jacob burton's blog

To roast something is to surround it with hot, dry air. It is a great technique to cook any number of items including fish, poultry, meat and even vegetables.

Roasting and baking are basically the same thing, except roasting is usually used when referring to meat, poultry and vegetables, while baking is usually used to refer to fish, breads and pastries. This is nothing more then culinary semantics, and both techniques are really one in the same.

Proper Technique For Roasting

• Never cover your product when roasting. Covering will create steam, and instead of roasting your meat or vegetables, you will instead be steaming.
• When roasting meat or other forms of protein, try to always use a roasting rack. This will keep the product from simmering in its own juices, which will cause the underside to poach and not roast.
• If using a conventional oven to roast, anticipate hot spots and uneven cooking. The product which you are roasting will cook faster on the back side then the side closer to the front of the oven since most of your heat is lost through the door. To avoid uneven cooking, be prepared to rotate your product, especially when roasting for extended periods of time.