I feel that for the purpose of thrift, as with grilling, if you’re going to oven roast, roast your whole meal. Meats love to be roasted. Here’s the trick: crank your oven to full--absolutely full heat. With your empty roasting pan inside, let your oven get up to temperature and then place your meat in the roasting pan and let it sizzle. When the outside of your meat starts to look finished--a lovely, golden brown color for chicken or turkey, and a dark brown exterior for red meat--lower your oven's temperature to 250 and cook until your desired doneness. Perfect roasting is that simple!
If you’re roasting steaks in the oven, have your oven at full and heat your cast iron pan on the stove top to medium high temperature, or about 80 per cent full. Add your duck fat or cooking oil and then, after 5 to 10 seconds of smoking, place your perfectly seasoned and completely towel dried steaks in the pan – they will sizzle. Let them cook (caramelize) for 20 to 40 seconds and then raise the temperature to maximum and listen for the sizzling to pick up tempo. Flip the steaks and allow them to sizzle on the second side for 2 to 5 seconds. Then, as fast as you can, put the pan straight in the oven and close the door. Try not to lose any heat! Let the steak cook on the second side a little longer than the first side and then flip back to the first side for 30 seconds to 1.5 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow the meat to rest for 2 to 3 minutes before you cut into it. It will be perfect! The cooking time is subject to the size of the steak and how you would like it cooked; blue, rare, medium rare, medium, medium well, well done or black as hell.
The absolute best results I have had with turkeys have been when I roast them at full heat for about 15 minutes – they look completely cooked, the skin is golden. Then, lower the temperature to 200F and cook for 4-6 hours if it is 15 pounds, or 8-10 hours for 30 pounds – slow and low. I apply this principle to many larger pieces of meat; crazy high heat for 15 minutes, or until the outside looks cooked, and then slow and low.
Here’s a great way to save yourself some time and money during the work week. Roast meat on a Sunday and have it ready to be made into quick, inexpensive, and wonderful meals all week long.
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Now that you know how to roast meat perfectly, add your vegetables—potatoes, corn on the cob (cut into 2 to 3 inch pieces), carrots, chunks of onion, squash, etc.—to the roasting pan. Remember, the vegetables won’t take as long as a roast, so add them to the pan part way through the roasting time. The results will be amazing! This is a thrifty way to cook a beautiful meal for your family. It’s easy to clean up and you’re cooking everything in the oven, in one pan.
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