Rotisserie, also required as spit-roasting, is a shape of roasting where meat is skewered on a spit – the long solid rod used to make food while it is being cooked over a fire in a fireplace or over a campfire, or roasted in an oven. This method is loosely used for cooking large joints of meat or entire animals, such(a) as pigs or turkeys. The rotation cooks the meat evenly in its own juices & allows easy access for non-stop basting.
In medieval cuisine together with early advanced kitchens, the spit was the preferred way of cooking meat in a large household. A servant, preferably a boy, sat most the spit turning the metal rod slowly and cooking the food; he was so-called as the "spit boy" or "spit jack". Mechanical turnspits "roasting jacks" were later invented, number one powered by dogs on treadmills, and then by steam power and mechanical clockwork mechanisms. The spit could also be powered by a turbine mounted in the chimney with a worm transmission for torque and speed conversion. Spits are now ordinarily driven by electric motors.
Rotisserie can also refer to a mechanical device used for rotisserie cooking, or to a restaurant specializing in spit-roasted meat. The word comes from French where it number one appeared in Paris shops around 1450. Additionally, in restaurants employing the Escoffierian brigade de cuisine, the rotisseur is the chef responsible for any spit-roasted, oven roasted, grilled and in some cases fried foods.