Roasting

To roast is to cook, say, a piece of meat either by utilising the direct heat from the fire, that is roasting on a spit, or the indirect heat reflected by the sides of the oven, of a cocotte or of a pan. Needless to say, the perfect roti is done on a spit in front of an open fire. It corresponds more or less to grilling, only the piece is always considerably larger, and that is why it must be arranged that it is revolving continuously, so that it is evenly cooked not only outside, but inside. The chemical reactions otherwise are exactly the same; the fat melts, the albumen and the glucose become carbonised and form a coating which prevents the essential juices from oozing out. In fact, the outside of the meat would become entirely charred if constant basting did not prevent it. And that is the thing to remember, that basting is not only done to prevent the meat from becoming too dry, but it is necessary for the inside of the meat to cook without the outside being entirely carbonised.