There are three modes of roasting - before the coals, under a sheet of flame in a gas stove, and in an ordinary range or stove. The last named process is unanimously conceded to be inferior to either of the others, but the oven is always available while the first two are not, unless special preparation has been made for the work.

For roasting before the fire it is necessary to have the range constructed for this purpose, and a tin screen with a spit and jack to place "before the coals, on which to do the work. Some of the roasters are arranged with a spring-jack; the meat is placed on the spit and the spring wound up, which sets the meat revolving slowly before the fire. The meat should first be placed near the coals to quickly crust the surface, and then moved back a little to cook through without burning. Baste the meat frequently ; and if the roast is very large, it should be surrounded with a buttered paper. Just before the meat is done, it should be basted with a little butter, then sprinkled with flour and placed nearer the fire to brown. Sprinkle a little salt upon the roast, but not until it is ready to serve, as salt draws out the juices. The fire should be made ready some time before putting in the meat, that the coals may be bright and hot; and it should be strong enough to last through the roasting, with possibly the addition of a little coal.

In roasting in a pan, the meat should be placed on a meat rest, and thus raised from the bottom of the baking pan. (This rest is described among the kitchen utensils.) Dredge the meat with flour, salt and pepper it, and sprinkle a quantity of flour in the bottom of the pan. The salt draws out the juices, but the flour unites with them, making a paste that soon hardens and imprisons those within the meat. When the flour in the pan is brown, put in just enough water to cover the bottom. After the meat has browned, it should be basted at least every ten minutes, with the gravy in the pan, and then treated to another light sprinkling of flour. The water in the pan should be renewed frequently, but none should be added during the last half hour, so that there will be nothing remaining in the pan but oil and sediment. When the meat is done, lay it on a warm platter, lift the meat-rest from the pan, pour off the fat, and scrape the sediment from the sides and bottom. Place the pan on the stove, and add a cupful of hot water; when this has boiled up once, stir in a thickening composed of flour and water rubbed to a thin paste, pouring in only a little of the paste at a time so the gravy will not be too thick. Let the gravy boil for two or three minutes to cook the flour, stirring constantly; then season with salt and pepper and strain into a hot dish. The time required for roasting meat is given in the cook's time-table.

Roasting Time-Table

Beef, sirloin, rare, per lb., 8 to 10 min.

Beef, sirloin, well done, per lb., 12 to 15 min.

Beef, rolled rib or rump, per lb., 12 to 15 min.

Beef, long or short fillet, per lb., 20 to 30 min.

Chickens, per lb., 20 min.

Fish, if long and thin, per lb., 10 to 12 min.

Fish, if thick, per lb., 15 min.

Game, 30 to 40 min.

Goose, per 1b., 18 to 20 min.

Grouse, 30 min.

Lamb, well done, per lb., 15 min.

Mutton, well done, per lb., 15 min.

Mutton, rare, per lb., 10 min.

Pork, well done, per lb., 25 min.

Pigeons, 30 min.

Small Birds, 20 to 25 min.

Turkey, per lb., 20 min.

Tame Duck, per lb., 40 to 60 min.

Veal, well done, per 1b., 20 min.

Venison, per lb., 15 min.