CONVENTIONAL OVEN
OVEN CONTROL
Heating of the oven is achieved by turning the control clockwise to the required oven tempera- ture scale on the control panel, as recommended in the temperature charts. The pilot light will immediately come on and off during cooking as the thermostat maintains the correct tempera- ture.
The charts on pages 20 and 21 are a guide only, giving approximate cooking temperatures and times. To suit personal taste and requirements, it may be necessary to increase and decrease temperatures by 10˚C.
The oven is fitted with ‘heat clean’ liners and two rod shelves. The heating of the oven is achieved by turning the control knob clockwise to the required temperature as recommended in the temperature charts. The pilot light will immediately come on and will automatically go off and on during cooking as the oven thermostat maintains the correct temperature.
It should be noted that at the end of a cooking period there may be a momentary puff of steam when the oven door is opened. This will disperse in a few seconds and is a perfectly normal characteristic of an oven with a good seal.
The correct positioning of food is indicated on the temperature charts.
TO PREPARE MEAT FOR ROASTING IN YOUR CONVENTIONAL OVEN
Wipe the joint, dry well with a clean cloth, kitchen tissue etc. and weigh it. Meat which has been stored in a refrigerator should be allowed to come to room temperature for approximately 30 minutes before cooking and frozen meat or poultry must be completely defrosted beforehand. Beef, lamb, mutton and poultry may be lightly floured, but pork should be scored, brushed lightly with oil and rubbed with salt to give crisp crackling. Place joint in the main oven meat pan supplied with your cooker. (Small joints weighing less than 1.75kg (31/2lb) should be roasted in a smaller meat pan / tin - or they may be ‘pot roasted’ - a small joint in a large meat pan causes unnecessary oven splashing and evaporation of meat juices). Additional fat should not be added, except for veal, very lean meat or poultry which can be ‘larded’ with bacon fat or brushed very sparingly with cooking oil or melted fat. It is not necessary to baste, when roast- ing in an electric oven and liquid / stock should not be added to the pan.
For optimum cooking performance, there must be clearance between meat pan and oven sides. The meat pan must be placed lengthways in the oven to allow for air circulation.
TIMES AND TEMPERATURES FOR ROASTING
The secret of succulent, tender meat, is not to roast it too quickly at too high a temperature. Best results are obtained when roasting is carried out at a low temperature. When a lower tem- perature is used, the joint loses less weight, is more tender (too high a temperature causes meat to be tough and dry) and the splashing of fat onto oven interior is reduced to a minimum. When a complete meal is being cooked in the oven, cooking time may need to be increased and temperature may need to be raised for approximately the last 30 minutes of the cooking period (for instance when cooking Yorkshire pudding to serve with roast beef). The suggested times and temperatures given below should be used as a guide, but may vary according to:-
1.Whether you prefer meat rare, medium or well done.
2.The size and shape of your joint.
(a)A short thick joint requires a longer cooking period than a long thin joint.
(b)A small joint under 1.5kg (3lbs) takes longer per 450g (1lb) cook in the time given for ‘minutes’ per 450g (1lb) without the ‘minutes’ over added.
(c)Boned/rolled and stuffed joints take longer to cook through than those with a bone. The weight of stuffing should be added to the oven ready weight of the meat / poultry to calculate roasting times.
NOTE: Remember to switch off the oven control after cooking is finished. If the door of the oven is left open for long periods of time with the control switch ON, then the grill element will become hot. The correct positioning of food is indicated in the temperature charts.
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