Vertical and horizontal rotisserie, comparison between two traditional cooking methods

Rotisserie Rome center

Rotisserie is a very common cooking method, present in many culinary traditions, and very ancient. It mainly concerns the meat, which is skewered and cooked over a fire or in an oven. History makes the first rotisserie appear in France, around the mid-1400s, in a rotisseries precisely, which then gave its name to this successful procedure. But since the Middle Ages this was the most common cooking method for all meats. It seems that Napoleon he was so fond of it that he demanded that, even in battle, fires be organized for cooking with the spit.

Today this preparation method is used in rotisseries all over the world, where cockerels and chickens are mainly roasted. The meats are cooked with the help of a rotisserie, placed inside an oven with embers, in which the skewers are hung. The skewers rotate slowly to ensure that crunchiness that distinguishes the rotisserie.

For cooking to occur evenly, the skewer must rotate continuously. Being a very old method, initially these large skewers were turned by hand, until mechanical systems were invented. Also the famous Italian inventor Leonardo da Vinci he patented a rotisserie in 1607, which included the presence of 4 turbines, capable of producing smoke and heat.

In short, this primitive technique has evolved more and more over time, becoming a very widespread and particularly tasty method. It is usually used to cook large pieces of meat outdoors or even whole animals, such as chickens, turkeys, kids, sheep, pigs or the smaller, but very famous, Sardinian pig. Even if it is a method reserved almost exclusively for meat, some particularly fatty fish, such as eels or capitone, and some vegetables are also cooked with this technique.

From the Middle Ages to today spit cooking it has spread throughout the world, albeit with some variations, which have become part of the culinary traditions of different countries. Alongside the traditional method mentioned Horizontal Rotisserie we also find the Vertical Rotisserie, whose main tool is always the spit, which however is positioned differently.

Present above all in Turkish and Middle Eastern cultures, but also in Greek and Mexican cultures, it is mainly used for cooking meats such as Doner Kebab and it Shawarma, The Gyros of the Greeks or the Tacos al Pastor of Mexico. This method uses meats pressed together and allows you not to waste the juices and fat that is released during cooking, which, in this way, is deposited on the rest of the skewer, giving even more taste and flavour. By using the skewer vertically, the heat comes from the sides, so the meat is cut very finely as the ends are cooked.

Today the two methods are also used to cook dishes different from traditional ones. Vertical rotisserie systems, which take up less space, can also be used both in restaurants and in your kitchens. What does not seem to change, however, in both cooking methods, is the unmistakable taste of spit-cooked meat, which remains juicy and rich in flavour. Come and taste our Rotisserie dishes at 'Taste at 28: we are certain that they will bring joy to your palate. We are waiting for you!

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