We here at The Kitchn are big proponents of only buying the kitchen tools and cookware that you really need and then making them work in lots of different situations. So if you're only roasting once or twice a year, we say skip buying a roasting pan and see if one of these alternatives will work for you instead.
The big advantage of a roasting pan is that it's big, literally. A standard roasting pan can fit a 16-pound turkey with no problem. But many of us don't actually need to be roasting a 16-pound turkey, and a smaller turkey will fit quite easily in some of the cookware we already have.
Look for an oven-safe dish that has sides tall enough to catch the drippings from the turkey but not so tall that it steams the turkey instead of roasting it. Here are some ideas:
1. Cast Iron Skillet
2. Stainless Steel Skillet
3. Large Casserole Dish
4. Broiler Pan
5. Paella Pan or Other Extra-Large, Special-Purpose Pan
Even a basic baking sheet would serve in a pinch, though be careful of splashing those pan drippings when you take it out of the oven. A dutch oven will also work, but its high sides mean that you might not get as nicely browned and crispy skin as you would otherwise.
And what about the roasting rack to lift the turkey off of the pan? You can fashion a make-shift one out of aluminum foil. You can also simply rest the turkey on a bed of potatoes and onions as we do for roasting chickens.
And there's one more option that we haven't mentioned yet: borrowing a roasting pan. Ask your dinner guests if anyone has a roasting pan they wouldn't mind loaning you for the holiday, and chances are that at least one of them will have just what you need.
Any other suggestions for roasting pan alternatives?
Related: Borrow, Don't Buy: Portland's Tool Library
(Image: Emma Christensen)
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If you're doing a small bird, like a roast chicken, I like to use my ceramic Williams Sonoma pie dish. It's a perfect fit for the bird and some side veggies.
Great ideas. Here's another way to elevate the bird.
I love using my lodge pan for my favorite roast chicken (Smitten Kitchen's Zuni Cafe's roasted chicken).
in a pinch, if I had no roasting pan, I'd just grab one of the disposable aluminum ones they sell zillions of at the grocery now.
That said, I didn't have one- and am cooking the turkey this year- so I grabbed one at walmart the other day for 15 bucks. Not a big deal and now I'll always have it.
My roasting pan died (long story), so now I use a larger baking dish and one of the racks from my toaster oven. Oven safe, keeps the bird up and out of the juices, and can go in the dishwasher!
Those disposable aluminum pans are great, but be sure you have them on something solid when you take them in and out of the oven. They tend to "fold" in the middle with a reasonably heavy bird in them. That happened to me once, and since then I put them in the oven on a cookie sheet.
I always use the broiler pan that comes with most ovens. It's the only time of the year I use it, but it's big enough for a turkey and does the trick - and the rack is included.
I grabbed a roasting pan for $10 from Ross a couple of years ago and I love it. My friends will borrow it for their holiday potlucks.
I tend to use it for making char siu (just invert the rack from V to ^ on the pan) since I don't want to bother with using hanging hooks from my regular oven racks. It makes it easier to baste and I don't have to stick my face/arm in a blazing hot oven.
I use a very large round cake pan that i have from making my wedding cake several years ago. I am making 2 turkeys this year for the same meal because we are having a large crowd. I will put the other one in a very large cast iron skillet.
My mom uses a really big stainless steel mixing bowl. It sounds kind of weird, but works really well. She also took a cheap metal cooling rack and bent it to sort of push down in the bottom.
Also if you don't have a rack to put in the bottom of your dish, you can just use veggies. Carrots work really well, or potatoes. And they're really tasty after being cooked in the meat juices.