Westinghouse Roaster question / Thanksgiving

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paulg

paulg

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We do Thanksgiving every year and the totals vary from about 15 to 25 attendees (rare).
Well here we go.... we're up to 25 this year.
Last time we had 25 people we ran short of mashed potatoes. We have two Westinghouse roasters.
(We also have a Jenn-Air double oven. We expect to use one for the turkey and the other for all else.)
THE PRIMARY QUESTION:
Can you make mashed potatoes for 25 from absolute start to absolute finish successfully in the Westinghouse inset pan?
We feel if we can delegate one roaster to mashed potatoes, it may be a good thing...
SECOND QUESTION;
I see you cooking experts lurking out there.... How do YOU prepare mashed potatoes for 25 without freaking out Thanksgiving day. Advice about what can be done in advance is welcome. We have three refrigerators and a freezer.
Every bit of advice is eagerly welcome!
 
We use two Westinghouse Roasters on big Occasions

Here's how we cope with the mashed potato problem.

1) I peel them a day in advance and put them in the refrigerator in cold water. (sadly, but nearly everyone in Wyoming thinks peels in the potatoes are icky).&#92

2) The next day, I quarter them and throw them in a 12 quart Presto pressure cooker. At our altitude, it takes about 35 minutes from start to finish, including at least one clueless person present who turns the whole thing off when I'm out of the kitchen because 'it was about to explode'. Which, of course, it wasn't. 

3) I mash the potatoes right in the pressure pan, add milk and butter, salt and pepper (nothing else, see (1) above, sigh) and transfer to three Westinghouse glass roaster loaves. They're already in the roaster which just made the turkey, so already nice and hot. Put the lids back on. The other roaster is busy with ham.

 

That's how I do it and it works great. We have made baked potatoes in the roasters before but, boy, 12 pounds of potatoes at our altitude would tie one up for two hours plus, no kidding. Which is ok if you've got the capacity. We don't. At sea level probably doable in much less time.

 

I find the thermostats in these roasters vary much more at low temperatures than at high. I don't know if that's do to their age or just the way they were, but I do keep an eye on the water level when steaming. And, boy, nothing is as good for slow steaming as one of these.

 

Hope that helps. Everyone likes them so much we never have leftovers. I also make a smaller dish for the German guests with garlic and parsley and twice as much butter, more like the mashed turnips. 

 

 
 
Thank you Panthera

Great advice. I see your system clearly and can see how it works.
I do have the glass roaster loaf pans that I have never used. Parsing out the potatoes into those pans makes a bunch of sense.
Much obliged for the quick reply!
 
Glass pans

They're wonderful and they crack, sadly, if they experience temperature changes. Easily. This is why I make sure they're prewarmed before putting the hot mashed potatoes in.

Let us know how you resolve it - I'm only doing six people this year. Yay!
 
Addendum to Panthera's wise advice

When you remove the glass / Pyrex dish from the oven make sure not to place it on a cold surface. Have a silicone mat, pot holder or towel to place the hot dish upon. Cold granite, stainless steel, on refs and trivets will make the piece crack and can make is shatter. His last suggestion about the spraying of the dish with Pam, is a great one.
 
I had the luxury

of having the cellar under our kitchen flooded about eight years ago.

Had to pull down all the (ick) insulation. Exposed all the wires, pipes, etc.

Used the opportunity to put in six separate 20Amp circuits (including the proper 20amp outlets for our commercial appliances).

And that, was that.

Those roasters are as wonderful as they are because they draw such heavy current. If they're the absolutely only thing running on a properly wired 15 amp outlet, they'll work, but it's pushing it from my perspective - and it you're also going to use the broiler, the that's two 20 amp circuits tied up, right there.

Which I allowed for. About the only good thing to come from the dratted flood.

 

Again - these delightful appliances are ancient. I've checked the internal wiring (was always OK) and replaced the plug and cord as well as the wiring to the automatic timer (never OK, my gods, who wired those, homicidal maniacs? - I'd strongly urge anyone with one of the timer units not to use it until it's been properly updated and a ground added.)

 

Speaking of which, yes, I am using 20Amp GFCI (no, not the pass through, the real 20 Amp GFCI) outlets for these. 
 
Thanksgiving plans here are still up in the air, but I'm tempted to try a turkey in my GE roaster if I end up cooking.  Its original power cord with woven sheathing is in fine shape, but I bought a new rubber sheathed cord for it just to be safe and not scare the guests.  It has no base/cabinet or timer.  I don't know if GE ever offered those accessories or features.

 

How large of a bird can a full size roaster accommodate? 
 
We do twenty-six pound

Turkey's but I've always felt it was a bit much. Still, comes out great. Sometimes I have to make a gasket to raise and seal the lid a bit. Use aluminium foil, rolled into a tube.
 
So, Keven, I am curious about your putting the glass pans in the roaster you used for the turkey. Are you saying that you put the glass pans down in the drippings? Don't you use the drippings to make the gravy?

As soon as we lifted the bird out on the Load and Lift rack, we would take out the excess fat and add the flour to make the roux for the gravy. When it was cooked, we would slowly whisk in the water. Once the flour and water were combined, we added the water from cooking the vegetables and then put the Load and Lift rack back in and replaced the cover to let everything simmer. The steam softened any spatters on the sides so they slid down into the gravy and the gravy cooked off all of the fond stuck to the rack for super excellent flavor.

Even thought we would wash the big inset pan in the lower rack of the KDC15, there was not anything that needed heavy cleaning by the time the gravy was made.
 
Extra roaster insert pan, Tom

So, out with the old, in with the new. It comes up to heat at once and there we are.

Cooking for the holidays is a bit of a challenge. I don't eat meat, but will cook it. Loved ones with tremendously strong opinions on every single other thing. And I do mean strong opinions. 

So - lot's of extra inserts and beaters and mixer bowls and more KitchenAid mixers and Sunbeams (none of the junk after Model 12, of course) and several roasters and stoves. We may have a new '61 Flair up and running by Christmas!

And my pressure cooker collection. My extensive pressure cooker collection.

I've cracked two of these increasingly scarce Westinghouse glass insert pans through inattention to cold surfaces. It taught me a lesson.

 

 

 
 
It begs the question...

Why did Westinghouse make the roasters use so much electricity? It seems most houses in the 30s through 50s would not have a large enough service to not use most of the circuits in the house. If many people used them on Thanksgiving wouldn't it cause brownouts back then? I think the Hamilton Beach roasters made today (that are like Westinghouse) use less wattage than the Westinghouse. Even if Westinghouse was trying to get people to use more electricity, it would not help if people could not use it in their houses. After all, WH was making roasters in 1937, a long time before their first nuclear power plant (1957).

My sisters and I go to 7 Springs, a ski resort in the Laurel Highlands. The food there is as high priced as Disney and doesn't taste as good. Many families will bring along crock pots and roasters (once I even saw a Showtime) and plug them into any outlet they can find. Usually on a weekend, every outlet is taken with a cooking appliance. Management doesn't like it and unplugs them but then they get plugged back in. This summer, I notice they were doing some work on the sub station, I wonder if all those roasters had anything to do with it.
 
Back then...

Most people did what I do now, they plugged them in on their range outlet, all old electric ranges have a separately fused receptacle which works great for high wattage items, the wiring in this house is the next thing to get updated, one 15 amp circuit for ALL the kitchen, hall and one bedroom doesent do much!!!
 
DAY BEFORE POTATOES

I make my potatoes with cream cheese, butter, sour cream, the day before. put them into a casserole dish, and heat them Thanksgiving day, in either an electric roaster, or the oven. they turn out wonderfully rich, and simplifies the mad prep before dinner. Everybody rants and raves about them, and it leaves you a lot more time to enjoy the day. I also prep my fresh veggies beforehand, then stick them in the fridge until the day of the holiday to cook them. I like being able to enjoy my company, and meal, without being a basket case when you sit down to eat.
 
> one 15 amp circuit for ALL the kitchen, hall and one bedroom doesent do much!!!

Yikes! I can imagine it's limiting at times!

I thought it was bad enough having one circuit for the outlets in my current kitchen. That's pretty limiting in its own right, and one of the things I looked at both times I've bought a microwave is the how much power it pulls.

I grew up in a house with limited power in the kitchen. We didn't have a roaster, but I do seem to recall my mother sometimes running her electric skillet off an outlet in the dining room.
 
>I like being able to enjoy my company, and meal, without being a basket case when you sit down to eat.

I think preparation beforehand makes sense.

I have seldom really done Thanksgiving, but I have horrible memories of helping with it at my grandmother's house towards the end of her life. Her health was poor enough that she no longer cooked the dinner, but she still wanted the way it always had been...which meant lots of last minute prep items. Making matters worse, I could cook by that point, but the cooking wasn't what I was used to. So by dinner, I was worn down...but at least had chance to sit long enough to catch my breath to prepare for a mountain of dishes.

It was during that period my mother told me her big secret when entertaining (in general) was to try and get as much done as early as possible. Then, the kitchen could be cleaned, the cook have a chance to recover before guests appear.
 
Do as much as possible before guests appear

That's why I love low-temp cooking. Just put it (usually some steaks, loin cuts or such, duck/chicken breasts work too) in the oven on about 65C (about 150-160F, depending on how done you want it) and just bump the temp up sfor a few minutes jst before you need it.

In the mean time, make all the other stuff. Vegs work nice (just prepare them the day before, cook them short of serving texture and then throw them in a pan with a little butter), mashed potatos as well, and some cake or choclate cream as dessert.

That's basicly our christmas routine.
 
I think Westinghouse looked at it this way

It takes a certain amount of power to produce the required even heat over such a large surface. So, instead of compromising, they aimed their products at people who would either have electric stoves (most of which had outlets) or the money to have adequate power in the kitchen.

 

Lots of 40's/50's appliances drew heavy current. It's part of why they worked so well and it's one reason Europeans are constantly puzzled that Americans put up with their anemic 110v/15 Amp limitations. (And, before the usual suspects start howling about 20amp circuits, look at the plug on the appliance and look at the configuration of the wall outlet. I meant it when I said I use the 20amp GFCIs, not the 15 amps.)

 

Of course, every decent microwave I had in Germany wanted it's own circuit, too. Still, the US system is pitifully underdimensioned and was in the vintage era.
 
I miss using the Westy roasters.  I think I still have two stashed in the attic.  The cords are shot and I just haven't gotten around to replacing them.  You can't beat a turkey out of one of these roasters.

 

As for taters for that many people, I'd definitely make them ahead of time and reheat when needed.  No one should realize the difference.  It'll just reduce your stress and make the day somewhat more enjoyable. 

 

This year, there will only be 4 of us (YAY!) so I won't need to go overboard on the amount I need to prepare. 

 

I bought a turkey from a local hobby farmer this year and am awaiting it to be delivered.  It'll be fresh, not frozen.  I had one from him before and it was fantastic.  He had stopped selling them for a few years, but is back doing it again.  The bad thing is I think the bird will be over 20lbs for just the 4 of us.  Looks like there will be a lot of leftovers.

 

I haven't smoked a bird for Thanksgiving in a few years, so this year it's going on the wood-fired Traeger grill.  I plan on brining it for upwards of 24 hours if possible.  To me, brining makes a huge difference it moisture and flavor.

 

Above all, ENJOY your friends and family regardless of political leanings, job status, opinions, etc.   When they're gone, they're gone.  You can't get this time back.  I still miss having my grandparents at our Thanksgiving dinners.
 
>Above all, ENJOY your friends and family regardless of political leanings, job status, opinions, etc.

Ah, yes...the political leanings can be so fun. Every year, I've seen articles of points one can use when arguing with someone in the family who subscribes to the opposite political view point.

And I bet after this highly divisive election year, it will really jolly at many family gatherings.

I'll be totally alone, as is the case most years. Not much fun, but at least I'll miss the "fun" of seeing Cousin Hortense and Aunt Ethel strangle each other because they actively supported different candidates in the election...

>When they're gone, they're gone. You can't get this time back.

Very, very true.
 
> I don't eat meat, but will cook it.

Call me cranky, but my view these days is that the cook will cook what he's willing to eat...

The days of doing something because its expected are OVER.

At the moment, I, too, am not eating meat. I'm not sure how rigid I am, and this is something I've flip flopped back and forth on over the years. (Hmmm...maybe this gives me the qualification to enter politics! LOL) Although if I did flip back to any sort of meat eating, it would be a local, more humane, sustainable meat model, not the factory farm, climate killing, cheap grocery store offerings.

Certainly it appears I'll be on vegetarian phase for Thanksgiving this year, and if I were actually cooking a dinner, I can guarantee there would be zero meat on the table. Don't like it? Feel free to accept a different invitation!

Actually, I have half thought that someday, when I live someplace better, I could perhaps do Thanksgiving for people like me who otherwise have zero plans, and I could even make it vegetarian, which is something that probably doesn't happen too often when people aggressively open their homes on Thanksgiving for people who otherwise won't have Thanksgiving. (Even if I went back to any sort of meat eating, I'd be happy to do vegetarian Thanksgiving...I haven't really liked turkey since I was a teenager.)
 
>Panthera, do you think vintage Westinghouse roasters are better than the Hamilton Beach roasters of today?

How can this question come up? Don't we all know Vintage Is Better? LOL

No experience...but I guess I'd be more inclined to gamble on the Westinghouse. I won't go as far as saying modern appliances are unusable junk. But I have noted that there was a real difference in older appliances, partly due, perhaps, to the era they were made being one when people actually regularly cooked at home.
 

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