Stuffing - cooking methods?

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I use my beloved 6 qt. Nesco roaster for the bread dressing, too. Love that thing and if it died tomorrow, I would replace it immediately. :)

I usually make the bread dressing the day before using boxed Mrs. Cubbisons, the chopped giblets and their broth, chicken broth, and lots of celery, onions and sage sautéed in butter. Don't tell my daughter, SIL, and grandson I use the giblets, though. They don't think they like them. :huh::)
 
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I've never used a Nesco. To me it appears to be a big slow cooker. Other than size, what's the difference?
 
Mine has temps that range from 150°F to 400°F, well beyond a regular slow cooker's range.
 
With the Julia Child method, turkey gets cut up into the breast with the wings section, and the legs and thighs. You cook the breast piece for 30 minutes first, then place all the pieces on top of the stuffing so you can make 2 or 3 times as much stuffing as will fit inside even an 18 pound turkey, yet is still gets all the juices from the roasting turkey. It also takes up less room in the pan because you've removed a big part of the turkey that never gets eaten anyway.

This is a Rival roaster oven. Nesco is pretty much the same thing.

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With the Julia Child method, up to a 20 pound turkey will fit in a roaster that normally only holds a 16 pound whole turkey.
 
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Mine is 6 qts. and 750 watts. There are different sizes available.
 
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Like Dawg said, the best thing about the Nesco or Rival roaster ovens is the programmable cooking - from the lowest setting just to keep things warm, to the highest setting which will produce a nice sear on roasts. Most slow cookers nowadays have limited temp features, and the 'low' is too high, IMO. I gave away my last slow cooker because even at low, it boiled things. :glare:

They're especially nice in the summer months when you don't want to use the big oven or stove top.
 
I've never used a Nesco. To me it appears to be a big slow cooker. Other than size, what's the difference?

There's a huge difference Andy. You're in full control of the temp for one thing. The thing I hate about crock pots, is you have a choice of "low" or "high" and those silly vague temps can vary from pot to pot.
 
I agree, Kay and Cheryl. I've given most of my crockpots away, though I still keep a few. The old ones from the 70's cooked a lot lower on low. Unfortunately, my oldest one was used for jewelry-making, and is no longer fit for cooking.

I think one could get away with just a Nesco roaster and a toaster oven if he/she has a tiny kitchen.
 
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Counter top kitchen appliances are designed to work with household electrical circuits. In the USA, household electricity is provided at a standard 120 volts. A standard circuit in a residential home is limited by a 15 amp circuit breaker or fuse.

If you do the math, the maximum wattage you can generate is 1800 watts. I'd guess a roaster would be close to that limit.
 
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This year I'm cooking the turkey in the Big Easy and the stuffing goes in the oven along with the sweet potatoes and other bakables. By using the Big easy (which makes the best turkeys ever) finally I will have enough oven space for the other stuff.

I've test driven this cooker several times this fall and am a fan! It's fast and there's almost no clean up. Best results were with a simple cider brine and then rubbing the inside of the bird with sage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YV2yzkMaRo
 
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I meant physical size. Asked about wattage because I only have 20 Amp breakers. Which to keep from tripping the breakers I estimate at 2000 watts.
 
My Mom's was a Sunbeam 16 quart roaster, and it was OLD. It had a cabinet stand with wheels and storage and could be rolled to wherever it was most handy. I think my sister has that one. It has to be more than 50 years old and still going strong.

To the OP: When you make the stuffing outside of the bird, it may need more liquid unless the recipe is written for that, because it won't be getting any juices from the bird. There is nothing wrong with that, just something to be aware of.

This is a link to a recipe that I have had great success with. It isn't necessary to spend the money for all of the wild mushrooms in the recipe unless you want to, works fine with the button, cremini and baby bellas you can get in most any grocery store. Wild Mushroom Stuffing
 
Counter top kitchen appliances are designed to work with household electrical circuits. In the USA, household electricity is provided at a standard 120 volts. A standard circuit in a residential home is limited by a 15 amp circuit breaker or fuse.

If you do the math, the maximum wattage you can generate is 1800 watts. I'd guess a roaster would be close to that limit.

Many moons ago Sears had a promotion ongoing called the "Counter Revolution." The idea was you should have a;

Toaster
Mixer
Blender
Slow Cooker
Coffee Maker
Electric Tea Kettle
Electric Knife

and your Dust Buster at the end of the counter on the wall away from the food. I remember seeing a picture of an uninterrupted electrical outlet that let you plug into it anywhere, unlike a two plug socket every few feet.

If it was a portable electric appliance that you owned it should be sitting on top of your kitchen counter. That promotion didn't last too long. It was miserable to clean your counters each time. Imagine moving them one by one each day. (I am not one to wipe or just wash around.) It never mentioned who was going to be paying the electric bill each month. :angel:
 
My Mom's was a Sunbeam 16 quart roaster, and it was OLD. It had a cabinet stand with wheels and storage and could be rolled to wherever it was most handy. I think my sister has that one. It has to be more than 50 years old and still going strong.

My mother had one of them after we left the farm. It also had a timer clock on the front of the cabinet. The food that came out of it was great, but not like what came from the wood stove in the summer kitchen. I just hated running out there in the cold of winter to put more wood in the stove. Fortunately she only cooked holiday and Sunday meals there in the winter. :angel:
 
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The Rival 18qt roaster oven is listed at 1450 watts from what I see for specs.....15A should work.

Modern codes require 20A circuits in the kitchen and those near the sink must have ground-fault protection. Older homes may not have the higher rated circuits. When I wired my house in 1979 the codes had just been changed to require the 20A circuits for the kitchen.
 
With the Julia Child method, turkey gets cut up into the breast with the wings section, and the legs and thighs. You cook the breast piece for 30 minutes first, then place all the pieces on top of the stuffing so you can make 2 or 3 times as much stuffing as will fit inside even an 18 pound turkey, yet is still gets all the juices from the roasting turkey. It also takes up less room in the pan because you've removed a big part of the turkey that never gets eaten anyway.

This is a Rival roaster oven. Nesco is pretty much the same thing.

71vnGaDWDKL._SL1500_.jpg



With the Julia Child method, up to a 20 pound turkey will fit in a roaster that normally only holds a 16 pound whole turkey.

Doesn't that type of appliance steam the turkey instead of roasting it?
I have had turkey roasted in one of those things before and the skin was not crispy. They were not exactly great cooks either. Maybe thats why the skin was not crispy?

Counter top kitchen appliances are designed to work with household electrical circuits. In the USA, household electricity is provided at a standard 120 volts. A standard circuit in a residential home is limited by a 15 amp circuit breaker or fuse.

If you do the math, the maximum wattage you can generate is 1800 watts. I'd guess a roaster would be close to that limit.

All small kitchen appliance circuits in the US unless revised locally REQUIRE two(2) 20 amp counter top circuits per household kitchen.
This is purposely required so the homemaker can use any appliance designed for its purpose.
In the US the plug on the end of the appliance cord is designed so it can only be plugged into a receptacle with sufficient power to operate the appliance. In most cases this would be a 15/20 amp duplex receptacle on a 20 amp circuit breaker.
This is also the case overseas, except the voltage is different and the receptacle and plug configuration are also different. But for the same exact reason. So no one has to consider watts or voltage except the electrical installer.
So, there is no math required. If the plug works, you should be good to go as long as the electrical installer used 20 amp counter top circuits as required by the NEC.

Note: Many kitchens and frankly many households have been worked on by those with no regard or knowledge of the requirements.
So it would be possible that the electrical installer did not follow the rules and very well could have the kitchen counter top receptacle on 15 amp circuits. Also, if the wire/cable used was not of sufficient size, it may have not allowed for a 20 amp breaker where one would be highly desired.

I meant physical size. Asked about wattage because I only have 20 Amp breakers. Which to keep from tripping the breakers I estimate at 2000 watts.

20 amp breakers while not required everywhere in your home, they are required for the counter top receptacles.
These are called small appliance circuits and are treated differently than other rooms in the home for apparent reasons.
You should have no concern and frankly no one here should have any concern unless they find themselves resetting breakers or replacing fuses.

The Rival 18qt roaster oven is listed at 1450 watts from what I see for specs.....15A should work.

Modern codes require 20A circuits in the kitchen and those near the sink must have ground-fault protection. Older homes may not have the higher rated circuits. When I wired my house in 1979 the codes had just been changed to require the 20A circuits for the kitchen.

This is correct. Even some newer installations are not correct since we have lots of folks performing electrical work without really knowing the requirements.
A good example above is the comment about having only 20 amp circuit breakers in the panel.
How many of those 20 amp breakers could be 15 and how many are on wire to small for 20 amp?
 
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