Using Convection Ovens

[Medeiros]

I've just started trying to use the convection oven in our coach and could use some help.

Most of the pans I have are too large for the turntable so I have to turn it off when I cook. I've found that the oven cooks hotter in the back left corner. Does anyone have suggestions for finding smaller cookware that will fit on the turntable? I'm trying to cook a roast for our Christmas dinner and will have to set a timer so that I can turn the pan around every 20 minutes or so.

I'd really like to find cookware designed to be used in motor coach convection ovens.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

[wolfe10]

Disclaimer-- Dianne is the chef in the family. This is her advice, NOT mine-- thank goodness.

I really like Corning ware for roasts and casseroles, and silicone bake-ware for things like cakes, bread, and muffins (usually the 6-muffin size fits the turntable). I insulate the corning ware dish and lid in a towel for traveling and layer the square and round silicone bake-ware between other pots and pans to minimize shifting and rattles when we drive.

Silicone, because of its flexibility, isn't much good for roasting because the hot liquid has a tendency to splash when you remove the roast from the oven. When I remove a cake or pie, I remove the baking rack with the pan in place and let it cool before attempting to move the silicone baking dish. Once tour baked goods are ready to turn out of the pan, they have usually set up enough that they don't fall apart.

I also have a full set of "nesting cookware" by Cuisinart that is stainless steel with copper and aluminum sandwich bottoms. Handles are removable so the pots all fit inside one another for maximum space utilization. We bought these for our sailboat initially and have used them in both our boat and motorhome ever since. But they are expensive. I saw a set at William and Sonoma that looked identical. Metal is fine in a convection microwave if you are using convection baking, slow cook, or even low mix baking. NEVER use metal of any kind for microwave or high mix roast settings.

Hope this helps.

Dianne

[ReneeEimerman]

I use the silicone bakeware too as described above. I also like to use the nesting pyrex rectangle dishes. You can buy in a set of three and they have the red lids for freezer to oven to table to refrigerator. They are different sizes and for the two of us, works fine.

[CrazyCruzers]

Reading this thread raised my curiosity;

Can you use the turntable when convection cooking?

I thought "no" because the air must circulate around the pan, so my wife takes the turntable out and replaces it with the rack. I just checked and the rack does fit on the turntable dish so it is possible to use both at the same time. Does using the rack on the turntable while convection cooking improve the process?

[wolfe10]

Yes. I checked with Dianne. She leaves the turntable in and turning on convection as well as microwave unless the pan is too large to turn.

Brett

[hermanmullins]

Most ovens, Gas Electric, convection and Microwave will all have hot spots. When we use our oven for baking we will set the timer for half the cook time rotate the dish and finish cooking. This way the hot spot cover all and not just one spot.

Hope this helps.

We are going to have Dianne as our cooking moderator.

[windsport1]

I too am learning to use a convection oven and not thrilled with it!

I have found that corning ware and pyrex products are well sized for the turntable. These are not made specifically for RVs but readily available and seem to work fine.

One thing I have learned the hard way is how long it takes to preheat the oven when you want to broil something. Mine takes something like 30 minutes to preheat and then it gets so hot that you need to be mindful of your heat alarm going off in the process.

Guess we are all a work in progress with these things and learning a new skill is supposed to ward off dementia so onward and upward with our convection ovens, eh?

Hope your Christmas dinner went well. You are brave to tackle that so soon!