The cooking of animal food (1) : Roasting

There are six methods commonly employed, viz. roasting, broiling, baking, frying, boiling, and stewing.

[I'll do a post on one at a time]

Roasting

The joint should be first exposed to a great heat by placing it close to the fire. The effect of the heat is to form a crust of coagulated albumin on the outside fo the joint. This impermeable crust prevents the escape of the juices from the inside of the meat. In about ten minutes the joint should be drawn about twelve inches from the fire and the cooking completed at that distance.   To prevent it from scorching the joint must be kept constantly in motion, and the surface "basted" with fat. The general rule as to the time required to cook a joint is to allow a quarter of an hour for every pound, and a quarter of an hour over. This should be the minimum.

The roasting coagulates the albumin and myosin, and converts the connective tissue into gelatin, thereby loosening the muscular fibres. There are also the characteristic odorous compounds produced. The loss of weight during roasting varies from one quarter to one third, and is due mainly to loss of water.

Comment: as one can see, the concept of roasting on hight then low heat was well established a long time ago - instead of lowering the temperature, the meat was simply pulled away from the fire... trying to set the temperature to 180 degrees (as you would do with your oven) like this was probably a challenge but surely, that was a better way of fine-tuning the roast to your taste I think. Also note the rule on timing the cooking... that'll help me remember easily!