cooking on the very bottom of oven
The turkey recipe I am wanting to try, says to put the turkey in the roasting pan on the very bottom of the oven - no rack. Is this a good idea? I have been receiving mixed reviews - some say its okay, others not..
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Thank you so much for all advise and support. I understand lawyers, my fiancé is a lawyer and we own a law firm:) I plan to purchase a pizza stone (the one recommended by Americas Test Kitchen), that is easily available at my local cooking store and I spoke with manufacture and they said using a pizza stone is fine:) The highest temp the oven can be set is 500 degrees and there is no special roasting feature, just bake/warm/broil.
I will not add foil as it is not listed in recipe directions. Thanks again for all your advise, this has been so helpful and now I can go get more kitchen gear:) Happy Thanksgiving!
Second, keep in mind that if you are putting a large heavy pot on the bottom of your oven, completely covering the heating source (which as I understood Ms. Clarke's recipe when I read in the Times on the day it was published, is the point - to get maximum heat into the bottom of the roasting pan), you will alter the temperature in the rest of the oven, or at best, make it unreliable. If you plan to cook other items in the oven at the same time, be prepared to deal with uncertain temperatures and resulting effect on those other dishes.
Finally, if you cannot put the roasting pan directly on the bottom of the oven, consider putting a pizza stone on the bottom shelf and preheating it for at least an hour at a very high temperature (assuming that the pizza stone itself can withstand such heat -- better check on that, though, because many will not). Depending on how heavy your roasting pan is, the hot stone could serve the same function as the hot bottom surface. I would also consider preheating the roasting pan, but then, that's the way I roll. (I preheat my baking sheets when roasting vegetables.)
I hope this helps. ;o)
Do I need to cover this turkey with foil while roasting on lowest rack, with our without a pizza stone?? You are so helpful!!! :):) I like how you roll:):)
About pizza stones: It may be a bit late for this, but I'd go all out for a baking steel if I did not have a stone. I actually have refractory tiles (very high heat tolerant) purchased from a kiln supply store in SF - so many advantages to using them -- but I realize that may not be an option for most people.
To answer your question, heat the stone to its maximum tolerance and then turn the oven down to the standard temperature. It's critical too that you place the roasting pan on the shelf in such a way as to leave at least an inch all the way around, for proper distribution of the heat, and thus, keeping close to the recommended temperature.
I am not confident that most normal pizza stones are up to the task . . .
Now that you have the phone number for your manufacturer handy, you should call them again to ask which setting to use for this particular purpose. New ovens generally have a number of different options, with one that is best for roasting big birds.
I don't know what kind of roasting pan you have, but I'd probably just put it in for 5 - 10 minutes. It may not make that much difference. If you're using cast iron for the veggies, you can preheat it easily enough on top of the stove -- about a minute or two, but rotate the pan every 15 seconds or so, to distribute the heat more evenly.
Unless the recipe says to cover with foil, don't. Keep an eye on the bird, however, and if the breast starts to look really dark, you might want to loosely tent it with foil. I'd only do that for the last 30 minutes or so. ;o)
P.S. I probably would not go the trouble of getting a pizza stone tonight or tomorrow. With a new oven, putting the roasting pan on the very bottom shelf, and not opening the door too often should be fine.
Now, if you don't have a good thermometer to insert in the turkey, you should get one of those! You simply cannot know for sure whether the breast or leg meat is done, without it.
Good luck, and have fun! ;o)
Here is the link: http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1018403-splayed-turkey-with-herbs?action=click&module=Collection+Band+Recipe+Card®ion=Our+Best+Thanksgiving+Turkey+Recipes&pgType=supercollection&rank=1