Put Down Your Roast Recipe And Do One Prep Step First

Making a roast is a fairly straightforward operation. There are no complicated steps to prepare the meat — making a dry rub or marinade doesn't usually require exact measurements — and once it's in the oven, the cooking is hands-off. Where a roast does demand attention is the temperature.

You might be aware of the importance of the internal temperature you're aiming for when cooking meat, but it's just as important that you are roasting at the correct temperature. For example, your crispy pork belly relies on slow roasting to start, followed by a blast of heat. So if you take your roasting seriously, you need to check that your oven is delivering the temperature that it's displaying. 

Checking this is simple — you just need an oven thermometer (not a meat thermometer). Although Ina Garten swears by the Taylor Dial Oven Thermometer, we recommend a digital option for greater precision, like this ThermoPro. With the thermometer inside the oven, set it to the desired temperature, and once it's finished pre-heating, check that the reading on the thermometer matches. If it doesn't, you need to calibrate your oven.

Calibrating the oven simply means getting the temperature dial to match what temperature is actually happening inside the oven. The steps for calibration will depend on whether your temperature controls are digital or analog, and whether it's a gas or electric oven.

A gas or electric oven with digital controls is the simplest, though you will need your owner's manual handy to access the calibration settings. After you take the reading from your oven thermometer as above, you then adjust the temperature on the display to match what's on the thermometer. For electrical ovens with analogue controls, the theory is the same, but instead of using buttons to adjust the display, you'll need to remove the temperature knob and adjust using a screwdriver. If you have a gas oven with analog controls, it's better to err on the side of caution and call a technician to get the oven calibrated. Likewise if you find your oven is off by more than 35 degrees Fahrenheit, a technician can help diagnose any possible issues.

If this all sounds like too much hard work, there is another option. You can make a small investment in an infrared thermometer (like this surprisingly affordable Wintact Temperature Gun), which will give you instant and accurate readings of your oven temperature. Then simply turn up or down your oven until you reach the right temperature for roasting.