These Are the Best Roasting Pans for Your Thanksgiving Turkey
Turkey is the cornerstone of the Thanksgiving table. Yet it has a mid reputation, mostly because it can be difficult to cook well. It is a big bird, which means it’s harder to nail the exact right time and temperature to make every bite perfect than it is with, say, a chicken. Some people swear by a wet brine, others dry. Some stuff it; others don’t. Some stick the whole thing in the oven, and others break it down by parts before cooking.
But no matter what, the cookware you use is part of the equation. I’ll start by telling you about my favorite option — a piece of equipment I think is worth investing in for this task and beyond. Misen’s roasting pan is somewhat of a combination of a roasting pan and a sheet pan. It’s significantly less bulky than the traditional form. Still, it has higher sides than a standard sheet pan, which means it can hold big, juicy pieces of meat, and it features substantial handles on each side so you can comfortably lift it.
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Misen 3-in-1 Stainless Roasting Pan
Like a traditional roasting pan, the Misen version is made from stainless steel. “It cleans up so easily and always looks new after,” Strategist senior editor Winnie Yang says of the material; she pulls hers out multiple times a week. “I know some people like the patina you get on aluminum sheet pans, but they also get kind of a sticky residue sometimes, and that never happens with the Misen.”
It comes in nine-inch and 13-inch sizes, but the largest 18-inch pan (just big enough that I nestle my half-sheets right inside for storage) is what works best for large cuts. This past Thanksgiving, it held my butchered turkey in the fridge as the bird dry-brined for two days. It caught leaking juices and felt not at all precarious to lift out and clean up. I then cooked the turkey directly on it with great success. From there, it was easy to scrape up and pour out all the browned bits for gravy. (Indeed, you can technically do this directly in the roasting pan on top of the stove, though I prefer to transfer the bits into a saucepan so whisking is easy.)
Of course, you could use it for roasted potatoes, carrots, or Brussels sprouts — as well as any number of foods throughout the year. It happens to be especially great for turkey, but it certainly isn’t a one-and-done situation. Still, if this doesn’t appeal, there are other options.
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A traditional roasting pan with even higher sides gets the job done too. The biggest downside is storage, but if you have the space, that’s not an issue. In that case, All-Clad’s stainless-steel version is a great bet. The brand makes some of the best skillets and saucepans on the market in that material, and this pan is no different. All-Clad offers an especially large model with a stainless-steel insert, which I think is unnecessarily bulky. This one, though, looks just a bit heftier than the Misen.
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On the other end of the spectrum, a regular half-sheet pan works well, too — a method I learned from Alison Roman. You start with a wire rack fitted inside one pan for the brining process so juices can drip down without making the bottom of the bird gross. Then you transfer the turkey to a clean tray to cook. It’s a little more precarious to maneuver it in and out of the oven than with the Misen or All-Clad but certainly not impossible. Cooking-wise, it works well, as sheet pans emit very even heat. (Roman also notes if you cook vegetables to the side of the bird, they get really nicely browned.) You also probably already have one — and if you don’t, they’re much cheaper than roasting pans. And of course, they can be used for many other purposes throughout the year.
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If you are not big into cooking or have a super-small kitchen but have been tasked with the turkey this year, buying a disposable pan for such a specific task isn’t a bad move. It is really cheap and can be done away with after the holiday. The biggest downside here is that it’s much thinner overall, which means heat conduction won’t be as good as any of the options above — but it can get the job done if you prefer to prioritize convenience.
More cookware to help feed a crowd
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A low-sided enamel cast-iron braiser for vegetable sides.
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My favorite stockpot — a real necessity for Thanksgiving.
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