Norpro Deluxe Stainless Steel Vertical Roaster for Chicken, Turkey & Poultry - Perfect for Thanksgiving, Christmas & Holiday Roasting - 266

Product: Norpro Stainless Steel Vertical Poultry RoasterRating: 5/5 (excellent)Cooking is in my blood, and as any hardcore foodie or professional chef worth their chops will attest, the ability to do great things with a humble supermarket chicken is often a reliable sign of excellence. The vertical open-cavity roasting method offers fabulously crisp skin on all sides of the bird, shorter cooking time, and because the thighs hang free, the inner thighs cook at the same rate as the breasts, resulting in a bird that's more evenly done than the classic "French-trussed horizontally roasted poisson" method taught in most culinary schools. The norpro roaster offers most of the same results as a rotisserie without the need for own/use a rotisserie.Advantages:* Simple, Fast & Easy to assemble.* Easy stain-free cleanup (no coastings to worry about).* Compatible with ovens, domed grills and smokers.* Perfect dimensions, both height and width.* Able to deglaze directly on the stove !* Inexpensive ($12 USD). I own several.* Very stable.Disadvantages:* Minor nit: it'd be better if the drip-pan's lip tilted inwards a bit, and the drippings bowl was slightly deeper, otherwise it's a nearly perfect design IMO.At one time or another I've tried almost every method of cooking chicken there is. For example, I was doing beercan chicken 15 years ago, long before it became popular. It was a nice evolutionary step forward in chicken cookery at the time, and it yields great results, but the chief problems with it are stability (risk of tipping), dismounting the bird from the can without spilling, and the inability to make pan jus. The norpro solves those problems.One of the best features of the norpro is it's ideally sized drip pan. As a former beercan chicken addict, I really appreciate having a properly sized drip pan that's neither too wide, or too narrow. Here's why: if the pan is too wide, it will run dry during roasting, and as hot fat builds up, it will rise to the same temp as the oven, and when juices slowly drip out of the bird into the hot oil, it will sizzle and splatter in all directions ... which makes a mess, and poses a fire hazard. If the drip pan is too narrow, juice can miss the pan and make a mess, and/or the lack of sufficient evaporation surface area can causes juices to overflow the drip pan, also causing a mess. The drip pan of the norpro is perfectly sized to prevent both problems ... it's narrow enough not to completely run dry, and not so narrow that accumulating juices will overflow or miss altogether.Highly recommended. I recommend buying at least two.-------------------TIPS:* IDEAL CHICKEN SIZE: Although the norpro will handle a 5 lb chicken, the ideal roasting size 3 - 3.5 lbs. If you need more, take my word and buy 2 ideally sized chickens rather than one that's twice as large ... the results will taste better and will cook much faster.* PERFECT SKIN: After rinsing the bird inside and out, pat it completely dry, slide the bird onto the Norpro with the wingtips tucked backwards over its shoulders and the legs dangling freely on either side of one of the tines. Next, if the bird is very cold, let it airdry on it's stand at room temperature for 30-45 mins (this also helps the meat shed some of it's excess cold, which results in faster and more even cooking), then wipe it on all sides with vegetable oil, then sprinkle with medium kosher salt and ground dried rosemary. Do NOT add any liquid to the drip pan - the bird will shed it's own jus, which will reduce and caramelize during roasting. Roast at 425F for roughly 70-75 mins (longer for birds over 3.5 lbs), or until the skin is golden brown on all sides and the juices run clear (your target temperature, after a 5 minute rest, is 175F in the inner thigh). If the bird doesnt slide off easily, cut the bird in half using poultry shears, and let the roast bird rest for 5-10 mins while you deglaze the drip pan(s) with a little stock ... the jus can then be reserved for other use, or turned into a small amount of pan gravy.* Leftovers: Most of the time, I'm only cooking 1 bird for two people (if you cook 2 birds in the same oven, increase roasting time by 10-15 mins). We typically eat the legs, wings, back and skin, and then reserve the breasts for classic chicken salad. All the bones, giblets, leftover skin and pan jus get frozen in a ziplock bag, and when we have enough bones and jus I'll throw it in the slow cooker overnight with water and mirepoix and turn it into stock (or glace) and then freeze that. Hard to beat awesome chicken for 89 cents a pound, plus homemade stock.