In certain circumstances and places there is no choice of means, and, nolens volens, the oven has to be used; but, in this case at least, all possible precautions should be observed in order to counteract the effects of the steam above mentioned. 252—LARDING BACON FOR ROASTS 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 fire, but also to prevent these from drying while the legs, which the heat takes much longer to penetrate than the other parts, are cook- ing. The slices of bacon should therefore completely cover the LEADING CULINARY OPERATIONS 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 penetrat- ing 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. 3. With small game the fuel should be wood, but whatever fuel be used the fire ought to be made up in suchwise as to produce more flame than glowing embers, 254—OVEN ROASTS The degree of heat used for each roast must be regulated according to the nature and size of the latter after the manner of spitted roasts. An oven roast, in the first place, should always be placed on a meatstand, and this should be of such a height that at no given moment during the cooking process the meat may come in contact with the juices and fat which have drained from it into the utensil beneath. Failing a proper stand, a spit resting upon the edges of the utensil may be used. No liquid of any kind, gravy or water, need be put in the baking-pan. The addition of any liquid is rather prejudicial 118 GUIDE TO MODERN COOKERY than otherwise, since by producing vapour which hangs over the roast it transforms the latter into a stew. Remarks.—Whether spitted or in the oven, a roast must always be frequently basted with a fatty substance, but never with any other liquid. 255—THE GRAVY OF ROASTS The real and most natural gravy for roasts is made from the swilling of the baking- or dripping-pan, even if water be used as the diluent, since the contents of these utensils represent a portion of the essential principles of the roast fallen from it in the process of cooking. But to obtain this result neither the utensils nor the gravy ought to have burned; the latter should merely have solidified, and for this reason a roast cooked in a very fierce oven ought to be laid on a pan only just large enough to hold it, so that the fat may not burn.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

In certain circumstances and places there is no choice of means, and, nolens volens, the oven has to be used; but, in this case at least, all possible precautions should be observed in order to counteract the effects of the steam above mentioned. 252—LARDING BACON FOR ROASTS 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 fire, 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 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. 3. With small game the fuel should be wood, but whatever fuel be used the fire ought to be made up in suchwise as to produce more flame than glowing embers, 254—OVEN ROASTS The degree of heat used for each roast must be regulated according to the nature and size of the latter after the manner of spitted roasts. An oven roast, in the first place, should always be placed on a meatstand, and this should be of such a height that at no given moment during the cooking process the meat may come in contact with the juices and fat which have drained from it into the utensil beneath. Failing a proper stand, a spit resting upon the edges of the utensil may be used. No liquid of any kind, gravy or water, need be put in the baking-pan. The addition of any liquid is rather prejudicial than otherwise, since by producing vapour which hangs over the roast it transforms the latter into a stew. Remarks.—Whether spitted or in the oven, a roast must always be frequently basted with a fatty substance, but never with any other liquid. 255—THE GRAVY OF ROASTS The real and most natural gravy for roasts is made from the swilling of the baking- or dripping-pan, even if water be used as the diluent, since the contents of these utensils represent a portion of the essential principles of the roast fallen from it in the process of cooking. But to obtain this result neither the utensils nor the gravy ought to have burned; the latter should merely have solidified, and for this reason a roast cooked in a very fierce oven ought to be laid on a pan only just large enough to hold it, so that the fat may not burn.

A guide to modern cookery