Hot Air and Walls: Oven “Roasting”

In contrast to the grill, the oven is an indirect and more uniform means of cooking. The primary heat source, whether flame, coil, or coal, heats the oven, and the oven then heats the food from all sides, by means of convection currents of hot air and infrared radiation from the oven walls. Oven heating is a relatively slow method, well suited to large cuts of meat that take time to heat through. Its efficiency is especially influenced by the cooking temperature, which can be anything from 200 up to 500°F/95–260°C and above. Cooking times range from 60 to 10 (or fewer) minutes per pound/500 gm.