NESCO 4816-12 6-Quart Roaster Oven with Porcelain Cookwell - 750W Electric Countertop Roaster for Turkey, Chicken & Meals - Perfect for Holidays, Family Dinners & Large Gatherings (Red)

I was looking for at least an 18 quart roaster for a large turkey and a large slab of corned beef that I have. I chose the Nesco roaster because of the long-standing name and the many positive reviews. The first one that I got had a defective foot and it wobbled. It looked like the foot had been put on an angle. I returned that one to Amazon for replacement. The second one was better, but had a mark on the back that I couldn't remove. Oh well, perfection isn't something that comes will most new appliances. So I tried it.My first use was a large slab of corned beef. I have cooked many corned beef dishes from the store, but this was one we got from a local farmer and it was larger than I could fit in any of my Dutch ovens. For the size, I figured 5-6 hours on slow cook high. I had no idea how long it would take to get the water to a boil. I put the corned beef into the roaster and not quite covered it with water. The water was not cold, but not boiling either. It took well over 2 hours to get the water to 200 degrees. This was my first disappointment because it pushed our dinner back a couple of hours. It did seem to hold the temperature well once it got there - even when I added the vegetables later. I had it set at 250 degrees to maintain a slow simmer. The meal came out well, but the corned beef was more stringy than others I have cooked in the past. At this point, I don't know if it was the cooker or the corned beef.After the meal was done, there was the clean-up. I am a stickler about getting things clean with no marks from cooking. With only a water based dish, the porcelain surface was not easy to clean. It took multiple tries with scrubbies to get off the marks from the water .I was going to return the cooker until I took a closer look at other cooker of this size. Most don't even have a light to indicate the cooker is to temperature. Most of them also seem to have the same porcelain coating. At least this one has that has a light that indicates it is on and has reached the set temperature. I also bought the stainless cookwell, and hopefully this one is easier to clean. I opted to keep this roaster oven be cause of the indicator light that others don't have and, from feedback on other units, it isn't worse than any others. It is also possible that is didn't quite measure up to the Ninja 3-in-1 cooking system that I have. Unfortunately, that one doesn't come in larger capacities. It's very possible that my disappointment in this oven is because I used one with more bells and whistles first. Also, the amount of water added to cook the corned beef was quite a lot. Even so, I don't think it would have taken over 2 hours to heat to boiling on the stove top.My next project with this roaster is to roast a large turkey. I will update this review after I do that. It may be much more effective for its roasting abilities.Update:I did purchase the stainless steel cookwell, and it made a world of difference in the cleanup. The stainless steel is so much easier to clean than the porcelain. I did roast a 17 pound turkey in this cooker following the instructions I found on a web site to roast at a higher temperature to brown and then turn the temperature down for the remainder of the cooking and not open the cover to check. I used a probe thermometer to monitor the temperature so I didn't have to open the cooker. When it was done, the turkey tasted excellent and moist, but it was not at all browned. Maybe some of the newer self-basting lids on other oven cooker work better for browning.I've used and gifted this Nesco and the large one for 20+ yrs. The temperature control, easy cleaning and replaceable ceramic lined cooking well make the Nesco cookers a must have in every kitchen.I love that the cookwell is not heavy like the crockpot slow cookers. Easy on your back! It's versatile. Perfect for entertaining and doesn't take up alot of room on your buffet. (They look nice too!) Many times I've prepared food in my Nesco and transported it all to parties and luncheons and served warm. These are great year round. I use the Nesco year round. They're great in summer when you don't want to use your oven and heat up your house. Keeps our A/C bill down! It cooks as well as my gas range oven. I prepare roasts,, casseroles, side dishes (Mac n Cheese, Potatoes dishes etc); all are cooked thoroughly.I bought a new one only because my kitchen decor changed. I've bought them for college students. They love them. I gifted my daughter both the large and the 6 qt in 2000. She's still using them. The price is great because they last for decades.Nesco pots take the work out of cooking! Food always tastes great!I like this Nesco 4816-14 Roaster (6 quart). I like to slow cook foods over many hours but I also like to make them flavorful which also makes them quite aromatic. A slow cooker in our house overwhelms me with strong aromas for hours and hours. It smells good for about the first 20 minutes but then I crave relief! I wanted to move the process to our separate unheated garage but a standard slow cooker didn't have enough power to maintain a 250º temperature when it was cold outside. So, I took a chance on this roaster. Sure enough, the instructions indicated that it is capable of doing just what I wanted to do by specifically mentioning in the instruction booklet that it is suitable for use in a garage. I've only used it twice so far but it worked great. One day had temps in the 20's but the Nesco roaster maintained a 250º temp in our closed garage. Now, I can go crazy with onions and spices and let it cook away for hours with total disregard for any persistent strong aromas. To me, the food tastes better when I haven't been forced to smell it all day or night.Nesco claims it has that "circle of heat." I presume they are the only ones? I don't know. But, it certainly seems like a great idea that will keep me loyal to the Nesco brand. It means that the heating elements aren't on the bottom so as to cause burning of the food. Nesco says their heating elements encircle the cooking area from the side so there's less chance of burning.The cookwell is black porcelain. It cleans easily if you soak it and this one perfectly sits diagonally submerged in our standard sized kitchen sink. Nesco warns that, as porcelain cookware is known to do, it will discolor a bit where liquids and such touch the material. Even on the first use, the cookwell developed a cloudy "ring" at the liquid level and there were immediately some cloudy spots where drips of liquid had contacted the cookwell. They say it's only cosmetic. I guess that is so. It still cleaned up easily after soaking. I have to admit, I've got some black porcelain roaster pans for my gas oven that have also discolored in the same way. They've been fine for years so I'm not worried about the Nesco cookwell.I would purchase an upgraded model, however, if it was offered in stainless steel with a stainless steel cookwell. I like stainless. If I'm in a hurry, I don't have to wait for a soak. Stainless steel lets me immediately go to work with scrapers and a stainless steel scrubbing pad and get the job done quickly. You can't use anything but plastic scrubbers on porcelain, so, porcelain requires that soak time.There is a stainless steel roaster with a stainless steel cookwell in the Nesco product line but it is 18 quarts. That's too much for many of the small meals and roasts that I prepare. A bigger roaster requires a lot more broth and other ingredients to accomodate the larger size of the roaster no matter what quantity of food you may wish to cook. I do more "moist" cooking with liquids over a long period of time than purely "roasting" with dry heat.This Nesco 4816-14 Roaster (6 quart) uses about 600 watts. That means my electric garage door opener won't blow a fuse while the roaster is operating. Nice.(I keep repeating the model number because Amazon and blogs that plagiarize these reviews will sometimes jumble reviews for one product into another product's reviews. I'm trying to help keep this review identifiable.)I love this! It was difficult to find locally as we lost ours in a house fire 1/1/2021. Apparently, everyone was cooking or they are not making as many. Ours came with a few nicks in the red paint, but we needed to use it right away.La verdad no sabía muy bien que esperar del producto, me llamo la atención por que en navidad pienso hacer un pollito relleno, el producto llego antes de lo esperado,muy bien empaquetado, nuevo la verdad bien y el día de hoy lo probé haciendo un pollo relleno de verduras, como viene en grados farenheit pues me puse a investigar en grados centígrados ya que pues eso lo vi en secundaria y no me acordaba jijijiji, y bueno esto es por que la receta que segui era en horno, ya que en México creo que estos productos no se usan mucho y no encontre reviews en español, en particular en México y bueno, estaba nerviosa de como me quedaría y prepare el pollo, seguí las indicaciones de lo que se recomienda antes del primer uso y bueno, prepare el pollo siguiendo la receta al pie de la letra y deje el pollo 1 hora y media dejándolo 10 o 15 minutos más ya que era la primera vez que lo usaba y cual fue mi sorpresa el pollo quedo riquísimo, mi esposo esta encantando! Me dijo que quedo muy rico, la carne queda jugosa y muy suave, de hecho considero que con una hora y cuarto queda bien, ya que como vivo en una zona fría no sabia si con ese tiempo quedaria bien, ya que en mi horno de gas requiero dejar mas tiempo lo que indican las recetas, me agrado por que no estoy con que se me acabe el gas, o se me vaya a quemar, bueno como me pase un poquito el tiempo se me andaba quemando un ala del pollo, pero sin problemas. Estoy encantada con el producto, lo recomiendo por que el pollo queda muy rico, supersuavecito y ahorra mucho tiempo y queda muy muy rico, de verdad lo recomiendo, el pollo que yo hice era de dos kilos y quedo buenisimo.I have had one of these in the past and love it,, the size is perfect and am very happy with how it cooks.If you have never had one be sure to always oil the metal insert before using and know this little roaster will do an awsome job of cooking a roast or chicken then I make the gravy right in the insert.I had looked all over for about a year for a new one and was thrilled to see it available on Amazon.Have been away and just starting to finally use it. This is replacing another one I had for years that the element finally gave out (Different Brand).This Roaster is really wonderful so far. Baked a cake and the result was nice and brown on top as it should be and moist on the inside. Roasts, Poultry is juicy and tender. Room for a good size Turkey at about 9" to the top of lid. Everything comes out fabulous. I rarely use my oven any more as this does the job for our small family and is great when you have company as it basically leaves your Stove/ Oven for those extra items you need. Probably saves money in utilities because am heating up a smaller space. I use mine frequently. Have to say the Stainless Steel is attractive and makes for a good looking larger appliance.. Should there be any issues down the road I will update. So far it is Great and meeting my expectations. I think if you have never used one you would be pleasantly surprised.I ordered this and use it all the time. Has a full dial for degrees. Not just hi low and medI bought this roaster to cook my Christmas turkey, when my oven range failed, just before the holidays. The turkey eas cooked to perfection. I've also baked scones in it and they turned out great. It's like having an extra oven that you can just store away, until you need it. It cleans up easily. But you have to be very careful of the "lifting" rack because the bottom of it is very, very hot when you remove the food.