of but then again I wouldn't: I've never made one or a frosted cake of any kind for that matter.

[niki rothman]

You make some great points. About recycling/reusing - I totally agree. I soak, wash and reuse all aluminum foil products until they fall apart. I deglaze my inexpensive pyrex pan with simmering broth or water because you can break the glass with a sharp temp change. Lately, I've become a devotee of roasted veg. - so easy, so very delicious! I actually use the pyrex or bottom of the stove's broiler pan, put all the chopped veg. in a re-used supermarket produce plastic bag, add a little evoo, chopped garlic, tamari - then pour out into the pan.