Westinghouse Roaster / Turkey

[paulg]

Hello all. Need a few tips.
For fun I am thinking about doing a mid-year turkey but in the Westinghouse roaster this time.
Never did it before. Does it really work?
Just need a few pointers before I start. If you have any quick tips they will be much appreciated!

 

[norgeway]

You will love it!!!

I do mine a little diffrently than most, wash turkey well , salt and pepper, inside and out, place on rack in roaster,add about an inch of hot water, lay giblets and neck in the water so they cook right along with your turkey,and you have plenty of broth for dressing and gravy...turn it to 325 and roast till done,I forget how many minutes per pound...but use the same timetable you do in the oven...now for the REST of the story!

 

[norgeway]

Dressing and gravy!!!

Bake one 10 inch cake of cornbread..southern style NO SUGAR!!! crumble in very large bowl with 1 large package pepperidge farm cornbread stuffing mix,mash 2 hard boiled eggs add them, saute in 1 stick butter,1 large onion and 5 ribs celery finely chopped,add all to mixture, add 1 TBSP poultry seasoning and 1 or 2 TBSP of sage..rub between fingers as you are adding as this releases flavor,add 1 pound fried crumbled and drained pork sausage,add broth until soft, mix well bake in greased muffin pans or a very large dish, 375 till brown..about 45 min for the dish...make sure you add enough broth,too moist is ok too dry and it will not be good

GRAVY
In 2 quart saucepan add enough broth to fill it about 2/3 full,chop liver and all meat off the neck add to broth, mince 1 rib celery and 1 hard boiled egg,boil at least 10 minutes till celery is tender,in cup mix about 3/4 cup cold water and 2 to 3 Tbsp flour until smooth, add slowly to boiling broth till thick as you want, salt and pepper to taste.

These recipes are my grandmothers..Mamie Story Craig 1894-1969,who was cooking for her fathers logging crew at age 10,standing on a box in front of a wood cook stove.

 

[tomturbomatic]

Does your RO have the pull out cooking guide underneath the thermostat dial? It will give you the temp and time. Put the bird on the load and lift rack. When the turkey is done, make your gravy in the inset pan and once it is prepared, set the rack back in the roaster and let the good drippings stuck to the rack cook off into the gravy. YUM!

You roast an 8-10 lb bird at 325 for 20-25 minutes per pound; a 10-12 lb bird for 18-20 minutes per pound. If the bird somes really close to the window, put a piece of foil over the glass so that the browning will be even. Shelter mags of the late 40s and early 50s used to have tips on using roaster ovens, especially before Thanksgiving.

 

[paulg]

Thank you!

A big heap of thanks Norgeway and Tomturbomatic! I got quite the tutorial. Your time in passing on your tips are appreciated. I really like the history of Grandma Mamie's recipe. I'll try it and give Grandma Mamie full honors!

Yes I do have the pull-out timing chart and rack. The whole thing is rather complete. Thanks Tom for your timing tips. I much prefer known-good timing tips rather than the instruction book.

I'm gonna print this all out and save it with my notes. Thanks again.

 

[michaelman2]

Hey Paul, I use my grandmother's Westinghouse Roaster every Thanksgiving and sometimes throughout the year.........I love this thing.........you will enjoy watching your power meter spin like crazy......lol

 

[mr_sparkle]

norgeway

Your recipe sounds amazing, but I was wondering if I could ask you about corn bread. When I look online for a good cornbread recipe there are TONS of them appear, some with bits of that or that in, some with sugar some without etc.

I tried one recipe without sugar and it was horrible, did I do something wrong, it tasted like dry tinned corn.

Also I was interested to say you washed your turkey, I always wash my meat, bird, pork, beef etc before cooking, however here in the UK we are told NOT to wash meat just cook it since the act of washing can shower the kitchen with bacteria.

How may others here will wash a bird before roasting, I cannot imagine just unwrapping meat from the supermarket and putting it straing into the pan!

 

[aquarius1984]

I never wash my meat.

How wrong does that sounds ? LOLOLOLOLOL

Its true that water containing bacteria splashes all over the place.
Not in my house thankyou!

Birds are sufficiently washed when they are gutted and cleaned.

If one really does feel the need a wipe with dampened kitchen roll is more appropriate.

I find that washing birds only adds water that hinders any basting fats you may add coming into contact with the meat or skin. Better to just wipe with paper towel and leave alone.

I dont wash any meat, just open the pack or wrappers and put directly into the pan or tin. Add water if you really must but only to the actual cook ware and not the food.

I wonder just how many "scrupulous" people whom wash things unneedingly yet suffer regular bouts of food poisoning or upset stomachs? I have never had food posoning nor suffer upset tummys often unless I know I have aggrevated it myself.

 

[mr_sparkle]

Actually, I have never had food poisoning in my life! And with some of the stuff I have eaten its amazing! (Once started eating a fire lighter thinking is was white nougart), also started chewing raw chicken that was being marinated thinking it was cooked!

Actually one of the reasons I wash my birds is because they are plunged into a disgusting hot water bath to make them easier to pluck, then wrapped, so I think they come out dirtier, I am not sure they wash them before packing, I am sure not in fact.

So what I would normally do when roasting a chicken..

Give the bird a good wash both inside the cavity and out.

Pat dry with a tea-towel (then put the tea towel in the wash)

Then pop into a roasting tray, and pop a lemon into the cavity and maybe a bit of butter on the birds skin.

 

[drewz]

STOP IT!

Thank you, Norgeway & Tomturbomatic, you have succeeded in making my mouth water for turkey more than once a year!

I will be preparing one this weekend thanks to both of you!

Hope I won't be burnt out for Thanksgiving!

 

[tomturbomatic]

Joe, I hope you have an outside place for your roaster oven or rotisserie so that you will not have to use your oven in the kitchen during this heat.

 

[ptcruiser51]

One hint

I didn't see anyone mention. Avoid lifting the lid to check on progress, except to baste if necessary. You lose a lot of heat that way.

I always follow normal roasting temp and time, never failed.

And do watch that meter spin!

 

[norgeway]

Cornbread

1 cup self rising flour
1 cup white corn meal mix...such as Tenda Bake or Martha White
1 egg
1/3 cup vegetable oil
enough buttermilk to make a batter about the consistency of pankake batter
beat well, pour into well greased iron skillet, bake at 425 until lightly brown

 

[tomturbomatic]

ONE MORE THING

I forgot to mention that the times given are for starting the bird in a pre-heated roaster. WH said it gave better browning also.

 

[passatdoc]

don't own one, but have been a guest at a dinner where t

It was delicious.

Evidently the roaster ovens have been around since the 50s (earlier maybe?) and were popular to save space in the main oven. In addition, the roaster could be set up in a laundry room, pantry, garage, or even (in California) outside on the patio table---which saved space inside the kitchen. In addition, in warmer climates like California, roasting a turkey outside of the kitchen kept the kitchen cooler, since you didn't have have to have the oven running from early morning.

The people I know who use one have a gourmet kitchen with large double built in ovens, but they like to have 30-40 people for Thanksgiving and use two or three roaster ovens. Basically, the roasters do all three turkeys, and the regular ovens are for baking desserts, casseroles, veggies.

I noticed that they make a cover with foil to obtain a tighter seal around the lid. They must have had problems with birds drying out with a loose fitting lid. You are going to love the way it cooks poultry.

 

[launderess]

Had A Roaster - But Gave It Away

No room, and the glass window was damaged. Still have the owner's manual/recipe book for the Westinghouse roaster though.

IIRC, roasters came out during the 1940's and were a huge hit for many reasons.

Because the units were portable, they could go to the cabin at the lake, or on fishing trips, etc. Long as there was the proper electrical connection, one was good to go.

_Westinghouse Roasters_

 

[tomturbomatic]

They actually apeared in the 20s and were originally black with wooden handles. They offered thermostatically controlled heat at a time when many gas stoves did not. Friends told me that they used theirs on their apartment's screened porch during the summer to avoid heating up the kitchen with the gas stove.

We bought ours to have extra oven space at turkey-roasting time, but it was used for more. It was nice that the inset pan fit on the lower rack of our 15 series KitchenAid for easy washing.

I used it for baking pound cakes before I got lots of ovens. It was great for putting together about 16 quarts of spaghetti sauce before bottling it up in quart Mason jars for pressure canning. Because the heat comes from the sides as well as the bottom, it provided a gentle way of simmering a large batch of ketchup.

 

[passatdoc]

oops

The people I referred to above use modern Rival roasters, not vintage Westinghouse, and they have three models in various sizes. As Launderess pointed out, they have existed since the 1940s. They do require some significant storage room so probably not well suited to those in apartments or flats. However, they can make roasting a turkey foolproof and they free up the kitchen and oven for other tasks. I remember going to my parents' friends for a turkey dinner as a kid and they had a roaster oven set up outside the kitchen door on a card table. They just checked it every hour to baste it. Delicious.

 

[launderess]

Using One Of These Roasters

Then and now probably depended upon the cost of electric power, versus supply (and cost), of natural gas along with the ability to have a "second kitchen" installed.

Growing up many of my aunts and other families one knew had second kitchens (also known as summer kitchens), either in a finished basement or perhaps in a small building in back of or on the side of the house.

Canning, along with cooking during the warmer months of the year could take place in these areas without heating up the entire home. In the years before widespread AC, this proved a blessing.

As the link posted upthread mentioned, during the heyday of roasters, electric power in one's area probably cost *more* than it does today when adjusted for inflation and other costs. Therefore running one of these very non "Energy Star" units often probably sent the bread winner of the house in to cardiac arrest when the electric bill came in. *LOL*

Small portable ovens to use as secondary sources, or even primary weren't limited to roasters. Have a vintage NIB Westbend Ovenette which is also becoming a highly sought after item, that allowed one to bake, roast, and so forth without heating up the entire house.