Roast

You can double or triple this recipe, although you probably won’t need to increase the egg mixture until the recipe is quadrupled.

Roast turkey is synonymous with autumn holiday celebrations. Because of the dangers of bacterial contamination, I prefer to bake bread-based turkey stuffing separately and stuff the turkey with garlic and herbs. Recipes for a variety of tasty glazes follow below. Check the guidelines chart for roasting time and temperature depending on the size of the turkey you are cooking. With turkeys up to 14 pounds, you can bake two or three accompaniment dishes—I suggest Creamy Garlic Potatoes (page 144) or Sweet Potatoes or Yams Roasted with Orange (page 145)—on the very bottom rack of the oven.

While the chicken roasts (it only takes about 30 minutes), prepare one of these sauces to dress it up, or simply serve with mashed potatoes and gravy prepared with the pan drippings.

I’ve baked these spicy chicken breasts for crowds, and always receive lots of compliments. The original recipe was for grill-cooking, but this version works year-round.

This simple sweet-hot glaze is one to remember when you’re down to the wire at dinnertime. Keep the ingredients on hand in your cupboard, ready to dress up ordinary chicken parts. Cover leftover glaze and store it in the refrigerator; it will keep for several weeks. In the convection oven, the chicken cooks quickly, retaining its tenderness and juiciness.

You need a V-shaped roasting rack for this. The pork is cooked to “tender rags”—long and slow with air circulating around it—producing the effect of rotisserie cooking. For a Caribbean flair, serve with black beans and rice. Serve leftovers in sandwiches.

Crunchy with peanuts and marinated in a richly flavored Asian-style sauce, this is good with steamed jasmine rice and stir-fried snow peas.

Roast chicken is a simple but perfect dish when convection roasted: the meat is juicy and the skin is brown and crisp. I reach for fresh herbs in the summertime or dried ones in the winter and a bit of butter, then slip them under the breast skin before baking. When there’s absolutely no time, I just put the chicken in the oven. Be sure to place the chicken on a rack above a shallow roasting pan for perfect air circulation. To turn this into a one-dish meal, add some vegetables—carrot chunks, potato cubes, onion wedges, fennel sticks, cut-up zucchini, or anything in season. Roast them in a single layer in a shallow baking pan beneath the chicken. Following this basic recipe, I give my favorite variations.

Tender, juicy pork tenderloins cook as quickly as boneless chicken breasts.

I’ve discovered that poultry really is juicier and more flavorful when it is brined. But the amazing thing is that when you add spices to the brine, the chicken picks up the flavors. I threw in a couple tablespoons of a special hot chimayo chile powder bought on a whim. Not only did the rich chile flavor come through, but the chicken also had just a pleasant hint of hotness. Convection roasting adds another measure of juiciness to the chicken, sealing in the juices. Sometimes I scrub a couple of baking potatoes, rub them with olive oil, and place them in the oven to roast right along with the chicken.

This is a simple country-style roast chicken with a garlicky wine marinade. Roast small red or fingerling potatoes while the chicken cooks. Add them to the oven after the chicken has cooked for 15 minutes. You can even add a pan of popovers (page 191) to the oven. They will be done in about 1 hour.

This is a simple and tasty way to grill boneless pork chops, and you can roast vegetables at the same time by placing them in a pan on the rack beneath the meat.

This is a festive roast for a holiday meal. Ask the butcher to prepare it so the chops can be cut into serving portions easily. Allow one to two chops per adult serving. Because the crown roast of pork is a very lean cut, it should be cooked to 160°F. It has a tendency to be oval rather than round because it is made from two pork loins trimmed and tied together. To improve the shape, I place a lightly oiled, heatproof glass jelly jar down into the center (described in step 3).

These ribs are rubbed with an oil and spice mixture. They cook to tender perfection in less than an hour in the convection oven.

Pork loin is one of my favorite meats to convection roast because it’s readily available and easy to handle, requiring no special trimming or cutting. If you simply season it with salt and pepper and use the same temperature and timing as with this recipe, the meat is tender and delicious. Most ovens come with a probe. When you’re roasting pork loin it’s best to use it, so that you don’t accidentally overcook the meat, making it dry rather than succulent and juicy. Set the probe to 160°F. The roast continues to cook for a few minutes once you’ve removed it from the oven. When you convection roast the pork, it is done in one-third to one-half the usual time.

Leg of lamb is a traditional Easter and Passover dish, but it makes a wonderful company meal any time.

So simple, yet so flavorful. These lamb chops roast to medium-rare in 8 to 10 minutes in the convection oven. Lamb chops are difficult to probe with a thermometer because they are so small. You can cut one to determine doneness.

Boneless leg of lamb is versatile and easy to prepare. One of my favorite and easiest rubs for lamb combines the flavors of garlic and rosemary.

Today’s low-fat pork is easily overcooked, making it tough and dry. In the past, pork shoulder ribs were thought to require hours of cooking. Not true. Just try this method. While the ribs cook in a hot oven, combine the sauce ingredients and brush the meat generously with it during the final few minutes of cooking.

Have the butcher trim (french) the rib bones. In the convection oven, the cooking time is cut by about half, and the lamb turns out beautifully browned and very juicy. When still pink, it is the juiciest. It is best to marinate the lamb for at least an hour or even overnight.