Rack And Roaster: Perfect Fit

A roasting pan is a staple in many kitchens. It's large, oven-safe, and comes with a rack that fits inside. The rack keeps the meat off the bottom of the pan, allowing for airflow and even cooking. The pan underneath serves a dual purpose: it collects meat drippings and offers a space to roast vegetables. The high walls of a roasting pan help to trap heat inside, and provide plenty of room to store pan liquids, which is handy when basting.

Roasting racks are necessary for even cooking

The roasting rack also helps to prevent your meat from sitting in the pooling fat and juices that collect at the bottom of the pan. While these juices are great for making gravy, they are not the best place for your roast to sit. The rack keeps your meat lifted out of the juices, helping to avoid an overcooked or soggy bottom and allowing the excess fat to drip away. This is especially important for meats with skin, like a whole chicken, as the rack helps to ensure a nice, crisp skin.

In addition to even cooking and browning, a roasting rack also provides convenience and ease when it comes to basting your meat. Basting is the process of pouring liquid, often fat, over the meat during cooking to keep it moist. When using a roasting rack, the fat and juices have a place to fall and collect in the pan. This allows for even coating and prevents your meat from sitting in excess basting juices, which could result in an unpleasant concentration of flavor.

Furthermore, a roasting rack eliminates the need to reposition or turn over your meat during the cooking process, which can be difficult and dangerous with a large roast or turkey. The rack ensures that your meat receives optimum heating and air circulation on all sides throughout the entire cooking process.

While some alternatives to a roasting rack exist, such as using vegetables or aluminium foil balls to elevate the meat, these may not provide the same level of airflow and even heating as a proper roasting rack. If you regularly roast meat, investing in a roasting pan with a rack is a worthwhile addition to your kitchen, providing you with evenly cooked and browned meats every time.

Racks are not always included with roasting pans

Firstly, you can place your roast on a bed of hearty vegetables such as carrots, potatoes, celery, and onions. This method keeps the meat raised from the base of the pan and adds flavour to your roast. You can also use rolled-up pieces of aluminium foil as a substitute for a rack. Roll three to five pieces of foil into sturdy, tight cylinders and lay them across the base of the pan, mimicking the layout of a traditional rack. Your roast will now sit slightly above the pan juices.

If you're in a pinch, a wire cooling rack can be used as a substitute for a roasting rack. Choose a rack that fits inside a standard baking dish and place it inside your pan. You can also use a broiler pan, which usually includes a rack for drippings and can be purchased separately or may come included with your oven.

You can make a DIY roasting rack

Aluminium Foil and Stovetop Grates

• Wrap two light-gauge stovetop grates with aluminium foil.
• Use a paring knife or skewer to poke large holes in the foil so that juices can drip down into the pan.
• Place the grates in the roasting pan, resting them against the sides so that the bottoms of the grates meet to create a V-shape.

Aluminium Foil Cylinders

• Roll three pieces of foil into tight cylinders and place them 2 inches apart across the middle of the roasting pan.
• Position the roast so that it sits evenly on top of the cylinders.
• After cooking, let the foil rolls cool, then discard them.

Cookie Cutters

Place several open-style metal cookie cutters in the bottom of the roasting pan.

Put the item to be roasted on the cutters, suspending it above the bottom of the pan.

Aluminium Foil Rope

• Take a long sheet of aluminium foil and scrunch it up into a thick rope.
• Shape the foil rope into a spiral or a figure 8, then place your roast on top.
• If the roast is still too close to the pan, add another layer of foil around the rope to give your DIY roasting rack more height.

Chopsticks

• Gather 6-12 pairs of wooden takeout chopsticks and organise them in a grid pattern (like tic-tac-toe) on the pan.
• Space them wide enough apart so your roast can fit on top, creating a rack that's at least three layers high.
• You can tie the chopsticks together at the corners with kitchen twine or unwaxed dental floss for extra stability.

Wire Racks

• The wire racks used to cool baked goods can be slipped over the pan, and the roast placed on top.
• If your pan is small, toaster oven racks can also work.
• You can also mould two toaster oven racks together to make a V-shaped rack.

Edible Roasting Rack

• If you have leftover vegetables like celery, onions, and carrots, chop them into large chunks and spread them across your pan.
• Cut the vegetables so they are about the same height to ensure your roast doesn't tilt or slide off the rack.
• This method adds flavour to your drippings, and you get a side dish of roasted veggies with almost zero extra effort!

Roasting racks are not always necessary

A roasting rack is designed to lift meat off the bottom of the pan, allowing for even cooking and a crispier outcome. However, there are several makeshift solutions to this problem. For example, you can place your roast on a bed of vegetables such as carrots, potatoes, celery, and onions. This will keep the meat raised from the base of the pan and add flavour to your roast.

You can also make your own roasting rack by rolling three to five pieces of aluminium foil into sturdy, tight cylinders and laying them across the base of the pan. This will keep your turkey slightly raised above the pan juices.

A wire cooling rack can also be used as a substitute for a roasting rack. Choose a rack that will fit inside a standard baking dish and place it inside your pan.

Other alternatives to a roasting rack include crumpled aluminium foil, metal cookie cutters, and a cast iron trivet.

Roasting pans can be substituted

Roasting pans are a staple in many kitchens, especially for cooking large pieces of meat such as turkey, chicken, game hens, pork, and beef. They are also great for cooking vegetable side dishes. However, if you only use a roasting pan occasionally, you can save valuable kitchen storage space by substituting it with one of the following:

Baking Sheet

A baking sheet can be used as a roasting pan, but it must have raised sides to catch the fat drippings. You can also place a wire cooling rack inside the baking sheet to keep the roast raised from the base and ensure even heating.

Cast-Iron Skillet

Cast-iron skillets are oven-safe and can be used to roast smaller cuts of meat. You can roast your meat directly on the pan or on a bed of halved onions and potatoes for added flavour.

Braiser Pan

A braiser pan is an oven-safe roasting dish with an enamel coating and easy-to-use handles. You can use it without a rack or create a vegetable rack using halved onions or balls of aluminium foil.

Casserole Dish

A 9x13-inch casserole dish can be used for smaller roasts such as chicken or game hens. For a full-sized turkey, you will need an oversized casserole dish with relatively high sides.

Foil Roasting Pan

Disposable foil roasting pans are a cost-effective option for roasting large turkeys or cuts of meat. They have high sides and a large surface area, but they are flimsy and create more waste. To overcome the flimsiness, place the foil pan on a sturdy baking sheet for added support.

Frequently asked questions