Do you really need a roasting pan?

October 5, 2023·Darcie

Few home kitchens in the US are without a large deep roasting pan. Most of them are made from aluminum, although enameled steel and stainless steel pans are also common. Usually they are tucked away in the back of a cabinet for most of the year, pulled out to hold the Thanksgiving turkey or Christmas ham. Serious Eats has long advocated that you don't need a roasting pan in your kitchen, although they make an exception for the low-sided Misen roasting pan.

The biggest argument against owning a roasting pan is that it's a unitasker that isn't particularly good at its main job because "its high walls and smaller footprint trap steam and limit the circulation of the hot, dry air that is necessary for proper roasting," according to Serious Eats' Dan Gritzer. He thinks a rimmed sheet pan can do almost everything that a roasting pan can do, and do it better. I agree with him for the most part, but I will not be giving up my roasting pan any time soon.

I have found another use for this large, deep pan with handles that keeps me from donating mine to charity even though it takes up a fair amount of room in my cupboard: serving as the container for a water bath. It's large enough to hold a 10" cheesecake or several small ramekins, and the handles make it easy to transfer into and out of the oven. It's stainless, so it doesn't weigh as much as a large enameled cast iron Dutch oven, the only other pan I have that is deep enough for this task. If I found another pan that worked for water baths I could see letting mine go, but for now it serves me well. Do you have a roasting pan, and if so, are there any special recipes that you wouldn't make in anything else?

9 comments

FuzzyChefOctober 6, 2023

We use a 11" x 15" baking pan for water baths

ellabeeOctober 6, 2023

A couple of times I've made caramelized onions in the roaster, just to keep it from being a unitasker, but haven't liked the results as well as those done on the stovetop. It's perfect for water-bath baking of ramekins because of the depth and the handles, but I've only done that once.

averythingcooksOctober 6, 2023

I make large batches of Christmas snack mix in mine every year and I have used it as a water bath as described in the post. I also roast a turkey at least 2'ce a year (October & usually February/March as we are typically "beef for Christmas" people :) and I can't picture myself moving my turkey in/out of the oven or even trying baste etc on a rimmed sheet pan......imminent disaster prediction. I store mine on a pantry shelf and fill it with pantry items to maximize storage space (lined with a dish towel to protect it). Sure, I have to pull it out & empty it when I use it but that is a VERY minor inconvenience.

Happy Thanksgiving to all the Canadian EYB members!

KevinSeattleOctober 6, 2023

I use mine as a tent over (demi) baguettes to make a steam chamber for the proper texture crust. About 5 minutes at the start of the bake does the trick.

lean1October 7, 2023

I use it for lasagnas and when small ramekins that need a water bath.
I has handles for easy use, and when the pan is heavy it really helps get it out of a lower oven without getting burned.

breakthroughcOctober 8, 2023

I baste my turkey every 30 minutes with chicken broth which results in plentiful and excellent gravy. A sheet pan would certainly result in a mess at some point. I also use mint to roast tomatoes for canning. I can easily process 8 pounds of tomatoes this way. In its downtime it hold my lids for my other pans.

sayeaterOctober 9, 2023

I have one of those enameled steel ones and it has a single purpose: Chex Mix. Yes, about twice a year it makes it's debut for a large greatly-anticipated batch of the stuff. In our family, the holidays wouldn't be the same without it!

lkgroverOctober 9, 2023

I have baked several 10-inch cheesecakes in a water bath with my roasting pan. In 13 years, I have never used it to roast meat. My mother uses her roasting pan for Thanksgiving turkey, Christmas ham, and Chex mix (especially for Christmas and New Year's).

SerenaYLeeNovember 10, 2023

As a baker (and not much of a chicken/turkey roaster), I've primarily used my roasting pan as a water bath for cheesecakes and such. I store mine in my oven and remove it when I need to empty out the oven for baking.