When you baste a meat, it is essential that you remove it from fire or from the oven. Always make sure that the door of the oven is closed while you are basting. Also, do not baste the meat with the door of the oven open. This will cool the oven and will take some time to generate that heat again. It will prolong the cooking time.
Remove the meat, don’t forget to close the door of the oven, baste the meat and return it to the oven. You should baste as quickly as possible so you don’t alter the cooking time. There are recipes that instruct you on how often you should baste your meat. However, as a general rule, poultry that at large in size like a duck, goose, and turkey should be basted every 30 to 45 minutes. For a whole roast, pig basting should be once in every hour. When cooking chicken parts, baste every 15 or 20 minutes. When cooking barbeque, basting should be every 15 minutes.