What Is a Shallow Roasting Pan?

As a person in love with cooking, you must have come across the word shallow roasting pan. You must have imagined what it looks like and its use in the kitchen. Well, think no more as this article is about what is a shallow roasting pan.

This will enlighten you on everything you need to know about a shallow roasting pan if you plan on purchasing one for your kitchen.

What Is a Shallow Roasting Pan?

A normal roasting pan is used to roast meat in an oven, either with or without vegetables. A shallow roasting pan is a roasting pan, and what makes it stands out is its depth.

The sides of a typical shallow roasting pan measure 3 inches, which means it has a short depth than a normal roasting pan. It is usually rectangular or oval and it always comes with handles on both sides of the pan to enable a safe and convenient transfer from the oven to the counter.

What to Use a Shallow Roasting Pan For

Using a shallow roasting pan is pretty easy, and they can come in handy when cooking:

• A tiny portion of fish or meat, like a whole chicken
• Bacon
• Homemade bread like preparing your favorite bread pudding
• Re-heating leftovers
• Vegetables
• Large casseroles

It is also necessary to place your roasting pan in the center of your oven to enhance proper even airflow.

Why Choose a Shallow Roasting Pan?

Why is it so necessary to go for a shallow roasting pan? A shallow roasting pan is needed because the low edges of a shallow roasting pan allow for hot air to go round evenly around the food, which is essential in obtaining uniform cooking.

Materials to Consider

When looking for a shallow roasting pan, you must remember that a good roasting pan is made of thick materials. The thickness will enable an even distribution of heat. The most commonly used material for making a standard shallow roasting pan is stainless steel with an aluminum core.

Size of the Pan

You need to know that it is essential to choose a large enough pan to contain your food so that it does not touch your pan’s sides. Your food touching the sides of the pan means that your food is coming directly in contact with the heat, and it might lead to your food being unevenly cooked (either overcooked or burned).

Shapes of the Pan

The shallow roasting pan comes in two different shapes: rectangular and oval.

The rectangular shape usually has a larger surface area than the oval-shaped roasting pan, and they typically allow for the even circulation of air. At the same time, the narrower sides of an oval pan can prevent the actual circulation of air, especially when the pan is too full.

The rectangular shape can be easily found in an average kitchen, can usually contain a roast, and accommodate evenly spread veggies. At the same time, the oval-shaped shallow roasting is perfect for a significant cut of meat, an entire fish, and a full chicken.

Making Use of the Roasting Rack

You can choose to use a roasting rack with your shallow roasting pan or not. It doesn’t change a thing. But there is a likelihood that your set of shallow roasting pans comes with a roasting rack, so here are some advantages of using a roasting pan:

• The rack will raise your food. Keeping it away from direct heat and helping to drain juices from the bottom of the pan.
• The rack can prevent the bottom of the roast from overcooking.

Making Use of the Lid

It is advisable to use a lid while using your shallow roasting pan. It will help accelerate the progress of your cooking. In a case where your roasting pan does not have a lid, you can make use of aluminum foil.

Most importantly, it is important to know what your recipe. Specifically, it needs as some food recipes do not require you to use the lid, while some do.

Cleaning a Roasting Pan

It is expected that there would be baked on grease after using your pan for cooking. Hence, it is important to know how to clean your roasting pan after usage. Here are different ways in which you can clean your shallow roasting pan without damaging it.

• Cleaning with Hot water: This can be done by filling your roasting pan with water and bring it to boil, then make use of your spatula to scrape off spots from your pan. Additionally, wiping with hot water can also help to clean other pan like stainless steel pan.
• Cleaning with Baking Soda and Vinegar: This cleaning technique can be achieved by sprinkling a baking soda inside your roasting pan and adding vinegar to it. Then, after letting it stay for a bit of a while, scrub it off. Baking soda is a powerful cleaner and you can even use it to clean hard anodized cookware.
• Making use of an oven cleaner: If you want to employ this method for cleaning your shallow roasting pan, make sure you are using a standard pan, and this means that your pan has to be made up of stainless steel.
• Cleaning with a cleanser: You could also make use of a mild and harmless powder cleanser.

Conclusion

If you have successfully read through this article, it is safe to say you now know what a shallow roasting pan is. Their uses and how important it can be in the kitchen. Especially for those who are in love with roasting their meats.