Hamilton Beach - Turkey Roaster - Cheese Vat

[Buck47]

Fellow Members:

I got the idea of using a Turkey Roaster from one of the post on this forum. That member purchased a new one and tested it for usable temperature ranges. Alas the unit he tested would not go below 100F.

Anyway just for giggles I pulled out my Roaster thinking I could always just plug and unplug as needed to keep temp within range. I purchased this a Fleet Farm store in Minneapolis over 12 years ago. Have used it many years for cooking Turkeys at Thanksgiving. They where expensive back then and normally not available on the retail market. I remember paying $74.00.

But here's what I've discovered. This unit can hold and maintain overnight temps in the high 60's - 68F to be exact.

One recipe I use calls for 4 gallons fresh raw milk from the evening milking warmed to 68F - inoculated with 1 cup buttermilk and held overnight at room temp. (IE: 68F) This old Hamilton Beach cooker holds this temp perfectly all night from 9:00pm to 6:30am the following morning - even with kitchen temps dropping to the mid 50's in the winter.

A temp of 86F can also be held for hours as needed.

It would seam the older units have a much better rheostat control than the newer models being sold now.

It's simple to use. Just remove the lid. Remove the roasting pan.

Pour in 10 cups water (for the water bath), and replace the roasting pan.

Add milk - 4 gallon max, and set desired temperature.

As you can see in the photo I made a line with a "Sharpie" marker at 68F and have a X scratched in the paint where I set 86F.  92F to 102F is the second dot below the 150F.
The need to increase the temperature by no more than two degrees every five minutes has been easy to attain.

To drain I use a plastic tube to siphon into the sink or stock pot for making Ricotta.

Next time I make cheese I'll take more photos of my process if anyone is interested.

The possibility of stacking cedar at temp (as seen in videos) should be easy as the roasting pan can be lifted and tilted at about 20%. Push all the curd to the high end of pan -whey continues to drain, cut and stack curd. Simply put the lid on to maintain desired temp as most of the pan is still in the water bath.

So for what it worth, I thought I would pass this information on to others.  I'll try and answer any question you may have.

Regards: john

[susanky]

Thanks for posting.  That is a great idea!  I have a turkey roaster, though it is only a couple of years old. (Actually, it is not even out of the box)  I'm going to check it out and see what it does.
Susan

[Buck47]

Hi Susan,  I remember spending all day fussing with mine to make sure it was really giving and holding at the different Temps. I wanted.

Be sure to add the water (10 cups), and then fill the roasting pan with four gallons. I use a piece of tape to hold the thermometer.

Let us know how it works.

Regards: john

[Boofer]

Necessity...the mother of invention. 

Another good inexpensive workaround.

-Boofer-

[Buck47]

Thanks Boofer,

I've have it loaded with another four gallon Raw milk tonight. Temp set and holding at 68F
So it's coffee at 6 Am and start heating milk to 86F.

What I need to find or make is a nice curd cutter 1/2x1/2 inch that fits the size of the roasting pan. Any ideas?

Regards: john

Necessity...the mother of invention. 

Another good inexpensive workaround.

-Boofer-

[mikeradio]

You can use a PID to control the roaster.

http://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=13&products_id=44

Turn the temp to high, plug the roaster into the PID and put the probe into the liquid

[susanky]

I have been giving some thought to a curd cutter as well.  It is pretty easy to find stainless steel wire.  If I figure out what to make the frame out of, it could be threaded in a grid pattern at intervals, ie 1/2", then drug through the curd to instantly cut into cubes.  This would work, right?  Any suggestions for the frame? 
Susan

[Cheese Head]

John, great idea, review and pictures really help, thanks! I've never looked at one, so I just looked on Amazon.com in US and they make a large 22 quart one but can't see the thermostat too see if it is like yours, maybe I have to visit a store (horrors). Question, these things have a water bath to keep the turkey moist while cooking right? Also the 22 US quarts, is that the volume of milk that it will hold or the volume for a turkey including lid volume?

suansky there are some discussions on making Curd Cutters in the Equipment - Making Board including this one on why not to go with a grid.

[bmckee561]

You can use a PID to control the roaster.

Turn the temp to high, plug the roaster into the PID and put the probe into the liquid

I use a PID controller to control a double boiler set-up, smoker, and HLT for beer brewing.  It is very portable and the temperature probe is easily switched out for various uses.  The controller actually varies the electrical output from 0 -120VAC so using it on the Roaster should work quite nicely.  The SSR is not an on/off type control, it is actually an analog output (4-20ma), so the temperature control is quite accurate and I can program the controller for a Ramp/Soak that will automatically increase the temperature at set times and inside a prescribed time period.

Salute!   

[Buck47]

Hey John, bmckee561, susanky & Mikeradio,

What I've found out from others who have purchased the newer Turkey Roasters is they are not able to turn them down lower than 100 F.  Another problem is the newer ones are not meant to be used with a water bath. Something about the way the heating elements are layed out.

Mine is over 15 years old now. What I would recommend is looking in second hand stores and garage sales for on older one like I have.  I would think $20.00 would pick one up. ebay is another option.  Or a guy could check out church basements and if they have old ones ... offer to buy them a new one in exchange.   

The PID control would be a excelant option when making a larger custom vat. I saved the link for future reference --- thanks.

John: as to the waterbath. When cooking a turkey you don't use a water bath surrounding the roasting pan. The roasting pan lifts out for cleaning, I don't believe the manufacture designed the base or tub as a water bath unit. I just added water to mine to distribute the heat around the roasting pan. I will try and add a photo tomorrow.

As to the 22 quart  .. the photo I have showing the milk in the roasting pan is four gallons of milk. Maximun volume is four US gallons. (see photo below)

BTW: I posted the photo showing make & model numbers thinking it would help in identifying the age of the unit.

Thanks to everyone for your helpful suggestions and ideas.

Regards: john

There is a used one on ebay starting bid $17.99. "This is an 18 quart Hamilton Beach Roaster Oven that is like new. It is in excellent condition. model 527W. It cooks a 20 pound turkey in just 2 hours. It comes in the original box. "
http://cgi.ebay.com/Hamilton-Beach-18-Quart-Roaster-Oven-/180594378840?pt=Small_Kitchen_Appliances_US&hash=item2a0c438858



A person may want to check and see if it's a series E - type R001   

[Soozletew]

The turkey roaster mentioned in the previous post has not been sold--an interested buyer could contact the owner through eBay.

I bought a 22 qt. roaster (still in the box, hadn't even been opened!) today from a craigslist seller for 20 bucks--very pleased!  It seems to me that putting the included rack on the bottom tray, adding water to cover and placing the tray in which the milk is cooked on top would be an easy way to make a water bath.  Since the seam between the bottom tray and the heating unit is sealed, I foresee no problems.  I'll add a PID as suggested above (brilliant!) and be good to go.

Comments?

This forum is da bomb for great ideas!   So very glad I found it!

[Buck47]

The turkey roaster mentioned in the previous post has not been sold--an interested buyer could contact the owner through eBay.

Ahhhhhh ... well actually it is sold. I call the seller Sunday morning and purchased it.  I didn't bid during the auction as others from this forum may have had a snipe bid placed and I did want to step in on their bidding. 

Hee Hee: The seller did tell me he had had two people contact him while the auction was open with questions about low temp settings. My thinking it was members who have read this post. Anyway I now have two roasters, one for use and one as a backup in the event the one I'm using fails.

I bought a 22 qt. roaster (still in the box, hadn't even been opened!) today from a craigslist seller for 20 bucks--very pleased!  It seems to me that putting the included rack on the bottom tray, adding water to cover and placing the tray in which the milk is cooked on top would be an easy way to make a water bath.  Since the seam between the bottom tray and the heating unit is sealed, I foresee no problems.  I'll add a PID as suggested above (brilliant!) and be good to go.

Congratulations on your purchase. As i mentioned in my first post I place 10 cups of water directly into the  main compartment and simply replace the roasting pan down into the unite. Add my milk and turn on the heat to the Temp I want. Simple.

Let us know how yours works out.  Be sure to include many photos. 

Regards: john

[Soozletew]

Pretty cool to've snagged that extra roaster!  I'm downright smug about mine.

So, I've got your suggested 10 cups of water in the main pan, have not put in the rack on the bottom, and 2 gallons of water are warming in the top pan.  If I can get away with not using a PID, so much the better.

Thanks very much for the kind words of encouragement.  I'll be taking pix once I get a load of milk underway.  The next batch will likely be chevre (the holidays) that'll go straight to the freezer until time to thaw, roll in herbs and put into gift baskets, since I've managed to fill both my dorm fridge and wine cooler with cheeses and have had to go to a plastic box cave for the newly formed blues today!

[Buck47]

O' man I know how you feel.  I played around with mine for most of one Saturday.

One word of caution: These puppies hold a temp for a  Long time. I found it easy to over shoot temp when I was fussing around with it.  but once I found where I needed to set it ... it's become very easy to use.

Best of luck -- have fun.

Will check back again tonight.  Regards: john

[Marta]

Thsi is a great idea, but I have a couple of questions...

1. Somewhere else on this forum (can't find it now) enamel pots were not recommended because of the acid in the milk?  Did I dream this?

2. Can't those after market rheostat controllers damage a unit's thermostat?  Or is that a myth?

My newer (about 10 years old) roaster says all over it NOT to put water in the base.  So obviously there are differences in the models.   

Still, I don't see why this would be any harder to control than my electric stovetop, and should realize slower and more even heat.  For sure it's going to be more bottom-heavy ... better stability for larger batches.  It hasn't gotten much use as a turkey roaster.  Time for this thing to earn its huge footprint in my storage area.