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See why.Roasting Racks
What’s the best roasting rack?
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See Everything We Tested
What You Need To Know
A good roasting rack securely holds a roast, elevating it so it doesn’t sit in fat while cooking. It should allow hot air to circulate around the meat—key for accurate cooking and a perfectly rendered exterior. We’ve often disliked the racks that come bundled with roasting pans; even our winning pan’s rack is slightly unstable. What’s more, many roasting pans don’t come with a rack in the first place, and racks occasionally go astray. For years, we’ve turned to a nearly $25 rack from All-Clad.
But new models have entered the market, with snazzy silicone shapes and intriguing designs. To compare, we tested the All-Clad against six new racks, priced from roughly $8.50 to nearly $26, by roasting 250 pounds of chicken, beef, and turkey and ranking the racks on stability, capacity, cleanup, design, and—most important—how the food turned out.
Some racks were too small. Plump turkeys bulged over their sides as if the birds were trying to squeeze into their high school jeans. Except for one rack, bigger was better, providing both capacity and stability. Small racks skittered around because they weren’t broad enough to brace themselves.
Side support was key, too; those with U- or V-shaped baskets cradled their fowl upright, while flat racks’ birds lurched drunkenly, like fleshy ships run aground. Also problematic: undersized or nonexistent handles. Loaded racks are heavy, and large handles made them easier to maneuver.
The silicone models were eye-catching but didn’t have handles. More pressing was that they didn’t raise the meat enough, so their food steamed on the bottom. In fact, half the models didn’t allow for proper air circulation, an issue which was further illustrated when we tried to roast vegetables below a chicken, as we sometimes do when we want a handy one-pan meal. Models without enough clearance turned out pasty potatoes that literally paled in comparison to the crispy, caramel-hued tubers produced by racks with open, raised bottoms. Loads of space wasn’t necessary—our winning model had just ½ inch of clearance, but its open slats ensured that hot air had full, even access to the meat.
In the end, no rack outperformed our previous winner. Meat cooked on it always emerged perfectly rendered, it securely fit everything we wedged into it (including a 22-pound behemoth of a bird), and it performed well with our winning roasting pan but also worked with a range of pan shapes and sizes. For optimal roasting, it’s still our top choice.
Everything We Tested
Highly Recommended
- Cleanup: 3 stars out of 3.
- Cooking: 3 stars out of 3.
- Handles: 3 stars out of 3.
- Capacity: 3 stars out of 3.
- Stability: 3 stars out of 3.
- Versatility: 3 stars out of 3.
This broad rack had very little wiggle room between it and the roasting pan, so it always felt supremely secure, even when holding a 22-pound turkey. It handled everything we set inside it and had nice pronounced handles that were easy and secure to grab. It allowed for proper 360-degree air circulation, so its food was always perfectly browned and evenly rendered.
Recommended
- Cleanup: 3 stars out of 3.
- Cooking: 3 stars out of 3.
- Handles: 2 stars out of 3.
- Capacity: 3 stars out of 3.
- Stability: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Versatility: 2.5 stars out of 3.
This rack fit chicken, turkey, and roast beef nicely. Its adjustable center slats swing up to hold two upright chickens for side-by-side roasting. It was fairly stable, but its handles are located right where most roasting pans position their handles, so they were hard to grab at times. But it raised its contents up off the pan for great circulation and turned out perfectly rendered meat.
- Cleanup: 3 stars out of 3.
- Cooking: 3 stars out of 3.
- Handles: 2 stars out of 3.
- Capacity: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Stability: 2 stars out of 3.
- Versatility: 3 stars out of 3.
This rack worked well for chicken and roast beef, but a 12-pound turkey overflowed it and blocked its handles, rendering them useless. Its smaller frame slid around in the pan; not scarily so but enough that we had to take extra care. (Even though it’s called the “small rack,” Calphalon doesn’t currently sell a larger model.) Otherwise, it cleaned up readily and allowed for proper air circulation for optimal browning.
Not Recommended
- Cleanup: 3 stars out of 3.
- Cooking: 1.5 stars out of 3.
- Handles: 1.5 stars out of 3.
- Capacity: 2 stars out of 3.
- Stability: 2 stars out of 3.
- Versatility: 3 stars out of 3.
This rack has two sides that either lie flat or adjust into a V shape, depending on what you’re cooking. The V works well for chickens, but to fit roast beef and turkey, we had to place the rack flat, which didn’t allow for enough air circulation. Its handles were hard to grab, and its sides became easily unlatched and flopped over. It was also small and slippery, so it clanked around in the pan as we moved it into and out of the oven.
- Cleanup: 3 stars out of 3.
- Cooking: 1.5 stars out of 3.
- Handles: 1 stars out of 3.
- Capacity: 2 stars out of 3.
- Stability: 1 stars out of 3.
- Versatility: 3 stars out of 3.
This little rack slid around inside every roasting pan we tried it in; it boomeranged particularly dangerously when we removed it from the oven with a heavy whole turkey inside. Its “adjustable” handles are finicky and hard to grab. It didn’t have any side support, so turkeys flopped around on it, and it was too low for proper air circulation, so its roasts emerged with wan undersides.
- Cleanup: 2 stars out of 3.
- Cooking: 1.5 stars out of 3.
- Handles: NaN stars out of 3.
- Capacity: 2 stars out of 3.
- Stability: 2 stars out of 3.
- Versatility: 3 stars out of 3.
Made of sticky silicone, this two-piece rack gripped the pan very securely, but it smelled like burning plastic the first few times we used it and was hard to wash oil off of. More important, it wasn’t tall enough for air to circulate properly under the food, which left one side of the roast pallid and unappealing. And it was too small for a 12-pound turkey; without proper side support, the bird tilted awkwardly onto one wing in the oven.
- Cleanup: 2 stars out of 3.
- Cooking: 1 stars out of 3.
- Handles: NaN stars out of 3.
- Capacity: 1 stars out of 3.
- Stability: 1 stars out of 3.
- Versatility: 2 stars out of 3.
At less than an inch tall, this filigreed silicone band didn’t let enough hot air circulate around the food, so the undersides of its cooked cuts were pale and flabby. Its arms wouldn’t stay straight for even support, so turkeys and chickens leaned sideways. Without handles, testers couldn’t easily move it when loaded, and its tacky silicone exterior felt greasy even after multiple washes.
- Cleanup: 3 stars out of 3.
- Cooking: 0 stars out of 3.
- Handles: 1.5 stars out of 3.
- Capacity: 0 stars out of 3.
- Stability: 0 stars out of 3.
- Versatility: 0 stars out of 3.
We were intrigued by this model’s juice reservoir, but it made the rack so wide that it couldn’t fit inside any of the four roasting pans we tried it with. It works on the grill, where you wouldn’t need a roasting pan, but for oven roasting, it’s useless.
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The mission of America’s Test Kitchen Reviews is to find the best equipment and ingredients for the home cook through rigorous, hands-on testing.
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