What can I cook on
my Palazzetti barbecue?

General rules for
rotisserie roasting

• for as much as regards the wood to use (never use coal or charcoal), follow the instructions provided for grilling;
• this technique uses an open flame but the resulting hot coals can also be used as part of its source of heat. It goes without saying that the fire must be constantly fed;
• you can roast wild fowl or game (whole or cut into pieces), farmyard animals including pork and beef, fish and shellfish and, for a mixed spit, even fruit and vegetables. Cooking times will of course vary a great deal, ranging from half an hour to many hours;
• before trying out more complicated meats we suggest you roast a few chickens to start with, just to get the gist of things. This way it will be easier to determine the right distance from the fire, the perfect cooking time and the type of fire to keep going;
• the food must be secured to the rotisserie using pins and kitchen twine to prevent it from rolling off during the cooking process;
• when preparing the spit, pierce the various pieces of food through their centre; for mixed spits we suggest you place the food that cooks the quickest at the ends so that they can be the first to be removed;
• the rotisserie must be the right size for the weights it must carry. For your first attempts the least expensive, battery-run rotisseries are fine: we do suggest you purchase a professional rotisserie later on though, one with the technical data of the motor written on its data plate. At this stage it’s not a good idea to choose a cheap product that might abandon you just a few minutes before a juicy dinner is about to be ready to serve to your guests! Moreover, always remember to choose a rotisserie whose distance from the fire can be adjusted.
• when preparing your rotisserie with various pieces of meat we suggest you alternate it with small piece of lard which should rest against, but not be squashed between, the meat. The purpose of the lard is to tenderise the meat and add flavour to it but it should not overwhelm the meat and only experience can help you here. If you are roasting small birds such as quails, we suggest you wrap them all over with lard or bacon to keep them tender;
• good spit-roasting requires a moderate quantity of aromatic herbs: the lard can be alternated with sage leaves but only after having removed the stalk because its flavour is excessively tannic; on the other hand, rosemary should only be used for some meats (preferably lamb and pork);
• cooking must always start at a gentle heat i.e. at a certain distance from the flame (tradition says that the fats should not start dripping until an hour has passed). In this phase grease the meat to favour the creation of a crispy glaze. Salt can be added when the fats start dripping; prefer fine salt and, if you want to use the cooking juices, move the drip pan away while you add it otherwise they will become too salty. Now move the rotisserie closer to the fire but not closer than 40 cm.
  Naturally, cooking times will vary depending on the type of meat and its size;
• using hot coals directly under the rotisserie can favour a more evenly-cooked result but this is, once again, an additional technique that can only be learnt by experience;
• at the end of the cooking process the meat must be left to rest for at least five minutes to give the juices inside it time to settle, but then it must be eaten immediately.