LaVarenne Cooking School- Learn the art of fine cooking with Anne Willan: Articles & Columns

DONE TO A TURN
By Anne Willan

Burgundy, France. My office has just been upgraded with the installation of a 300-year-old roasting spit. No, I'm not crazy. I live in an old château in Burgundy and the office has a great open fireplace, taller than I am, and just asking for a suckling pig or baby lamb to revolve before the fire. Enter Ivan Day, historian, chef, and master of cooking as it was done in prosperous households centuries ago. Ivan has recreated historic menus and table settings for a dozen exhibitions throughout Britain, and in 1999 was curator of "The Edible Monument" for the Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles.

And now he has arrived to set up an ancient spit inside my fireplace. The mechanism works just like a grandfather clock, with a cord wound round a wooden drum that is held in place by a brass wheel and spring ratchet. "It's totally simple", Ivan assures me, the gleam of the enthusiast in his eye, "all you have to do is be sure the spring is in place, then wind up with the handle." The cord, a good 12 yards in length passes over pulleys on the ceiling beams, to end in a mighty 30-pound lead weight. I watch in trepidation as it is wound towards the 15-foot ceiling. "Don't worry, it will take half an hour or more to descend!" says Ivan. "It won't fall!"

Next we look at the fire and Ivan recommends hard woods such as the oak, beech, birch, and linden that grow nearby. "Not pine or spruce," he states firmly, "they will burn too fast and spark." He rapidly arranges two logs to act as dogs, with more laid crosswise in a flat pile, explaining the fire must burn at least an hour and a half to be ready. "We want low-burning embers with plenty of radiant heat. That's the key to everything", he says. Equipment needed includes a long poker (think bonfire), robust oven gloves, a basting spoon, and a drip pan.

The spit itself is a surprise, a massive 5-foot bar of iron threaded with a forked "holdfast" large enough to secure a sizeable piglet in place. I look at the puny beef filet we had planned as our first try – it would be almost sliced in half by the bar. Ivan laughs. "There are dozens of types of spit", he says, "for bits of meat or birds, smaller spits are tied to the main bar. We'll do just fine." I hunt out a couple of metal kebab skewers and we proceed, spearing slices of beef that have been marinated according to the old recipe below. We wrap the beef in oiled brown paper, tie the central skewers firmly to the spit, and we're ready to go.

By now the fire has burned down to glowing, intense embers. Ivan perches one end of the spit on a firedog and winds the chain around the wheel at the other to stretch it taut. A drip pan is set under the meat: "The spit should revolve in front of the fire, not above it like a barbecue grill", explains Ivan, "so we can catch the drippings." After cries of "center it!" and "is she balanced?", we're ready to go. I wind up the weight, and slowly, slowly, the meat in its wrappings starts to turn.

We watch, mesmerized. This could be addictive. "Open hearth cookery should be a notifiable disease!" exclaims Ivan Day. He is as enchanted as I am, explaining that few spit mechanisms as old as this are in working order and most are in museums. As the meat revolves, juices drip temptingly from the package. (I am reassured that it shows no sign of char.) There's no need to baste, thanks to the paper cover. Cooking time is a guess and Ivan flinches at my mention of a meat thermometer. "It's difficult to overdo things," he declares. "Meat stays pink and juicy in the middle much longer than in an oven, and doesn't turn grey." Certainly, when we unwrap our herb-laden filet, the meat is wonderfully pink, aromatic and juicy, done indeed to a turn of the spit.

Spit roasting is very possible in a modern fireplace, providing it is at least 3 feet wide. Clockwork and electric spits are available on the web in a wide range of sizes and prices. I'd recommend any simple, robust model that is just long enough to sit inside your fireplace. Take the time – up to a couple of hours – for a hearty fire to burn down to glowing, radiant embers. Assemble the oven cloves, basting spoon, and drip pan, and you're ready to cook the meal of a lifetime.

Ivan Day gives classes in open hearth cooking at his home in Cumbria, in northern England. For information, visit www.historicfood.com.

SPIT ROASTED FILET OF BEEF WITH HERBS AND MUSHROOMS

The herb sauce in this recipe acts both as a marinade, deliciously permeating the meat with the flavor of fresh parsley, scallion and garlic, and also as an accompanying gravy. In the original 18th century recipe by French chef, Menon, the meat is wrapped in brown paper after marinating, then roasted on a spit, preferably in front of an open fire. The beef can also be roasted in a 450°F/230°C/Gas 8 oven, allowing 25-30 minutes and turning it once in its paper package. Potatoes roasted in their skins are a great accompaniment. Packaged meat glaze is available in gourmet stores.

2 lb piece of beef filet
3-4 tablespoons vegetable oil, more for brushing
3-4 tablespoons chopped parsley
green tops of 2 scallions, finely chopped
a garlic clove, chopped
4 oz button mushrooms, coarsely chopped
salt and pepper

For the sauce

3-4 tablespoons meat glaze
¼ cup Champagne or other dry sparkling white wine
8-10 sprigs tarragon
small bunch of chives
brown paper bag or sheet of heavy brown paper; a long metal skewer

To marinate the beef: Put mushrooms with parsley, scallions, and garlic and chop all together until quite fine. This is best done by hand. Mix these aromatics in a bowl with the oil, salt, and pepper. Trim membrane or fat from the beef and slice it as thinly as possible with a very sharp knife. Add slices to marinade and toss with your hands until beef is thoroughly coated. Marinate it 15 minutes or longer in the refrigerator. Light the fire or grill.
To roast the beef: Spread a sheet of brown paper on a work surface and brush with oil. Spear slices of beef on the skewer, making sure each slice is coated with marinade. Push them together, wrap in brown paper to form a cylinder and tie ends with string. Spear or attach package to the spit. Roast it quite close to the heat – the ideal distance from the embers will vary depending on the heat of your fire. Allow 25-30 minutes for rare meat, or 30-35 for medium done, but timing will depend on your fire. Catch drippings in a drip pan. When the beef is done, take it from the grill and leave it 10 minutes in the paper.
Meanwhile make the sauce: Bring a pan of water to a boil. Strip tarragon leaves from stems and blanch leaves in the boiling water until wilted, about 1 minute. Drain, rinse them with cold water, and drain on paper towels. Finely chop them. Heat meat glaze and Champagne in a small saucepan. Remove beef from spit and unwrap it. Transfer it to a platter and remove skewer. Add juices left in the paper to the saucepan, add drippings from pan and simmer 2 minutes. Stir in herbs, taste, and adjust seasoning. Serve beef with sauce in a separate bowl. Serves 4-6.

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