My mother-in-law did catering as a side job, and her roaster had more than plenty of use over the years. When she passed away the roaster was the thing everyone fought over. My husband won out being the oldest child. It must be 40 or 50 years old and looks every bit that age. I'm thinking it should be retired, but we still use it on holidays when some of the kids and their families come home.

I have used an electric roaster for years to cook a turkey. Usually 20-23 pounds, so it requires me to oil the turkey and cover it with foil and then put the top on. The top of the roaster doesn't sit flush, as probably the one I have is made for 15 pound birds. I put the bird on a rack and then on a couple of stalks of celery so it doesn't stick to the pan, maybe I'll add liquid and then let it go! Frees up the oven to cook all the other things I want to cook, including stuffing. I also mash the potatoes early on and put them in a crockpot- on low/warm. Need to watch them so they don't get too starchy from overcooking. I have most of the mess cleaned up before dinner is served- buffet style...got it down to a science.

I have an old roaster. It must be from the 50s. I use it every holiday season. I have cooked a turkey in it before, but prefer to cook the sides in it instead and save our oven for the bird. It's also great for keeping things warm while everything is coming together at the end.

The only problem with it is that it's really a huge, energy hog. It was made before, "energy efficiency," was even in our lexicon. We're off the grid and on solar and propane. We do fine 99.999% of the time, but when we plug that baby in, whooosh...there goes our back up electricity. Thank goodness we don't pay for our power! It would cost a fortune to keep that roaster on all day to cook a turkey.

~ C