Questions about roasting in anodized aluminum pans.

[wildeyed]

So I have two hard anodized aluminum roasting pans, small and large. They brown meat nicely, but I have problems with over cooking potatoes and vegetables I am roasting with the meat. I have already worked out that I need to add extra liquid with pan drippings to keep them from burning, but I have not figured out how to properly roast the potatoes and vegetables in these pans. Tonight I made a chicken, which was admittedly somewhat over cooked. The potatoes looked lovely, but the brown crust was too hard and thick and they stuck horribly to the bottom of the pan. Anyone else have this problem? I am in search of the perfect roast chicken and fixings.

[NMDemDist2]

1. do you spray the pan with cooking spray first? or another idea

would be to drizzle olive oil on the veggies and toss them a bit before sticking them in the pan

[wildeyed]

3. I added oil, etc.

These particular pans brown everything nicely, but often the potatoes are just too brown. And the pans are sticky, too, which is great when I want to make gravy, but a problem with the taters. x(

[NMDemDist2]

5. you say anondized pan right? that is the dark coating right?

try cooking every thing at 25 degrees cooler than the recipe calls for

[wildeyed]

7. I will try that.

But if I do that, will the meat cook properly?

[NMDemDist2]

8. yes, the whole thing on those dark pans is they are more heat

efficient

use a meat thermometer to insure your roast is done, but not overdone at a lower heat

I swear that little $5 meat thermometer was one of my best investments for the kitchen and my cooking LOL

[chefgirl]

11. Exactly right AZDem

This is especially true when baking with 'dark' pans, and roasting is basically the same principle.

Sounds to me like this is probably the problem, if the OP is doing everything the same way they used to, and the only difference is the pan. Good call.

-chef-

[NMDemDist2]

12. wow! thanks, seems I am remembering my cooking skills pretty well

woohoo!!

hard to believe considering how my scrambled eggs came out this morning (i went a bit heavy on the sour cream and ruined the texture :spank: , but they tasted good anyway)

[chefgirl]

13. As long as you were being creative, thats all that matters.

LOL...Don't sweat it.
Considering the prices people pay to eat at the restaurant where I work, I wonder what they would think if they knew the sous chef screwed up a grilled cheese sandwich for her son the other day!
We call that particular shade of black, 'culinary school golden'. LOL.

But, shhhhh, don't tell anyone.

-chef-

[NMDemDist2]

14. hey, that's what they made flat knives for right?

scraping off the burnt bits LOL

[chefgirl]

15. ROTFL!!!

The secret is out!!

-chef-

[Stinky The Clown]

2. Some thoughts

There's really not enough information in your post to know for sure what the problem was, although I suspect some combination of too fast an oven and letting things go too long ..... in other words, overcooked. BUt it could also have been the amount of fat you used, how hot the pan was when you started roasting everything, or other factors. The size of the potato pieces could have had some affect on thngs.

Whatever it was, it sounds more likely to be a technique issue than any specific recipe issue. I think the least likely thing it could have been was a pan problem.

I would highly recommend Alton Brown's I'm Just Here For The Food. It explains the finer points of things such as roasting and is a fun and easy read. There's something in it for everyone, from the culinary novice, to the culinary professional, and even for the culinarily challenged!

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1584790830/104-3304079-0259938?v=glance

(Hey there AZDD6 .... you followin' me? Or am I followin' you? :hi:)

[NMDemDist2]

4. we do seem to run in the same forums don't we??? LOL n/t

[wildeyed]

6. The pans are fine. The recipe is fine.

It is the cook that is the problem. I definitely overcooked a bit tonight, but not excessively. It seem like the black pans require a finer touch. When I get stuff right with them, it is really right, but it is easier to go wrong, too.

What is a 'fast oven'?

I will look for the book, thanks for the suggestion. I have plenty of cookbooks, but I could definitely use some better instruction on technique. Maybe I will actually bestir myself to take a cooking class. Hmmm......... :freak:

[Stinky The Clown]

9. A "Fast" Oven

That's an oven that is hotter than what you set the thermostat to. Let's say you set the oven to 350 and an oven thermometer revelas the actual temperature to be 405. That's a "fast" oven. Get a bimetal oven thermometer and check yours. I dare say 75% of all ovens are either fast or slow and get worse over time. Once you know how fast or slow yours is, you have two choices:

1. (The no action/easy way) Set the thermometer higher or lower than the indicator marks according to what you learn by checking the actual temp to the selected temp.

2. Adjust the knob itself so it sets to the actual temp the oven is running at. This is called calibrating the oven. Not all ovens can have their dials adjusted.

By the way, when you check your oven, do so over a range of temps. It is generally not a linear error. Set it forst to about 300 and when the light goes off (indicating it is at temp) check the thermometer. Then raise it to 325, wait for the light and check again. Do this over the full range in 25 degree increments.

And go with method 1, above. Its easy and cost nothing.

[wildeyed]

16. I had an oven at my old house that was off by over 25 degrees.

I always had an oven thermometer in it. But when I gave it away (oh happy day!) I didn't get the thermometer out.

My current oven is higher quality, but you are right, I should check it anyway. I haven't had any egregious problems, but it might be a little hot, and might be part of my problem. But like I said before, I suspect it is mainly operator error.

[eleny]

10. Hi wildeyed

What came to mind was to ask you if you're trying to roast everything together for the same length of time. Meat along with the potatoes and other veggies. When I make a roast, I add the veggies after a while. All except the ones that flavor the meat, like an onion cut up and tossed around. But even then I add some water or broth to the pan. I'd keep liquid broth handy and watch the pan for when it needs help.

I don't have an anodized roasting pan, btw. But I do have other pots and pans of this material and love them. I especially like the stovetop griddle.

[wildeyed]

17. I learned to ALWAYS add water or broth to these pans when I roast.

I did chicken and potatoes this weekend. The recipe said they took about the same amount of time, so roast them together. I dunno, maybe I just cooked everything too long. After being frustrated with these new pans for a while and wishing I had gone with the all-clad instead, I had a series of triumphs. Maybe I got a little cocky about my skill level and then was disappointed when it didn't turn out perfectly.

I will try again next weekend and do better. Thanks everyone for all the good advice!

[eleny]

18. I've had that happen too

In 1976 I treated myself to a set of Volrath stainless steel pots and pans. I moved to a new state and got my first paycheck. It was exciting to have my first complete set of of anything and I still have them.

But the two fry pans and the stew pot are hard to use. Food sticks to them so easily - especially the fry pans. So I haven't used them much. Recently, my non stick pans have been one by one going into the trash since the surfaces are deteriorating. I'm going to give the stainless fry pans another chance before I replace the non stick ones. I'm hoping that now with many more years of experience and hopefully some patience I'll have better luck.