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Cooking encyclopedia Techniques

Roasting

Also called oven-roasting; dry-roasting

Cooking in dry oven heat, uncovered, so the surface browns while the inside cooks.

150โ€“230 ยฐC (302โ€“446 ยฐF)

What it is

A high oven browns fast and cooks the outside faster than the middle; a low oven cooks evenly and browns little. Many good roasts use both โ€” low to cook, high at the end to colour, or the reverse.

Why it works

Dry air conducts heat poorly, so the surface can climb far above 100 ยฐC and brown while the interior rises slowly. The gap between surface and centre temperature is what you are managing, and it widens with oven temperature and with the thickness of the food.

When to use it

Whole birds, joints, whole fish, potatoes, roots, brassicas, nuts, whole spices.

What goes wrong

Opening the oven repeatedly; roasting straight from the fridge so the outside overcooks waiting for the middle; carving immediately; a pan so crowded the food steams.

Meridian cooking encyclopedia โ€” Watchman Productions

More on this shelf

  • Blanching Brief cooking in heavily boiling water, usually followed by cooling.
  • Blooming spices Heating spices briefly in fat or a dry pan to release their aroma before they meet anything else.
  • Braising Browning, then cooking slowly in a small amount of liquid in a covered pot.
  • Deep-frying Cooking fully submerged in hot fat, usually 160โ€“190 ยฐC.
  • Deglazing Dissolving the browned residue in a pan with liquid, to turn it into sauce.
  • Emulsifying Dispersing fat and water into each other so they behave as one smooth sauce.
  • Grilling Cooking over or under direct radiant heat, close to the source.
  • Poaching Cooking submerged in liquid held below a simmer, around 70โ€“85 ยฐC.
  • Reducing Simmering a liquid uncovered to evaporate water and concentrate what is left.
  • Resting meat Leaving cooked meat off the heat before cutting it.
  • Sautรฉing Cooking small or thin pieces quickly in a little fat over fairly high heat, moving them often.
  • Searing Cooking a surface hard and fast to brown it, before or after the inside is cooked.