The spit was one of the most common cooking implements to be found in kitchens prior to the twentieth century and is still used today primarily for the roasting of
meat, usually disguised in the US by using the french derived "
rotisserie".
The spit is a simple cooking device consisting of two vertical metal bars wich support a long pike onto which meat is skewered. It is arranged in such a manner that the pike can be turned (under
human or
mechanical power) to ensure even cooking. Many spits also have a
mechanism which allows the distance beween meat and flame to be raised or lowered as a crude form of
temperature control, and also to accomodate the roasting of larger game.
The spinning horizontal crossbar comes in many shapes and sizes. Long
slender spits for small birds, thick spits with stabilizing prongs for whole
lamb or pigs, spits with racks on them for holding
fish and
vegetables.