Baking or Roasting Method

• Baking, or roasting, is one of the easiest ways to cook. Simply put your meat in a roasting pan, season it to taste and put it in the oven to cook. You will need a roasting pan with a rack to use this method. A roasting pan is a fairly large, flat-bottomed pan with low sides. This design allows more of the oven's hot air to come into contact with the meat. The rack holds the meat out of the drippings, preventing it from becoming too greasy.

Indirect Grilling Method

• Indirect grilling is a simple technique that enables you to replicate your oven using your grill. You can use this technique with either a gas or a charcoal grill. On a gas grill, turn one set of burners to high and the other set to low. You will cook your food over the low burners, with the grill covered, letting the burners set to high work to heat the air inside the grill. On a charcoal grill, bank most of the coals to one side of the grill, leaving just a few under the main cooking area, to create a similar effect. Close the lid of the grill and let it preheat until the temperature inside the grill reaches 350 degrees Fahrenheit or higher, depending on your recipe.

When to Bake or Roast

• Baking or roasting is ideal in the winter, when it is too cold or wet to grill. It is also a good choice when you want to collect the drippings from the meat to make a pan sauce or gravy. Roasting allows the natural flavor of the meat to come through more prominently than grilling, because it is not overwhelmed by smoky overtones. Roasted, or baked, meats are generally cooked at lower temperatures for a longer period of time than those cooked on the grill. This is ideal for situations when you have plenty of time but can't or don't want to watch the roast too carefully. The slower roasting time of an oven gives you a longer span of time between perfectly cooked and overdone.

When to Grill

• Use the indirect grilling technique when it is too hot to turn on the oven, or when you want to add a smoky flavor to the meat. Be sure to place a disposable aluminum pan under the grill rack to catch any drippings. If fat drips onto the burners or charcoal, it could cause a flare-up. By the time the roast is cooked, these drippings will be too burnt to use in a pan sauce or gravy. Discard the aluminum drip pan as soon as the pan is cool enough to touch.