Oven Roasting
Roasting in the oven of ordinary coal stoves or ranges is not considered so good as roasting before an open fire; nevertheless it may be said safely that the greatest part of meat roasting is done in close ovens. It appears, from various experiments that meat roasted or baked in a close oven loses rather less of its weight than if roasted by an open fire.
The excellence of a roast depends to a great extent upon the amount of basting it receives.
Some cooks season a joint before it is cooked, while others season it with salt and pepper just before it is served. There is a difference of opinion as to which is the more correct way of the two. Meat of newly killed animals requires longer cooking than meat which has been hung for a time.
In warm weather joints require slightly less time for roasting than in cold.
Boned and rolled or stuffed meats require longer cooking than the same joints would if neither rolled nor stuffed. The meat of young animals and that of old ones requires different treatment. As a rule young flesh, containing less fibrine, requires longer cooking. White meat, such as pork, veal and lamb, always should be well cooked and never must be served rare. The exact time and process of roasting must be left to the good management of the cook, who must be guided by circumstances and conditions. The cook's business is to serve the joint as full of nourishing qualities as possible. Though roasting is considered one of the easiest and most simple processes of cookery, it really requires quite as much attention to obtain perfect results as is necessary to prepare so-called "made" dishes, the recognized test for good cooks.