Samples of semimembranosus muscles were oven roasted at 175°C and 225°C from initial temperatures of -20" and +S"C. During heating temperature profiles were determined as a function of heating time. On duplicate samples the corresponding moisture and fat content profiles were determined for a number of heating times. Moisture and temperature profiles were found to be inversely related to each other, with temperature minimum and moisture maximum occurring near the sample center. For fat content no important trend was seen. Heating time was shorter and yield lower at 225°C than at 175"C, and cooking time increased by some 50% when cooking directly from the frozen state. Up to 65-70°C weight loss appears to occur almost entirely by evaporation from a wet surface, the surface temperature being determined by the wet bulb temperature of the oven atmosphere. Also, above 65°C weight loss by liquid drip becomes significant. The results from time/ temperature exposure studies on thin slices of meat showed that temperature is more important than time to drip loss, and surprisingly good agreement with experimental profiles was obtained when applying these data to calculate moisture profiles in roasts from known temperature profiles. For temperature calculations both Hottel diagrams and a simple mathematical model were used with promising results. These findings should help clarify the determining factors in oven roasting of meat, and point to means of controlling and optimizing cooking conditions with regard to yield and cooking time.