Roast

For a serve that drips with flavor, consider roasting or cooking roast. This is a cooking method wherein the food (usually meat) is open to dry heat in the oven or over a fire. It is also done by surrounding the food with hot embers, grit, or stones, as specified in the Merriam Webster dictionary. You can watch recipe videos for roasting meat online.

What is Cooking Roast?
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) urges roasting when preparing meats that are tender. “To roast, meat is set on a stand in a shallow, uncovered pan and is cooked by the indirect dry heat of an oven. To hold the meat tender and minimise shrinkage due to the evaporation of moisture, a fairly low oven temperature of 325 °F should be practiced.”

Since the meat is seared during roasting, the flavor is elevated especially when a crusty brown surface is made and the juices respond to the procedure known as Maillard reaction or as caramelization (as per Wikipedia). This does not mean a lovelier flavor in meats, but more of that rich, savory flavors given off by cooked meat.

Roasting is also befitting for large cuts of meats (hence, whole turkeys, whole chicken, whole duck, pork tenderloin, rump roast, rib roast and others). It is essential, however, to observe safety especially in maintaining the appropriate internal cooking temperature of the meats. That’s also the grounds why most of the stuffing for chicken and turkey is prepared or just served on the side.

According to the USDA site, they “do not advocate cooking meat and poultry at oven temperatures lower than 325 °F because these foods could remain in the "Danger Zone" (temperatures of 40° to 140 °F) too long. Bacteria which may be present on these foods breed speedily at these temperatures.”

Tools for Roasting
In preparing roast, the household cook requires an oven, a roasting pan, a roasting fork, and a meat thermometer. Usually, the heavy roasting pan is high sided, with a roasting rack suited in the center which carries the meat and allows the drippage to fall into the pan below. The roasting pan should be large enough to hold the meat and its supports of veggies and sauces. Otherwise, the food cooks slowly or unequally when the pan is packed or the pan dries up quickly because it’s too big for the meat.  The roasting pan does not have a lid because once the pan is covered and not exposed to the dry heat, the food is steamed more than roasted.

How to Roast Meat and Other Foods
Place the biggest bit of food (usually meat, poultry, or fish) in the centre of the roasting pan. Add the vegetables, wine, chicken stock or barbecue sauce. Put the roasting pan in a preheated oven and cook the food until tender and done.  Measure the internal temperature of the meat using a meat thermometer that can be put into the flesh of the meat. Obviate drying up the meats by overcooking.