Spit-cooking Basics

• To cook meat on a spit, the cook pushes the sharp metal rod through the meat to be cooked -- often an entire pig or chicken -- and mounts it on a stand over a heat source such as a fireplace. The spit should be slightly to one side of the fire, with a pan beneath it to catch the juices that drip off the meat as it roasts. These juices can then be used to baste the meat as it cooks.

Reasons for Spit-cooking

• Spit cooking is simple and efficient, using the meat's own juices to baste it. The rotating spit cooks the meat evenly; a modern rotisserie with a rotating spit even does this without requiring constant attention from the cook. Spit-cooking over an open fire is traditional for many summer events; from Hawaiian luaus to English hog roasts, the spectacle of meat being cooked on a turning spit makes a great centerpiece for an outdoor party.

Challenges

• Spit cooking is not always the ideal solution for roasting. It can be slow, for one thing: a 20-pound suckling pig will take at least 2 hours to cook, plus 30 minutes of cooling time. Manual spits require someone to turn them continually. Hot and unpleasant, this job was often done by servants in the middle ages. In some cases, the spit was even rotated by belt which connected the handle to a wheel with a dog running inside it.

Cooking with a Spit

• Spit cooking offers a variety of choices, ranging from the simple to the complex. Some ovens have rotisseries attachments which allow a spit to be fitted, making it simple to cook a chicken or a ham on a spit in the oven. For larger meals, a traditional outdoor roast can range from smaller animals like suckling pig or lamb (traditional in South Africa) to full-grown hogs. Correctly stuffing the roast is important: in keeping with the simplicity of spit cooking, a simple stuffing such as garlic, rosemary and thyme for pork works well.