Turkey Roasting Pan: A holiday favorite

The holidays are upon us, which means that a turkey roasting pan might be on your mind as delicious home-cooked turkeys are coming to town! Larger cuts of meat for the family to share at Christmas are the superstars of a holiday feast. If this is your first time cooking a turkey, you may have heard or seen that roasting pans are an essential tool. Or if this isn’t your first time, then you may have run into the problem of not having a large enough pan, or you are simply in need of a new one. Whatever the case may be, choosing a roasting pan can be overwhelming, but the Nuovo Optimum Roaster is an excellent choice.

What is a Roasting Pan?

A roasting pan is a heating vessel designed for cooking large cuts of meat, as well as vegetables and starches, in a high-temperature oven.

Roasting uses dry heat that cooks food evenly and creates moist meat with a delightful crispy skin. The high walls of the pan serve to keep heat in and to collect a large amount of meat drippings.

Roasting Pan Rack

A roasting pan can also contain a rack inside, which is very practical for cooking multiple foods at once and to promote good air circulation within the pan.

The rack divides the roaster in such a way that the meat can cook on the upper half while the bottom half can roast vegetables or starches all whilst soaking up delicious meat drippings! This method also keeps the meat off the hot surface of the pan ensuring that it cooks evenly. If basting is required, the meat drippings are easily accessible with this design.

The rack also makes your meat readily available and easy to transfer once it’s completely cooked. If gravy is on the menu, remove the rack and any other ingredients and your meat drippings are ready for thickening!

What to Look for in a Turkey Roasting Pan

The following qualities make a roasting pan great for not only turkey, but also for other large cuts of meats and vegetables as well:

• Sturdy handles designed to hold the heavy weight of large cuts of meat
• Metal designed for even heating such as stainless steel or aluminum
• A complementary rack (Nuovo Optimum Roasters’ are currently on back order due to COVID-19)
• Durability
• Large capacity
• Optional: non-stick for easy clean-up

The Nuovo Optimum Roaster meets and exceeds the above criteria. This roasting pan is made of 18/10 stainless steel and features a revolutionary stick-resistant interior that acts like a non-stick coating without any chemicals. The surface is textured and prevents food from sticking which allows for highly efficient cooking. It is not only oven safe, but also freezer safe! See the product page for the Nuovo Optimum Roaster for full details!

Roasting Pan Accessories

• Meat thermometer (optional): ensures your meat is cooked to the correct temperature
• Baster (needed for the recipe below!): a useful tool that covers meat with its own juices during the cooking process to keep it moist and juicy

Other Roasting Pan Uses

Although a turkey roasting pan is a staple in the kitchen during the holidays, it can be used throughout the entire year. Get the pan out of the cupboard and into the oven by:

• Roasting your favorite seasonal vegetables – think of your fall favorites like butternut squash!
• Cooking one-pot meals and freezing them for later in the freezer-safe Nuovo Optimum Roaster
• Cooking large quantities of smaller cuts of meat that need to cook at high temperatures
• Cooking big batches of vegetables that can later be pureed for your favorite soup or sauce

Roasted Turkey Recipe

Now time for the fun part! Test out your turkey roasting pan with this mouth-watering recipe by Gordon Ramsay: a perfectly basted turkey finished with a lemon, parsley, and garlic butter topping.

Serves: 8-10 people

Ingredients

• 1 free-range turkey approximately 12lbs
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 2 onions, peeled and halved
• 1 lemon, halved
• 1 head of garlic, halved horizontally
• 6 bay leaves
• olive oil, to drizzle
• 8 slices of smoked bacon

Lemon, parsley and garlic butter:

• 1.5 cups butter, at room temperature
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• finely grated zest and juice of 2 small lemons
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
• small bunch of flat leaf parsley, leaves only, chopped

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Meanwhile, prepare the herb butter. Put the butter into a large bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add the olive oil and mix well. Add the lemon zest and juice, crushed garlic and chopped parsley. Mix well to combine.
2. Remove the giblets from the turkey cavity. Season the cavity well with salt and pepper, then stuff with the onions, lemon, garlic halves and 2 bay leaves.
3. With your hands, gently loosen the skin on the breast from both ends of the bird so that you will be able to stuff the flavoured butter underneath it, making sure you keep the skin intact. Repeat with the skin on the legs – from the lower side of the breast feel your way under the skin and out towards the leg, loosening the gap.
4. Stuff half the butter mix into the opened spaces under the skin. From the outside of the skin, gently massage the butter around the breasts so that the meat is evenly covered. Finally, insert the rest of the bay leaves under the skin of the breasts.
5. Place the bird in the Nuovo Optimum Roaster, breast side up. Spread the rest of the butter all over the skin. Season well with salt and pepper, then drizzle with a little olive oil. (If preparing a day ahead, cover the turkey with foil and refrigerate at this stage.)
6. Roast the turkey in the hot oven for 10–15 minutes. Take the Nuovo Optimum Roaster out of the oven, baste the bird with the pan juices and lay the bacon slices over the breast to keep it moist. Baste again. Lower the setting to 350°F and cook for about 2 1⁄2 hours (calculating at 30 minutes per kg), basting occasionally.
7. To test whether your turkey is cooked, insert a skewer into the thickest part of the leg and check that the juices are running clear, rather than pink. As oven temperatures and turkey shapes and sizes vary, it is crucial to check your turkey about 30 minutes before the calculated roasting time. If the juices are pink, roast for another 15 minutes and check again. Repeat as necessary until the turkey is cooked.
8. Transfer the turkey to a warmed platter and remove the wings and tips of the drumsticks; reserve these for the gravy. Leave the turkey to rest in a warm place for at least 45 minutes; make the gravy in the meantime. Remove the bay leaves from under the skin before carving. Serve the turkey with the piping hot gravy, stuffing and accompaniments.

As always thank you for taking the time to read this article and for checking out Artisan Cooking. We hope you try out this recipe and please let us know how it turned out in the comments below. If you have any questions regarding the Nuovo Optimum Roaster, we’d be more than happy to answer them. Happy holidays!