Editing Roasting (section)

== Meat ==

Before the invention and widespread use of stoves, food was primarily cooked over open flames from a hearth. To roast meat, racks with skewers, or, if accessible, complicated gear arrangements, would be utilized to turn the piece(s). In the past, this method was often associated with the upper class and special occasions, rather than customary mealtimes, because it required freshly killed meat and close attention during cooking. It was easy to ruin the meat's taste with a smoky fire or negligence to rotate it at regular intervals. Thus, elite families, who were able to afford quality meat, appointed this task to servants or invested in technology like automatic turning devices. With further technological advances, cooking came to accommodate new opportunities. By the 1860s, working families were able to afford low-priced stove models that became sufficiently available. However, the key element of observation during roasting became difficult and dangerous to do with the coal oven. Hence, traditional roasting disappeared as kitchens became no longer equipped for this custom and soon thereafter, "baking" came to be "roasting".{{sfn|Horowitz|2006|pp=5–7}}

Roasting can be applied to a wide variety of meat. In general, it works best for cooking whole chickens, turkey, and leaner cuts of lamb, pork, and beef. The aim is to highlight the flavor of the meat itself rather than a sauce or stew, as it is done in braising or other moist-heat methods. Many roasts are tied with string prior to roasting, often using the [[reef knot]] or the [[packer's knot]].{{sfn|Ashley|1944|pp=36–38 }} Tying holds them together during roasting, keeping any stuffing inside, and keeps the roast in a round profile, which promotes even cooking.<ref>{{citation|author=Epicurious|title=Video: Classic-Tying a Roast|url=http://video.epicurious.com/?fr_story=e44a72dbbcce9f3318cf280457e3af22d1d14994&rf=sitemap|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140725162523/http://video.epicurious.com/?fr_story=e44a72dbbcce9f3318cf280457e3af22d1d14994&rf=sitemap|url-status=dead|archive-date=25 July 2014|access-date=28 May 2009}}</ref> A  [[Hock (anatomy)|hock]] lock is a [[food]] [[accoutrement]] used to secure the [[Hock (anatomy)|hock]] (hind legs) of a [[bird]] such as a [[chicken]] or [[turkey (bird)|turkey]] during roasting and are typically composed of heat-resistant [[nylon]] or [[metal]].{{sfn|Hock|2009}}

Red meats such as beef, lamb, and venison, and certain game birds are often roasted to be "medium rare" "rare", meaning that the center of the roast is still red. Roasting is a preferred method of cooking for most [[poultry]], and certain cuts of [[beef]], [[pork]], or [[Lamb and mutton|lamb]]. Although there is a growing fashion in some restaurants to serve "rose pork", temperature monitoring of the center of the roast is the only sure way to avoid foodborne disease.{{sfn|Failure|2015}}

In [[United Kingdom|Britain]], [[Ireland]], and [[Australia]], a roast of meat may be referred to as a ''joint'', or a leg, if it is a leg.{{Citation needed|date=April 2021}}