Description
This article is from the Cooking
and Conversions FAQ, by with numerous contributions by Victor
Sack cooking.faq@mac.com others.
4.8 Roasting
Roasting is cooking food by exposing it to dry heat. In this, it is
similar to baking and grilling/broiling. It differs from the former in
that, first, roasting can take place not just in the oven, but also in
the open, i.e. directly over the fire or smouldering coals; and, second,
in that the term 'roasting' is much more often applied to meat and
poultry than to other food, though fish and even vegetables can be
roasted, too. It differs from the latter in that roasting is a method
much better suited for thicker cuts of meat or other food, whereas the
initial searing is followed by cooking at, sometimes, slightly lower
temperatures and, more importantly, by frequent basting, typically with
the drippings from the roast.
Like some other methods, roasting is a way of cooking by 'sealing and
browning'. The food is lightly coated or painted with fat, such as
butter, oil, or a mixture of the two, and exposed to a very high heat,
thus searing the surface, coagulating and caramelising it. When
grilling a relatively small piece of food, this would be almost the end
of the cooking process, but with a thicker roasting piece, the inside
would still be raw at this stage. So, one lowers the heat a bit and
continues to cook, basting the roast frequently and turning it
occasionally, or even rotating it continuously if the food happens to be
roasted on a spit over an open fire.
Since it is dry heat which is employed in roasting, it is important to
never put the lid on, or cover the roasting food, as otherwise the food
will be steaming, not roasting. Occasionally, though, it may become
necessary to shield certain parts of the roast with foil to prevent
overcooking, or to cover (bard) certain drier meats or game with strips
of bacon or other fat, which is removed towards the end of cooking to
allow the meat to brown.
For rare meat, a rule of thumb is to roast it about 30 minutes for the
first pound and 13 to 15 minutes for each additional pound.
If a roasting pan has been used, cooking juices will have collected in
the bottom. They can be deglazed with a little liquid, such as wine or
water, to form a delicious gravy which can be poured over the roast or
served separately, or used to prepare a more elaborate sauce.
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food, cooking, conversion, substitution, equivalent, measure, glossary, culinary
