Cuisinart 15 Inch Stainless Steel Roaster Review

It’s November, which means the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays are coming soon. Since it’s a pretty chaotic time of the year, I wanted to get ready for the holiday season before it arrives. One of the important things I need to do before the holidays is find some new cooking utensils and supplies before it’s too late to get the item in the mail or they are out of stock in store. The first item I needed to buy is a new roaster pan.

I usually use a disposable roaster pan, but after years of putting up with the flimsy pans and the increase of price, I finally had enough. After doing some searching for a new pan, I found the Cuisinart 15 Inch Stainless Steel Roaster With Non-Stick Rack for sale on Target’s website. I purchased it and wanted to talk about it in case anyone is interested in buying the pan or is looking for a pan similar to it.The roasting pan looked like this after I took it out of the shipping box…

There was a cardboard wrapper around the pan and the rack. This is supposed to protect the rack from getting scratched and to provide important information about the pan and rack.

The listing on Target did not say what temperature the rack or pan are oven safe at, but the cardboard wrapper said the oven safe temperatures on it…

After I took the cardboard wrapper off, the rack and pan looks like this…

The pan is made out of stainless steel…

And the rack is made out of metal with a non stick coating..

The cardboard did protect the pan and rack from being scratched during shipping. The rack also had additional protection on the legs thanks to plastic tubing tied to the bottom of the legs. This prevented the rack from getting scratched as well as the pan before it is used.

As for the cardboard wrapper, it has care instructions for the pan and rack on the back…

Since the cardboard has the care instructions for the pan and rack, I cut this part off and kept it. That way I can care for the pan and rack better.

Now that I showed what the pan looks like and what it comes with, how well does the pan work? Do I like it? Are there any drawbacks to owning this pan?

Well, after using the pan, I can honestly say I love this pan. The pan works very well. The pan conducts heat very well and is sturdy enough to be used many times for many years. The rack is also sturdy enough to hold a turkey and not bend easily under it’s weight. It is also easy to clean and the cleaning instructions are very clear about how to clean the pan and rack when they are dirty in a variety of ways.

Even though I love this pan, there are still some drawbacks. First, the pan is heavy. I didn’t actually weigh the pan, but according to the listing for the pan on Target.com, it weighs 4.5 pounds. This makes it much heavier than any aluminum pan I ever handled. (I know that aluminum metal is light weight, but if you are switching from aluminum to stainless steel, you’ll notice a huge difference in weight.) Since the pan is so heavy, it can be hard to lift the pan from a counter to the oven and back with a turkey in it. My kitchen area is small and it’s sometimes hard to lift heavy pans out of the oven. (Thus why I usually stuck with aluminum pans instead of buying the stainless steel versions) I really noticed the weight of the pan when I lifted it out of the oven after cooking my turkey in it. I was able to handle it, but I know it will be difficult to handle the pan for anyone who does not have a lot of upper body strength or has a kitchen layout that makes it hard to put in and pull out pans from the oven.

Secondly, this pan’s handles are kind of… odd. They are well bolted onto the pan, but it can be hard to grab the handles. Especially when wearing pot holders/oven mitts. This depends on the kind of pot holders/oven mitts used and how big your hands are, but it is something to take into consideration when you’re trying to buy the pan.

Finally, the last major drawback is how much the pan can hold and the safe temperature for the pan and the rack. The listing on Target’s website and the cardboard wrapper did not mention any weight limitations for cooking food. Despite this, I discovered a turkey that weighs ten pounds or more cannot fit in the pan while using the rack. This issue can be remedied by cooking a smaller piece of meat, but if you are cooking something for many people, it could become an issue. Especially if the pan is also cooking vegetables at the same time.

As for the safe temperature, the pan and the rack do not have the same safe temperature. Safe temperature means the maximum temperature the item can tolerate before experiencing some sort of problem. These problems can include causing the coatings to become damaged or the metal starts to become damaged or, in some cases, melt. The rack for this Cuisinart pan has a safe temperature of 400 degrees Fahrenheit while the pan set has a safe temperature 500 degrees Fahrenheit. I believe this is due to the rack’s non stick coating. The coating could be damaged when exposed to temperatures over 400 degrees. If you are interested in buying this pan for a specific recipe, please check the cooking temperatures to make sure the pan can be used for that recipe.

Despite it’s drawbacks, the pan is a really good pan for the price. When I purchased it, it is normally priced about $56 USD but I was able to purchase it on sale for $35 USD. It is affordable and perfect for someone who makes smaller meals but wants a high quality brand pan. It’s not a pan for everyone, but it is still a great pan with a great, sturdy rack.

Well, that’s all for now! Thank you for reading!