Poultry and game to be roasted ought generally to be partly covered with a large thin slice of larding bacon, except those pieces of game which in special cases are larded.
The object and use of these slices are not only to shield the fillets of fowl and game from the severe heat of the fires but also to prevent these from drying while the legs, which the heat takes much longer to penetrate than the other parts, are cooking. The slices of bacon should therefore completely cover the [117] ]breasts of fowl and game, and they should be tied on to the latter by means of string.
In some cases roasts of butcher’s meat are covered with layers of veal- or beef-fat, the object of which is similar to that of the bacon prescribed above.
[253—SPITTED ROASTS]
The whole theory of roasts on the spit might be condensed as follows:—
In the case of butcher’s meat, calculate the intensity of the heat used according to the piece to be roasted, the latter’s size and quality, and the time it has hung. Experience, however, is the best guide, for any theory, whatever be its exactness, can only give the leading principles and general rules, and cannot pretend to supply the place of the practised eye and the accuracy which are the result of experience alone.
Nevertheless, I do not say with Brillat Savarin that a roaster is born and not made; I merely state that one may become a good roaster with application, observation, care, and a little aptitude.
The three following rules will be found to cover all the necessary directions for spitted roasts:—
1. All red meats containing a large quantity of juice should be properly set, and then, according to their size, made to undergo the action of a fire capable of radiating a very penetrating heat with little or no flame.
2. In the case of white meats, whose cooking should be thorough, the fire ought to be so regulated as to allow the roast to cook and colour simultaneously.