Both these issues occur because the heat source runs alone the middle of the bottom, not around the sides like a regular slow cooker.

Thge beef will cook more evenly if it has been at room temp for 1-2 hours before youu start cooking.

I just purchased an 18 at nesco roaster oven at a yard sale. It was $25.00 and was used once. I have six children and would like to cook in this and have enough for leftovers the next day.

This method gives minimum shrinkage while tenderizing this sometimes chewy piece.

You will have tender, medium rare slices that can be reheated without overcooking. Read the how to safely reheat turkey page in the holiday section at the top of the Big Pots index, adapt to beef.

You have two tasks: 1) cooking the dogs and 2)keeping them warm. I would probably use several roasters, one to cook and the others to keep warm. You can cook by boiling, roasting/baking or steaming, all of which can be done in the roasters. To boil, you fill the large liner 1/2 full with water, cover and bring to a boil by setting high, add dogs, cover and bring bsck to a boil, simmering until the internal temp of a dog is 170 on an instant read thermometer. If you don't have this type thermometer, get one; this is a food safety issue.

If you have never boiled water like this an you want to use this method, check out how long your roaster takes by doing the water heating part ahead at home as a test.

To steam, you use water under a rack. Can't do as many at once, but I like the taste better.

You can also roast or broil in a regular oven then keep warm as below.

Once hot, can be kept safely warm; put in a roaster with a rack in the bottom, 1 cup water under the rack, preheated to 250.

1 roaster makes 4 9x13 pans' worth. That means you need 3 roasters for 100 plus people.

you can layer the lasagna right in the roaster itself, like a giant slow cooker. You spary the pan thoroughly with non stick sparay. Keep the layer under 4 inches thick, or the edges will dry out badly before the center cooks. Then set at 250 to no more than 300 and use the cooking times for the crockpot freezer lasagna in my Big Pots section- about twice as long as for a regular heat regular oven. Keep the lid on tight so the top does not dry out, too.

The crockpot lasagna recipe I use would be a good choice. You will make about 4 times the amount you can fit in a standard 9x13 pan.

Here are some notes about assembling: you can assemble in generally the same way, with several cautions:

The usual pan of ziti is 2-3 inches deep. The 4 inch or deeper roaster pan will NOT CHILL nearly as quickly, which leaves the middle at the danger zone (40-140) for too long. Make the pasta and cool/chill it, then also cool the sauces before assembling the casserole, then put the assembled dish straight into the refrigerator.

Don't let it sit out for more than 1/2 hour before heating. If you do not preheat, put it straight from the fridge to the roaster. If you do preheat, the half hour out is OK.

Allow 3 hours for cooking time. You probably won't need that long, but you do not want to turn it up and scorch it, and you can always turn to 180 and hold for an hour or more if it gets ahead of you (and will it smell great).

HOW TO TELL IT IS DONE:

Use a meat thermometer or an instant read thermometer to check the temp in the middle of the dish. It is done and safe to eat at 160 degrees. If your sauce has eggs, be SURE to get it to 160.

Chris, please see the recipes here:
www.ellenskitchen.com/bigpots/beans100.html

18 lbs. frozen hash browns
1 lb. butter
1 sm. jar onion flakes
9 tsp. salt and pepper
9 cans cream of chicken soup
9 c. milk
4 (16 oz.) cartons sour cream
2 lbs. Velveeta cheese, grated or cheddar cheese

Recipe will fill electric roaster but will cook down to 3/4 full. Do not put cheese on top, it will stick to lid. When potatoes are partially thawed, alternate ingredients in roaster. Bake at 325 degrees for 3 hours, stirring a few times. Turn down to 150 degrees to keep warm.

www.ellenskitchen.com/bigpots/bbentree4.html
www.ellenskitchen.com/bigpots/pro/rice100.html
www.ellenskitchen.com/bigpots/bbentree2.html
www.ellenskitchen.com/bigpots/plan/texmex100.html

Marie, cook the suasage in the oven, put all the meatballs in, too, to get hot the last 20 minutes. Heat the sauce on top of the stove or in the roaster, then add the hot meats to the roaster and hold at 180-200 degrees covered. They will stay juicier and more delicious if you have enough sauce to keep them all covered.

Here is a recipe for creamy turkey soup 24 servings. I would use turkey, it is easier to handle in large amounts and cheaper on sale. Use 6 to 7 times the amount for your group.

Creamy Turkey Soup

Serves: 24

1 lb celery, diced
1-1/2 cups margarine
1 cup onions, finely chopped
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp thyme, ground
1 Tbsp salt or chicken or turkey bouillon powder
1/2 tsp white pepper, ground
6 qts turkey broth, heated
1-1/2 lbs cooked turkey, light and dark meat, cubed (That is 3 cups- it takes 3 pounds raw whole chicken or turkey to make 1 1/2 pounds meat) )I usually increase the meat
1 qt whole milk, heated
OPTIONAL, 1 cup golden sherry
OPTIONAL, 2 cups chopped mushroom stems and pieces
1-1/2 cups pimiento, chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
Garlic croutons or whole berry cranberry sauce, as needed

Cut celery into dice (1/4-inch). Melt margarine and saute celery and onions 5 minutes until vegetables are tender.

Stir flour and seasonings into vegetable mixture. Cook 5 to 6 minutes at medium heat.

Gradually whisk turkey broth into vegetable mixture. Cook at medium heat, stirring constantly, until sauce is slightly thickened and bubbly.

Fold turkey into sauce and continue cooking 15 minutes.

Stir in milk, pimiento, and parsley, and optional ingredients. Continue cooking until a temperature of 160 degrees F is reached.

Serve each portion with garlic croutons or a spoonful of whole berry cranberry sauce for garnish, if desired.

Picnic shoulder is the same as chuck on a cow. It is a moist, rather fatty meat, much less dry than ham or loin and my favorite piece of pork for sandwiches. To roast, use a meat thermometer, cook it to 160 internal using a low and slow roast for slicing. Go to 200 for pulled pork.

You can use any flavoring or marinade recipe for pork loin for this piece. Here is the recipe I posted last week:

As for pulled pork, here is a recipe for 8 pounds from a Carolina cook that is about as good as you can find. Note that this amount of sauce is only for 8 pounds meat, you will need 4 times as much for your 32 pounds.

2 pork butts, 3 to 4 pounds each, untrimmed (can sub shoulders)

Sauce:
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup molasses
1 head garlic, broken into unpeeled cloves
2 Tb. whole cumin seeds
3 Tb. whole coriander seeds
1 Tb. whole black peppercorns
8 small dried red chiles
2 bay leaves
3 Tb. tomato paste
3 15-oz. cans diced tomatoes, with juice
1 quart distilled white vinegar
4 cups water
1/4 cup salt

Combine the honey, molasses, garlic, cumin, coriander, peppercorns, chiles and bay leaves in a large stockpot, over medium-low heat. Cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. The garlic will darken, and the mixture will be very thick and fragrant. Add the tomato paste and tomatoes; cook for 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in the vinegar, water and salt. The sauce should be thin. Simmer, uncovered, for at least 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Set aside half the sauce for marinating the pork. Let the remaining sauce cool and fish out any large pieces of garlic peel. Puree the remaining sauce in a blender (some spices will remain whole). The sauce should be rather watery and look like a brothy tomato soup.

One or two days before cooking (much preferably two), put the pork in a container just large enough to hold it and deep enough for the reserved sauce to cover it- I use the largest ziplock plastic bags. Cover the container and refrigerate, turning the pork half-way through the marinating period.

At this point, you're finally ready to cook the pork. I have tried this in a number of methods and variations, but have settled on a two-step process that works great. I cook half-way in the oven (before basting is necessary and saving propane) and half-way on a grill using indirect heat (making it easier to baste and adding the barbecue flavor you need). The formula is 2 hours per pound (or cooked to an internal temperature between 150 to 160 degrees).

Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees. Put the pork, fat side up, on a rack in a roasting pan. Leave in oven three hours (for six pounds) or four hours (for eight pounds). Remove to pre-heated grill, but with low, indirect heat (should be about the same 200 degrees as your oven). Baste with the pureed sauce every 30 minutes, until done, turning once (this second half of cooking will take as long as the first, if your grill is correctly regulated). Let the pork cool.

Chop and shred the pork. You can either slice it or pull it apart with your fingers (thus the name, "pulled pork"). For slicing, cut the pork across the grain, in half-inch slices. For pulling, start pulling at the meat with a fork, then attack with your fingers. Discard any unrendered fat.

With a large knife, roughly chop the pork coarse. Put the chopped pork in a large bowl with some more of the pureed sauce; the amount is up to you (I'd go a little at a time, and test along the way). Serve the pork warm (no problem with a microwave; it's plenty juicy -- if you cooked it right) with a little more sauce on the side, for your bolder eaters.

It's a lot of work and that's why I usually go 8 pounds, so I can freeze half and eat it a few months from now. I figure if I'm going to this much trouble, I might as well make as much as the sauce can handle (8 pounds being the top end). Enjoy and tell any friends in Asheville or Memphis that you've got 'em beat.

**MID-SOUTH CAROLINA MUSTARD SAUCE***
1 cup cider vinegar
6 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon hot red pepper sauce
1 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons salt
ground black pepper

And...Here's a great spicy chili rub to use before cooking...

***SPICY CHILLI RUB***
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground oregano
4 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon white pepper

Enjoy....

Slow Cooked Turkey Roast with Vegetables

Yield: 6

Non-stick cooking spray
1 Cup chopped onion
3 Cups diced red potato
1 Pound fresh baby carrots
1 10-3/4 Ounce Can condensed cream of celery soup (or use 1 1/2 cups thick white sauce)
1/2 Cup cold water
1 Teaspoon poultry seasoning
1/4 Teaspoon salt
3 Pounds BONELESS TURKEY BREAST ROAST, thawed if frozen
1 Tablespoon no-salt seasoning blend
1/4 Cup instant mashed potato flakes
Fresh parsley leaves, chopped fine

1. Coat a 5-quart slow cooker with no-stick cooking spray.
2. Place onion, potato and carrots in slow cooker turned onto LOW setting. Stir together soup, water, poultry seasoning and salt. Pour over vegetables.
3. Pat turkey breast roast dry with clean paper towels. Lift string netting and shift position on roast for easier removal after cooking. Sprinkle seasoning blend over roast and place roast on vegetables.
4. Cover; cook on LOW setting for 6 to 8 hours or until the internal temperature registers 170 degrees F.
5. Remove roast from slow cooker. Let stand 10 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, stir potato flakes and parsley into vegetables. Let stand 5 minutes.
7. Remove string netting and cut roast into slices. Serve turkey with vegetables.

The party is Wednesday and I will be doing all my shopping tonight. So, depending on how involved this process is I may switch to barbeque chicken. With the quantity of meat involved, I really just want my husband to concentrate on the chops. To many meats with varying cooking times on the grill may prove to be fatal to one or the other meats, particularly as guests arrive and he gets busy socializing. So, the more I can get done ahead of time the better.

We're having a surprise birthday party for my mom, and we have opted to have pulled pork barbecue.

This recipe has quite a few variations. Most folks agree that without the sour cream it is pretty dry, or they double up the canned soup. I often use home made thick white sauce, made with 1/2 beef or chicken broth and 1/2 milk, in place of the soup- or at least I use the low fat, low sodium family size cream of mushroom in plce of regular.

It really matters how cold the mix is to start. If you mixed and refrigerated the night before, it takes about 3 1/2 hours to cook. If the soup/sauce etc is room temp, at least 2 hours.

* 5 (2 pound) packages frozen hash brown potatoes, thawed overnight in the refrigerator
* 1-1/2 cups melted butter
* 5 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of mushroom, celery or chicken soup
* 5 (8 ounce) containers sour cream
* 2-1/2 cups chopped onions, sauteed in butter until tender but not brown
OPTIONAL, chopped celery or bell pepper cooked with the onions
* 2 1/2 pounds (10 cups) shredded Cheddar cheese, Colby cheese or blends (see note above)
* 1 tablespoon salt
* 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
OPTIONAL, 1 tablespoon hot pepper sauce
OPTIONAL, crushed garlic or garlic powder to taste
OPTIONAL, 5 small cans green chilies
* 5 cups French fried onion bits for topping

1. Spray the inside of the roaster with a heavy coating of non-stick spray. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, combine hash browns, 1/2 cup melted butter. Make sure hash browns are thawed as per recipe instructions. Pour melted butter/margarine over the potatoes and mix. Then add the cheese and mix. Lastly add the rest of the ingredients.
3. Pour into the roaster, holding back the topping till later.
4. Bake in the electric roaster covered for at least 1 hour, 40 minutes, up to 3 hours if the mix was cold/refrigerated to start with. Sprinkle on the onions,cover, bake 20 minutes longer.

Here are more Variations:
Add some chopped or minced green pepper, or some cooked and crumbled bacon.
About halfway through baking, place more cheese on top and finish baking until the cheese is nicely browned.

***White Sauce***
1 gallon whole milk, warmed but not boiling (or use 1/2 beef stock)
10 ounces flour, may need a little more
1 pound unsalted butter or margarine
1 tablespoon dry mustard
1 1/2 tablespoon salt
White pepper (optional)*

Topping with the French fried onion bits is my preference, as the electric roaster does not give a crisp finish to the top. But you MUST wait till about 20 minutes before serving, or they will get limp.

If you decide to do it this way and it is a very large crowd, you might want to use two roasters.

To do it in the roaster, you want to grease the pan very well or spray heavily with non stick spray. Keep the temp at 300 or 325 or you may scorch the bottom before it is cooked through. Alow sufficient cooking time - about 2 1/2 if the mix is made and poured directly in the pan, about 3 to 3 1/2 if it is refrigerated before cooking. Use an instant read thermometer to check that the temp in the very middle of the dressing reaches 160 before it is served. When it reaches this temp, you can turn it down to 165-180 to keep warm for serving.

I would use 2 roasters to make soup for this many- I only put 3 1/2 gallons in one roaster- that serves about 50.

I add lots of real chicken broth so the dumplings really float. I make sure it is boiling before adding the dumplings. As they cook they thicken the sauce. I keep them covered.

Thanks for your help. I enjoyed reading all the previous questions and your very helpful answers.

I am using a homemade turkey brine this year for Thanksgiving. My recipe for roasting the 14 lb. turkey suggests flash cooking the turkey in the oven at 500 degrees for the first 30 minutes (in order to sear and cook the breast), then reducing the temperature of the oven to 350 degrees, and covering the breast with foil throughout remainder of cook time (2 to 2 1/2 hours or 161 degrees). Instead of reducing heat in oven, would I be able to move the turkey from the oven to 350 degree electric roaster?

I would use the same roasting rack from electric roaster in both oven and roaster so there would be no need to transfer turkey in the middle. Just a quick swap from one cooking unit to another. Thanks for you help.

Figure out how long to cook by the weight. Preheat the roaster for 20 minutes at 400 degrees. Cook 1 hour at 400, remove the drippings, baste, cover again and turn down to 350. Cook at 350 til the last hour, then turn back up to 400.

Go to this manual and page down to page 5 for instructions on turkey raoasting and for times.

For Christmas, I will be cooking 3 pork tenderloins that are about 2 1/2 pounds each in a roaster. I've never used a roaster before. How long should I cook them and at what temperature? Also, should I cook it in any type of liquid or use a rub on it?

This is actually a small enough group that you will want to cook your dish in a roasting pan inside the oven, not in the cookwell itself. When I do sausages in the oven, I brown them first on top of stove, layer them in the pan with the other fixings, and bake at 325-350 covered for about 1/2 hour then uncovered for about 1/2 hour.

Your potatoes will probably make the kids happier if you will cook them separately- the penetrating flavor of the sauerkraut juice is usually not a kid favorite. I would boil for 1/2 hour, then put the adult potatoes in the sauerkraut when you uncovered it, and finish simmering the kid potatoes on the stove. I allow two sausages per adult and teen, and one per smaller kid, when I cut them up, and usually have a little left over. 3 1/2 to 4 pounds potatoes, 2-3 pounds sauerkraut.

Preheat the oven to 425 for at least 15 minutes. Roast in shallow pan 25 minutes. Brush with marinade, baste or oil of choice.. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees; roast an additional 5 to 8 minutes to desired doneness (145 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer for medium-rare, 160 degrees for medium). Allow to stand 10 minutes. Carve cross-grain in 1/2 inch slices.

For a 3 pounder, I would leave the temp and time alone for the first section, increase to 10-15 for the second phase, and DEFINITELY use a thermometer to judge doneness.

Yes you can use the roaster. If you have a crockpot recipe you like, set to 180-200 as the equivalent to low and use about the same amount of time as a low crockpot. The arm roasts having some fat/ marbling, they cook a bit slower than very very lean meat when slow cooked.

Corinne, first, to reduce mush, use red potatoes. Second, have the water HOT when you add it. Third, when the potatoes are done enough, _drain_ them and keep them warm covered at 170. For 325 people, I would use 125 pounds of potatoes, about 1 pound each celery and onions for each 8-10 pounds of potatoes.

BJW, you have to bring the center of the pan to 160 and keep it there, in less than 2 hours. If you have just freshly cooked the meat and it is hot, the best way to do this is to warm the beans in a pot on the stove and add them hot to the preheated roaster with the hot meat. If the meat is precooked and cold, keep it cold until the ropaster is preheated, put it in the roaster and bring it to heat, then stir in the hot beans.