Roasting

Purely radiant heat provided the best means of cooking tender joints of meat, game and poultry. It gave succulent and delicately-flavoured results, but only at the expense of considerable labour. If a joint was placed in front of the fire, the surface facing the flames would quickly char, insulating the remainder, and ruining the meat. It had therefore to be constantly turned, so that the burst of heat received from the fire was absorbed into the joint during the remainder of its rotation. Even so, it was best to start with the meat perhaps 18 inches away from the fire until it heated through, only then moving it closer, as a well-cooked exterior would still insulate the interior, and leave it almost uncooked, even if roasting continued for several hours. Since this rotation was time-consuming, roasting appears to have formed little or no part of peasant cookery, none of the necessary equipment being listed in inventories of cottage households, even those supplied with metal cooking pots and similar goods.¹