19
uniform size meat that are cooked more quickly. When used on a whole animal, it may be hard
to engage the tines effectively and if you are able to, they may start to loosen (and are not able
to be adjusted or tightened) as the meat softens toward the end of cooking.
Method 4: Spit pins
(see photo illustrations below)
This method uses a specialized spit pin made of stainless threaded rod (long bolt actually) with
washers and wing nuts at each end. The pin is jammed (or power driven) though the animal
(usually at the heaviest concentration of meat such as the legs, hips or shoulders), through the
spit, and out through the meat again. The wing nuts at each end can then be easily tightened as
needed. Oversize washers prevent the wing nuts from digging too far into the meat. By utilizing
the holes in the spit the “pin” method brings the spit into play to help move the largest parts of
the animal. The drawback of this technique is that the backbone is not used and if the meat
becomes soft enough, they could lose their effectiveness (not likely). Pins can also be used to
secure the head to the spit or bind the feet together, etc.
Method 5: Internal spit forks (I-fork)
(see photo illustrations below)
Internal forks are very effective in binding the meat to the spit and preventing “flopping” of the
heavier sections of the animal during cooking. They use the best design concepts of some other
methods and provide the most reliable way of securing larger (100 lbs. or more) animals. The I-
fork is bolted though the spit and threaded spit pins are then driven up through the meat and
protrude on either side of the backbone. They are then secured with a common plate and
tightened with wing nuts. The plate can then be easily tightened down as needed throughout the
cooking.