The spit is a very ancient and very useful implement of cockery.
Perhaps the process of roasting stands only second in the rank of
excellence in cookery. The process is perfectly sound in its chemical
effects upon the food, while the joint is kept so immediately under
the eye of the cook, that it must be the fault of that functionary if
it does not go to the table in the highest state of perfection. The
process of roasting should be commenced very slowly, the meat being
kept a good distance from the fire, and gradually brought forward,
until it is thoroughly soaked within and browned without. The Spit has
this advantage over the Oven, and especially over the common oven,
that the meat retains its own flavour, not having to encounter the
evaporation from fifty different dishes, and that the steam from its
own substance passes entirely away, leaving the essence of the meat in
its primest condition.
[VIRTUE IS THE FAIREST OF ALL.]