Reply #50: Many times I start a roast at very high heat and drop after 20 min.

[Bluenorthwest]

Searing, oven style. Works well, particularly with fowl. It is a method, there are others. Rising is one reason for quick heat, there are others. I usually brown the fuck out of meat roasts prior to the oven, so the meat is hot, to place it in a cold oven would stop the process which is not the best idea.
Cold oven favorite, bacon, in cold, set to 400 17-20 depending on cut and taste, watch in in those last few and snag it out when it looks perfect. And it is perfect, as is the rendered fat, oh so great for other uses, clear and golden in the pan, as opposed to the sputtering skillet method.