On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 309

roastsandwholeanimals.Itexposesthemeat
surfacetobrowningtemperatures,butitdoes
so both evenly and intermittently. Each area
receivesanintense,browningblastofinfrared
radiation, but only for a few seconds. During
themanysecondswhenitfacesawayfromthe
heat,thehotsurfacegivesupmuchofitsheat
to the air, so only a fraction of each blast
penetrates into the meat, and the interior
therefore cooks through relatively gently. In
addition, the constant rotation causes the
juices to cling to and travel around the meat
surface, basting and coating it with proteins
andsugarsforthebrowningreactions.
Thefulladvantagesofspitroastingare
obtainedwhentheroastingisdoneintheopen
air,orinanovenwiththedoorajar.Aclosed
ovenquicklyheatsuptobakingtemperatures,
andthemeatwillaccordinglyheatthrough
lessgently.
Barbecuing This distinctively American


cookingmethodtookitsmodernformabouta
century ago. Barbecuing is the lowtemperature,slowheatingofmeatinaclosed
chamberbymeansofhotairfromsmoldering
woodcoals.It’sanoutdoorcousintotheslow
oven roast, and produces smoky, fall-apart
tendermeat.
Modernbarbecuingdevicesallowthecook
tocontroltheamountofheatandsmoke

produced,andfacilitateperiodicbastingwith
awiderangeofsauces,mostofthemspicy
andvinegary,tointensifyflavor,moistenthe
meatsurface,andfurtherslowthecooking.In
thebestdevices,thewoodisburnedinone
chamberandthemeatcookedinasecond
connectedchamber,sothatthere’snodirect
radiationfromthecoals,andonlythe
relativelycoolsmoke(around200ºF/90ºC)
transfersheat,inefficientlyandtherefore
gently.Ittakesseveralhourstobringlarge
cutsofmeat—slabsofribs,porkshoulders
andlegs,beefbriskets—toaninternal