Customer Reviews

Norpro Stainless Steel Vertical Roaster, With Infuser

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

They did a comparison of many types and styles of roaters on America's Test Kitchens, and came down to two decisions: The best way to roast a chicken is vertically, and this product beat out much more expensive roasters as their favorite.

They suggested the following, which works perfectly even without using the infuser: Place roaster in a roasting pan to catch the drippings. Make some slits in the skin, then oil, season and bake bird at 325 until it reaches a temp of 140 deg in the breast meat. Take it out for a few minutes, raise the temp to 500 deg, and add a cup and a half of water to the drippings in the bottom of the pan. This keeps them from burning and smoking in the hotter oven. Next, cook for maybe 20 min more until you hit an internal temp or 160. This gets the outside super crispy. You then glaze that sucker with your favorite glaze, bake just another five minutes, then take it out and let it cool a bit. You can then use a separator to defat the watered down drippings and use it to make a quick gravy if you desire while the bird stands for a few minutes before slicing. It really does make the most evenly crispy roasted chicken I've ever seen without using a rotisserie.

We raise organic chickens here and had a non-stick tree before. It rusted after just a few times in the dishwasher that had a much smaller base. This base is nice and deep with a large diameter. Some of our chickens get to be about 10-12 pounds and they still stand up just fine. The grease drains out of the chicken as it bakes, so be sure to place the entire thing in the center of a baking tray (I line mine with foil for easier cleanup.) Just spray the entire tree and cone with Pam before adding the seasonig and chicken, and the entire thing comes out squeaky clean from the dishwasher. It is wonderful. We've had it for over a year and a half, using it as much as 3-4 times a month, and it still looks new!

I think the drip tray wasn't pressed right. The two uprights that hook into the drip tray would not fit. Try as I might, they would not fit. My oven was on, the infuser was filled with rosemary and lemon juice the chicken was unwrapped and seasoned and I could not assemble the darn thing!

I decided to go ahead and MAKE it work. So, after grabbing my needle nose pliers, screwdriver, screw and a HAMMER, an hour later, I finally got it where it would work.

I cooked a four-pounder for almost two hours at 350 degrees. The chicken was crisp on the outside, moist on the inside and delicious!

One observation is that the drip tray was up to the brim with drippings after cooking a four pound chicken. I had placed the roaster in a pan which caught the juices when they spilled as I lifted it out of the oven. It makes me think that the drip tray was designed without the infuser in mind. The infuser takes up cubic capacity in the drip tray.

If you like skinless chicken, the skin just pulls off in large sheets, or you can use an electric knife to slice the breast with the skin on.

All in all, I think this will be a valuable cooking tool (now that I have it assembled), and I look forward to experimenting with different seasonings in the infuser, I also want to try it on the BBQ grill when the weather gets better. I just got really mad when the darn thing would not fit together out of the box, hence the lower rating.

I first bought this becuase I was looking at the electric roaster versions seen on informercials, but couldn't bring myself to spend so much money on one. I'd thought I'd take a chance on this much less expensive vertical roaster and I am so glad I did! We eat a lot of chicken and the double roaster allows one for now and one to pick the meat from and eat later. I've tried different seasonings and types of chicken (whole fryers vs free range vs roasters) and they are just like the descriptions: crispy outside and juicy inside.

They do take longer to cook this way, but the slower cooking is also what keeps the flavor there. I use prepared chicken flavorings, but have also used just lemons, salt and pepper.

Clean-up is easy and so is storage. I now try to give one of these away as gifts every chance I get, but unfortunately have had trouble finding them. I hope this is just temporary because this simple design makes such an easy,delicious roasted chicken that it would be a shame if they were no longer manufactured. I highly recommend this vertical roaster to anyone who likes flavorful chicken.

I roasted two chickens side by side in an outdoor gas grill, one on my Norpro and one on an older vertical rig. The Norpro bird cooked faster, was more juicy and looked beautiful. I since purchased a second Norpro and retired the older rig. Thanks.

The Vertical Roaster preformed just as the review in Cooks Illustrated magazine illustrated that it would. I was very pleased with the outcome of my roasted chicken. The Roaster was well constructed and held the roasting chicken vertically with no problem. The Infuser held the drippings, this resulted in a clean oven with no spills. Finally the stainless steel finish cleaned up quickly and the equipment folded up so that I was able to store it in the original box. I was very satisfied with it's performance.

Alex Lea

I have used and looked through a lot of roasters online before deciding on this one, and it works really, really well. The middle compartment holds whatever you want to flavor the chicken and has a vented top, and it keeps the flavoring separated in the bottom pan piece, which catches all of your grease and runoff (I like to baste the chicken while it's cooking). It's a great roaster, you can even use it in the oven, as long as the chicken isn't too large for the bottom pan. I liked it so much that I bought a 2nd one, to be able to do 2 chickens at a time. It cleaned up very easily and breaks down pretty conveniently (and ingeniously), and it holds the chicken up extremely well. Of all the roasters I've used over the years, this one is the best - if you like making drunk chickens or want to, this is the one to get.

I saw this on America's Test Kitchen TV show. They recommend this model as their favorite. The roaster is easy to put together. The cross ring is a little tight to snap right in the groove first time. All and all it's a very good roaster and does a very good job. The chicken lifted off easily. The best thing I the skin is crispy all around and no soggy bottom. Even with the oven rack, the back of the chicken never turn crispy. Take one extra step by separating the skin and the meat (breast, thigh and leg), in way they are not sticking together. Poke some holes on the skins (breast, back and especially legs and thighs). Pat dry and season the chicken. The fat drains out from the skin creating a nice crispy skin. For extra flavor and moisture, slip small tiny butter pat on top of chicken breast in between the skin and meat to keep it moist throughout the cooking. (sort of self basting and add extra flavor)

I like this model because it's elevated higher than other model. The chicken legs is not into the dripping pool of liquids. You still have to use a roasting pan to catch the extra juices overflowing from the dripping pan. I feel more confident using this roaster than an actual beer can. I am not sure about the paints from the beer can do to the chicken. I highly recommend this model. The cleaning is very easy to clean.

I am going to experiment more on different way of season the chicken.

This vertical roaster works beautifully! The liquids in the center cone infuse the whole chicken with flavor and moisture, while the entire outside of the bird is exposed to the heat, resulting in perfectly crispy skin all the way around. In my experience, the chicken cooks more evenly as well (no more overdone breasts with underdone thighs), and somewhat more quickly than traditional roasting methods.

If you like crispy skin, you will love this product since all of the skin is exposed. No more soggy skin where the bird rests against the pan. The meat still stays nice and juicy.

Note: the Amazon review of this product ("If your last experiment with a vertical roaster...") does not appear to refer to this roaster. This roaster can not be used as a typical roasting pan (or rather, not very well), nor could you roast more than one bird. The photograph is correct.

This was just what I was looking for. After using aluminum cans for years, this is just what the odctor ordered. Holds a 6 lb. chicken quite stable, the pan jucies are easy to retrieve, cooks evenly all around and most tender. I have been experimenting with different fluids for infusion, and haven't dried a bird out yet. love it.