To fill in the blanks a bit on this roaster......
1) It has a non-stick surface making clean-up relatively easy. Just make sure, like with any non-stick cookware, that you use wood or plastic/rubber utensils and cleaning gear.
2) The device has its own canister for any liquids you wish to use. It has an extension as part of the canister that's perforated to let the steam saturate a larger area of the bird's inside cavity. I've not tried it yet, but am going to soak hickory chips in the canister ahead of cooking and then use a smaller amount of liquid. I'm hoping it will smoke the bird from the inside as well.
3) the base is perforated to drain away fats but lets enough remain to help baste any vegetables or other foods being cooked.
4) you want to bake indirectly with this, so plan on banking your coals to the sides of the grill. We used ours on a traditional Weber kettle grill that has baskets for the coals for indirect cooking.
5) cooking times are going to be dependent upon the fire and the bird's size, so use a meat thermometer and place it in a deep section of meat where it will read a core temp rather than surface.
6) there was plenty of room between the bird and the cover on our Weber kettle. Another style of charcoal grill might be different.
7) have a platter ready for when the cooking is done. Since the bottom of the roaster is perforated, it will drip grease anywhere you go if you just try to carry it. So, set the cooker, bird and all, on a platter to move it.
This is a nice improvement over the "beer can" method. It's sturdy and supports the bird nicely. The handles, when used with hot pads or mittens are, well, handy. It's a nice accessory for less than a $20 bill.
I've used this gizmo now 4 times 3 chickens and one small turkey breast on my gas grill. When I first got it, I didn't think the so-called "non-stick" coating was going to work very well, but I was surprised to see that I could scrub off the baked-on crud with an ordinary dish scrubber and some soap and water pretty easily. I'd say it takes about twice as much effort as, say, a Silverstone pot used for spaghetti sauce.
Stores pretty neatly too just lay the smokestack on its side and it fits on the shelf in less space than a fry pan.
As for how it works, I've never used any other kind of vertical roasting device so I have no idea if there are better ones out there. But this one seems to work just fine! The cup capacity is only about 6 ounces, but there is always leftover beer or orange juice (my favorite) still in there after the bird is done cooking so I figger the cup size is big enough.
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This is an easy way to cook chicken on a grill. The bird comes out juicy and tender and didn't take alot of the cooks time to prepare. This product deserves an A+ in my book.
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I ordered this in 2007 and just now had to dump it (4 years later) due to the non-stick finally giving way and the metal rusting. I used it so many times that I lost count! Mostly used in the oven, I sat it on a pan to keep the juices from dripping and then just seperated the fat from what juices I wanted to use. Really delicious meals, and SUPER simple to use.
I injected the chicken with flavorings, chopped up some carrots, parsnips, onions and potatoes (and seasoned), then roasted everything together. The veggies may be roasted whole or chopped largely so as not overdone. I used the juices as a dressing for the meal or for gravy, but it doesn't need anything added very tender and moist. I will be buying the stainless steel version this time ) because I want the next one to last even longer.
I love the dual uses the holes allow the fat to drip away while seasoning the veggies just enough to keep them moist, but healthful. It is wonderful on the grill for roasting smaller cuts of veggies with or without the chicken. The handles are a must when setting on a tray in the hot oven/grill!!! Very helpful most other ones do not have handles. I did a lot of research to find the right roaster with all the features that I wanted. This one is also easy to clean and store because the well/vertical part lifts off.
This one is a great value for seeing if you like a vertical roaster and how often you will use it.
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After the first use, before we even washed it, the non-stick coating was peeling off the wok. We returned it to Amazon who made the return as easy and quick as possible. I wouldn't buy the wok again (I'm going to buy a stainless steel one instead) but I was very pleased with Amazon's processing of the return.
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