roasts and whole animals It exposes the meat surface to browning temperatures, but it does so both evenly and intermittently Each area receives an intense, browning blast of infrared radiation, but only for a few seconds During the many seconds when it faces away from the heat, the hot surface gives up much of its heat 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 and sugars for the browning reactions The full advantages of spit roasting are obtained when the roasting is done in the open air, or in an oven with the door ajar A closed oven quickly heats up to baking temperatures, and the meat will accordingly heat through less gently Barbecuing This distinctively American cooking method took its modern form about a century ago Barbecuing is the lowtemperature, slow heating of meat in a closed chamber by means of hot air from smoldering wood coals It’s an outdoor cousin to the slow oven roast, and produces smoky, fall-apart tender meat Modern barbecuing devices allow the cook to control the amount of heat and smoke produced, and facilitate periodic basting with a wide range of sauces, most of them spicy and vinegary, to intensify flavor, moisten the meat surface, and further slow the cooking In the best devices, the wood is burned in one chamber and the meat cooked in a second connected chamber, so that there’s no direct radiation from the coals, and only the relatively cool smoke (around 200ºF/90ºC) transfers heat, inefficiently and therefore gently It takes several hours to bring large cuts of meat — slabs of ribs, pork shoulders and legs, beef briskets — to an internal ... meat surface, and further slow the cooking In the best devices, the wood is burned in one chamber and the meat cooked in a second connected chamber, so that there’s no direct radiation from the coals, and only the. .. Modern barbecuing devices allow the cook to control the amount of heat and smoke produced, and facilitate periodic basting with a wide range of sauces, most of them spicy and vinegary, to intensify flavor, moisten the meat surface, and further slow the cooking... radiation from the coals, and only the relatively cool smoke (around 200ºF/90ºC) transfers heat, inefficiently and therefore gently It takes several hours to bring large cuts of meat — slabs of ribs, pork shoulders and legs, beef briskets — to an internal