Master Your Roast

Whether you're going for a perfect Christmas ham or looking to change things up with a crazy-tender slow-roasted boneless leg of lamb, there's plenty of inspiration to be had. Our favorite roasts for a no-holds-barred, pedal-to-the-metal, full-tilt holiday blowout.

The Secret to Perfect Beef Tenderloin

If you want to go subtle, elegant, and refined, put a beef tenderloin on your holiday table this year. Our slow-roasting reverse-sear method ensures perfectly medium-rare meat from edge to center, with a nicely browned, flavorful crust.

How to Trim a Whole Beef Tenderloin for Roasting

The best way to save money on your holiday roast? Buy the tenderloin whole, bring it home, and trim it yourself.

How to Roast a Perfect Prime Rib Using the Reverse Sear Method

There is nothing so primal, so celebratory, so downright majestic as a hunk of well-marbled beef, served medium rare on the bone, with a crackling, well-browned exterior. This step-by-step will guarantee that your holiday centerpiece comes out perfect every time.

The Food Lab's Definitive Guide to Prime Rib

Everything you need to know about buying, storing, preparing, cooking, carving, and serving absolutely perfect prime rib.

How to Make the Ultimate Beef Wellington

Complex, beefy, buttery, oozing with juices, and packed with flavor—it's hard to get more decadent than this.

Reverse-Sear for the Juiciest Bone-In Pork Loin (Rack of Pork)

A bone-in pork loin roast is one of those cuts that's guaranteed to impress. The best part is that it's also dead-easy to cook just right, as long as you use the reverse-sear method: Cook it low and slow until it's perfectly done throughout, then crank the heat to brown the exterior.

The Food Lab's Definitive Guide to Buying and Cooking Hams

Don't know the difference between a city and a country ham? Don't know how to cook and serve them? Don't worry, we've got you covered.

How to Roast a Whole Suckling Pig

Roast this way for crisp, crackled skin and succulent meat.

Sous-Vide 101: Slow-Cooked City Ham With Balsamic Brown Sugar Glaze

Using conventional means, warming up a city ham involves slow-roasting in foil or an oven bag to attempt to keep the juices from drying out. With sous-vide cooking, it's as simple as dumping the ham into a water bath, directly in its packaging.

How to Make Ultra Crisp-Skinned Slow-Roasted Pork Shoulder

You can transform one of the cheapest cuts of meat in the butcher's display case into one of the most glorious festive centerpieces imaginable.

How to Make All-Belly Porchetta, the Ultimate Holiday Roast

We all know that pork belly—the same cut that bacon comes from—is the king of pork cuts. Here's how to make it into an incredible rolled holiday roast.

The Food Lab: Deep-Fried, Sous-Vide, 36-Hour, All-Belly Porchetta (or, the Most Freaking Delicious Thing to Ever Come out of My Kitchen)

Take your porchetta to the extreme.

How to Cook a Perfect Crown Roast of Pork

Pretty, presentable, and delicious, this is the best pork option for those who prefer their pork a little leaner than all-belly porchetta.

The Foolproof Way to Cook Crown Roast of Lamb

The key is to cook the roast at a low temperature, then finish it in high heat to reduce the chances of overcooking the meat. Pre-cooking the stuffing and adding it to the already-cooked roast allows you to focus on what's most important: getting perfectly cooked lamb that's browned all over.

The Food Lab's Definitive Guide to Buying and Cooking Leg of Lamb

Everything you need to know about buying, prepping, cooking, and carving leg of lamb.

How to Make Slow-Roasted Boneless Leg of Lamb With Garlic and Rosemary

Our go-to method delivers mild, flavorful leg of lamb with a tender texture and a perfectly rosy, medium-rare hue all the way from edge to center, surrounded in a crisp layer of browned, crackly fat.

The Food Lab: The Truth About Brining Turkey

Are you thinking about brining your holiday turkey this year? You might want to reconsider: Dry-brining delivers juicy meat with more intense flavor.

How to Cook a Spatchcocked Turkey: The Fastest, Easiest Thanksgiving Turkey

Find out why spatchcocking your turkey—that is, cutting out the backbone and flattening it out before roasting—is the fastest, easiest route to a juicy bird.

The Food Lab's Definitive Guide to Buying, Prepping, Cooking, and Carving Your Holiday Turkey

For years, we've tested techniques, busted myths, and gotten our hands dirty to bring you real results that actually work. Here's to getting the best out of your holiday bird, whether it's your first or your 50th.

Roasting Turkey? Throw Out Your Roasting Pan and Reach for Your Baking Stone

The secret to producing a beautifully burnished, deep-brown bird with evenly cooked, juicy meat? Harness the power of your baking stone.

The Quick and Dirty Guide to Brining Chicken or Turkey

Nothing but the facts in this quick reference guide to dry-brining or wet-brining your holiday turkey for moister, juicier results.

The Serious Eats Guide to Carving Turkey

For many folks, the hardest part of cooking a turkey is carving and serving it. Here's the easiest way to carve a turkey, whether you've cooked it whole or spatchcocked it instead.

The Food Lab's Step-by-Step Guide to Smoking a Turkey

The secrets to perfectly smoked turkey are: butterflying, dry-brining, adding baking powder to the dry rub, slow-cooking over indirect heat, and careful monitoring of the turkey's internal temperature. Here's how to do it, step by step.

How to Cook Sous-Vide Turkey Breast With Extra-Crisp Skin

Yes, you can cook turkey breast sous vide and wind up with deep roasty flavors and extra-crispy skin to boot.

How to Make a Turkey Porchetta

Exactly what is a turchetta? It's a turkey breast prepared in the manner of a traditional Italian porchetta. You have never had turkey breast this juicy, and that's a guarantee.

Introducing Vegetables Wellington, the Plant-Based Vegan Roast Even Meat Eaters Will Want

How to make a vegan roast that is so pretty, so mouthwatering, so packed with flavor and texture that even the hard-core carnivores at the table will want to make room on their plates for a slice.

Holiday Guide