Choose a roasting pan made of heavy metal so it won’t warp. A basic 14-by-16-inch one with sturdy handles is good for most recipes (and will work for your Thanksgiving turkey as well). If you’re roasting a small amount of food, use a smaller metal pan, about 9 by 13 inches, to keep the pan from drying out and burning. Even though shiny stainless pans are pretty, we find that darker pans brown foods better and make the morsels on the bottom of the pan more luscious for gravy.