that wonderfully complicated process by which amino acids and reducing sugars recombine to form enticing roasty aromas—really begins to take off At this range, meat will quickly brown and crisp Ah—a dilemma revealed itself: In order to maximize browning, I had to cook the meat in a sufficiently hot oven —I tried 400°F But the same time, I didn’t want the interior to reach above 125°F Since a big beef roast cooks from the outside in, by the time the center had reached 125°F (that is, 120°F in the oven, followed by a 5-degree rise in temperature after resting), there was a perfectly browned exterior, but the outermost layers had risen closer to around 165°F to 180°F, rendering them overcooked, gray, and dry, their juices having been squeezed out I was left with something that looked like this: I know, I know—not pretty Score: • Commandment I: Perfect Crust? Check • Commandment II: No Gray Zone? Negative • Commandment III: Full-on Juiciness? Negative OK, so what if I went to the opposite extreme, cooking the roast at a much lower temperature? I cooked another roast in a 200°F oven until the center reached 125°F Well, just as with boiled eggs, the temperature at which you cook is directly related to the difference in temperatures between the center and the outside layers In other words, by cooking it at a lower temperature, you minimize the proportion of beef that goes above the ideal final temperature I was able to eliminate the gray band of overcooked meat almost completely Of course, any browning was also right out the window, leaving me with a roast with pale, anemic exterior Again, not pretty ... related to the difference in temperatures between the center and the outside layers In other words, by cooking it at a lower temperature, you minimize the proportion of beef that goes above the ideal final temperature... I went to the opposite extreme, cooking the roast at a much lower temperature? I cooked another roast in a 200°F oven until the center reached 125°F Well, just as with boiled eggs, the temperature at which you cook... beef that goes above the ideal final temperature I was able to eliminate the gray band of overcooked meat almost completely Of course, any browning was also right out the window, leaving me with a roast with pale, anemic exterior