Customer Reviews

KitchenAid Gourmet Distinctions 16.5-Inch Roaster with Rack, Stainless Steel

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I purchased this item expecting that it would be a light to medium grade stainless steel pan, would be easy to clean up, and would produce well-browned even cooking results. I was very pleased, and feel it's a fabulous value and really good quality. I prepared a wonderful "kurobuta" pork roast, and finished a sauce on top of my stove from the pan juices. There were no hot spots in the pan at all, and after all was said and done, the pan was a breeze to clean - no scouring was even required!

The rack was a pleasant surprise... it is very sturdy, and fits snugly in the pan - elevating contents at an appropriate height, but cradling them in a slightly rounded rack instead of a sharply angled "v" shaped rack. This allows for the liquids to evaporate evenly, coating the food being cooked well and keeping meats moist.

I'm sure the All-Clad pan for almost 4 times the price would perform very well too, but this pan performs very well and is a tremendous value.

I really like the roasting rack. It cradles turkeys and roasts very well, while not getting itself stuck to the meat during the cooking process.

However, I was disappointed with the roasting pan itself. With it being KitchenAid Distinctions, I assumed it would be a thicker stainless steel like the rest of my set.

I like to make gravy on my stovetop with the drippings, but I'm less confident turning my back on this pan for a few seconds to drain potatoes or something because, with the thinness of the pan, the heat does not spread throughout the bottom of the pan evenly. There are distinct hot spots.

That said, the price was great. And I really do like the rack much more than any I've ever tried.

I just used this to cook a 20 lb. turkey for Christmas dinner. The bird maxed out the pan. Next time I will not purchase larger than an 18 lb. bird as 19 or 20 is too large.

Other than the size limitation of an 18 lb. bird, the pan and rack are great and well designed. The roasting pan is plenty thick enough. Sure, it's not as thick as the 40 year old Revereware I inherited from my Grandmother, but what is now days that doesn't cost an arm and a leg? I made gravy from the drippings right in this roasting pan and did not have any problems. If your gravy burns using this pan, it's because your temp is too high and/or you're not stirring enough. I look forward to many years of use.

Bought this roaster for our Thanksgiving turkey. It worked out wonderfully. It is not to heavy so when you get a 20 lb. turkey in it you can still lift the pan. It did a great job, nice browning, and the pan is easy to use with the stand up handles and easy to remove rack. It also worked wonderfully on top of the stove to make the gravy from the drippings. Couldn't be happier, I highly recomend this pan.

Having read other reviews I bought this with a little trepidation, wondering if this was going to be a lightweight , cheap product. COnsidering AMazon's great discount, and needing one in a hurry (credit Amazon's speedy delivery!) I bought it. I have NOT been disappointed! The pan is heavy enough to brown potatoes and veggies for roasting yet light enough to carry with a full load of a 17 lb turkey. Having tried it on my gas stove, I have had no probelms with hot spots or inadequate browning. The rack is conveniently placed, and also sturdy enough, with fold down handles. I would dedinitely recommend it to anyone looking for a good basic roasting pan. Worth every penny!

This is probably worth the price but I was quite disappointed to find that the bottom is not flat so it will not work on my flat-top stove for making sauces from the pan drippings. It is slightly indented with a slightly raised rim, therefore it does not make contact with the stove except at the edges. I'm sure this design was needed to add structural strength since overall the walls and bottom are quite thin (thinner than I expected) and would otherwise tend to warp. If you have a gas stove or a stove with raised burners, this would probably work fine. It is attractive and has a good rack.

This is a good, well-made, inexpensive roasting pan. I would highly recommend it, except that it's too thin for my tastes.

When making gravy, if you don't watch the pan very carefully, it will burn. This is primarily because the bottom is so thin that it doesn't distribute heat very well, so you get hotspots.

I'm also not fond of the rack handles... too close to the pan handles and liable to fall inwards when moving the pan. I've burned myself once when pulling the pan out of the oven: now I'm much more careful.

On the other hand, those two caveats aside, this is an excellent pan.

I tried hard to pick out a roasting pan in the correct size. Unfortunately, I guessed wrong and this pan is considerably smaller than I wanted / expected. From the picture, it looked like the dimension of the actual pan would be close to the size specified. But in fact the handles stick out quite a bit and the pan is much smaller than 16 1/2 inches.

This is frustrating because I do most of my shopping online. Why aren't the actual pan dimensions given anywhere?? I can see that you need to know the overall size so you can fit the pan in your oven. But another thing you really need to know is the size of the food that will fit in there.

The pan itself seems to be fine quality, just too small.

I was a bit wary after reading some of the reviews here, especially about the thickness of the pan. I was half-expecting it to be just a tad better than aluminum foil, but was pleasantly surprised. It's certainly not flimsy and I have no reason to believe it would warp when exposed to heat. It's not an All-Clad but neither is the price. It seems more than thick enough to hold a medium sized bird, and then to use it on the stove to make gravy.

I had a stainless steel roaster that was given to me 50+ years ago for my 16th birthday & loved it.Somebody attending a pot luck decided they liked it too, so I've had to replace. This is definitely equal to or better.I especially like the roast rack.Excellent job of cooking our Christmas turkey with no just about losing it on the transferring from the oven.Great value for the price.