Can I fry in my 20-qt roaster?

[mtngranny]

Hi all,

I had been wanting a Nesco-type roaster for some time and found a Hamiilton Beach model at a yard sale recently for $5 (yay!) It did not have the original instruction booklet with it.

I have been using it for cooking down homemade spaghetti sauce and it has worked well. We used it to roast a chicken also and it worked great for that. But now I am wondering, can I fry chicken in it?

This particular model has a dial on the front that goes up to 500 F (of course I would never run it at that!) Could I set it to 375 and fry things in it? I don't deep-fry my chicken but do use about an inch of oil .

If this would work it would help me fry chicken for my large family in one or two batches instead of the usual 4 or 5 in my Le Creuset on the stovetop or my old electric frypan. I also have a problem with the oil starting to scorch when I do so many batches.

Please share your advice, thanks!

 

[Timothy]

Shallow frying might be a problem with sticking. Depending on what the material the bottom-inside is made of.

I would advise talking to someone who makes this type of cooker or to someone who has already deep-fried using one. There might be safety concerns that aren't obvious.

From Nesco's site:

"The Automatic Temperature Control provides a wide range of temperature settings from (200ºF-450ºF) which allow you to slow cook, roast, bake, steam – as well as sear and brown foods."

No mention of deep-frying.

From another site about seasoning a Nesco Roaster:

"Tips & Warnings

• 
  Your NESCO roaster oven should never be used for deep frying."

​

 

[Katie H]

I don't know that I would try frying in my larger roaster and I'd have to check my instruction manual to see if it is even recommended.

However, you might Google "instruction manual for Hamilton Beach roaster model #(whatever it says on the bottom of your appliance). In many cases you can download the book that relates to your roaster. That would give you the definitive answer.

 

[mtngranny]

thank you so much, I will try to find the manual to download. It sounds like I shouldn't try to fry in it!

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

I bought one specifically to free up my oven at Thanksgivings (I usually stock up on free turkeys in November and have several Thanksgivings throughout the year). They call it a roaster for a reason. I would never attempt to deep fry in it. I'd buy a deep fryer. Wait, I already own a deep fryer.