spiedo bresciano — Lombardy, Italy

Spiedo bresciano is a rotisserie dish that gathers several meats, small birds, pork and sausage among them, threaded onto long skewers and roasted together slowly over a turning spit, so their fats and juices mingle as they cook and no single piece dries out. It is reported from the province of Brescia in Lombardy, northern Italy, where it appears at countryside gatherings, family celebrations and in restaurants built around a wood-fired or mechanical rotisserie, often as the centerpiece of a long, shared meal. The meats are seasoned with salt, pepper, sage and rosemary, then threaded alternately onto skewers and mounted on the spit above embers or in a rotisserie oven. Melted butter infused with sage is brushed or spooned over the meats repeatedly as they turn, so the surface crisps while the interior stays moist. The roasting continues for a couple of hours at a gentle, steady heat, and the meats are often finished over a bed of polenta that catches the dripping juices and drinks in their flavor. The mix of meats on the skewer, the length of the roast and the rhythm of basting all vary from one butcher or cook to the next, as does the choice of whether polenta is served underneath or on the side, and some cooks add a splash of white wine to the basting butter.