the oven. The rotisserie is used by removing the normal cooking racks; a special carrier may be needed to provide one or both bearing points for the spit. The speed of rotation can vary, depending on the type of food being cooked and proximity to the heat source. Large animals, such as whole pigs, are often cooked at speeds ranging from 3 rpm to 1 rpm. Ron Popeil, inventor of the Ronco "Showtime" rotisserie oven, claims that 6 rpm is an ideal speed for cooking a variety of food. Generally speaking, when a whole animal is being spit roasted, it is best rotated faster in the early part of the roasting, to help interior temperature rise without burning the exterior. Once the exterior has started to crust, then the rate of rotation is adjusted down so as to minimize dripping. This allows juices and drippings to stay on, thus maximizing flavor. The latter is particularly important if using a horizontal spit and coals or an open fire, in which case the drippings cannot be salvaged for basting. For a horizontal spit, it is also preferable to keep the roast further away from the heat source in the beginning, which minimizes infrared heating while preserving air convection heating. Later on, the roast is brought closer, thus combining intense convection and radiation heating. Supermarkets commonly mass-produce rotisserie chickens using a horizontal rotisserie that has metal bars to hold the chicken in place through the weakest part of the breast (also which hardly affects the meat itself from the impaling, but still holds the chicken firmly in place) and the densest part of the chicken (located just below the drumstick of the chicken). Vertical rotisserie Another style of rotisserie is the vertical rotisserie in which the heat is applied directly from the side or, less commonly, convected up from below. In this style of rotisserie, balance of the load is less important than with a horizontal rotisserie; this feature is useful, as the meat is typically shaved off a bit at a time. Some dishes that are commonly cooked on a vertical rotisserie include: Döner kebab from Turkey Gyro, from Greece Shawarma, from the Middle East and the Arab World Taco al pastor, from Mexico See also Asado Barbecue Inihaw Lechon Lechon manok List of spit-roasted foods Pig roast Satay Skewer References External links The spit turner, Historic Royal Palaces movie How to