BEIJING BARBY

Q Here I am half past midnight on almost the last day of the most tedious
year of my life wondering why the hell I volunteered to invite 40 people to
my house on New Year’s Eve to have a spit roast comprising a hefty prime

rib and a fresh ham. Having spent the last four hours preparing everything, I

keep thinking “I have never done this before - what if I mess it up?”

What should I do about these big lumps of meat? I was told to allow one minute

for each millimetre? (probably a bit less for the ham). What do you reckon old thing?

Roger

Beijing

China (just north of Queensland)

A Roger, you really have dumped yourself in it haven't you? I'm sorry I can't

help much in regard to spit roasting as my few attempts at it have been tragic. I've

come to the conclusion that it is the work of the devil as there are far too many

variables - distance from heat source, frequency of spit turning, wind speed if any

and the number of seagulls on the runway.

That's why it is extremely difficult to give you a set time for cooking as is possible

in a covered barbecue. However, Smoky Hale, a leading US barbecue guru, is

brave enough (for one living in the land of the litigious) to suggest that 25 minutes

per pound is sufficient time for a pig to be roasted on a spit. But I wouldn't bet

your friends' lives on it.

I think your best move is to panic! First thing in the morning, rush out and buy a

small meat thermometer (department stores/caterers' supplies/barbecue shops?).

These are about six inches long and have a sharpened end for piercing the meat.

If the internal temperature of the ham (keep the tip away from the bone as it will

give a false reading) is 160 degrees F then all the nasties such as trichinella spiralis

and infectious hepatitis will be killed. The beef should be okay at around 140 to

145 degrees F.

You say the ham is 'fresh' so I'm assuming it is raw. If the ham has been
precooked then you only need to warm it up (but this should be done as
quickly as possible to avoid any risk of food poisoning).

I'll follow the international news a bit more closely over the next few days.

Hopefully I won't be able to turn to Mrs Blue over the breakfast wheaties and

say: “Did you read the article 'Beijing barbecue death toll tops 40'? I knew
the cook."

If all goes well, have a glass (or several) of vino for me.

Rotsaruck

BBQ Blue

R Dear BBQ Blue, I am happy to say that we had no hospitalisations related to

the intake of cooked meat although I can't be sure about the effect of fluid intake on
various key organs of the body!

I would like to report some of the technical experiences gathered from
the attempts at spit roasting:

Prime rib - a 10kg prime rib of Canadian beef was spit roasted at
ten rpm at a distance of 800mm from a fire comprised of mixed apple and
peach wood for three and a half hours. The meat was then transferred to
an oven for a further 30 minutes before being allowed to set for
carving. The meat was basted every half hour with a combination of
pineapple juice and ginger.

The meat was cooked well done to medium except for the deepest parts
of the cut which were medium to rare. It was generally agreed that the
meat was tasty and tender although I felt that the sweet baste only
really contributed to blackening of the outer surface. Next time I would
not use the baste that had sugar in it in order to prevent burning.

Some lessons were learned. Next time I will take longer to roast the meat

– 4 to 4.5 hours would be perfect. We had a technical problem that prevented

this last week, that is we burnt out the motor and gear-box at 3.5 hours. As far

as the fire is concerned, we started roasting about 45 minutes after we lit the fire,

that is, once the flames had died down and the embers were formed. The heat was

quite intense allowing the meat to seal quickly, but slowly settled to a good even

temperature. We put more wood on the fire after 2 hours. It would have been good

to be able to raise and lower the meat as the heat source changed.

With regard to the ham, I ended up getting a cooked one which I finished in
the oven - much easier! Next time we won't wimp out on the roasting of
the ham.

One question - do you have any information on building electric spit roast
devices? I fashioned something together from some basic parts but it did
not finish the job. Alternatively can you put me on to any companies
that sell such articles?

Thanks again for your support in helping us all to enjoy the barbecuing
experience!

Roger

R Thanks for the feedback Roger.

Your burnt out motor and gearbox comment brought back memories of my spit
roasting experiences. I've never really worked out why people want the meat
to spin around when you can get at least as good a result if you let it sit
still and surround it with heat in a device specially designed for the
purpose such as a Weber kettle.

My first encounter with a spit roast was on a Scout camp many years ago (in
fact, it was so long ago that the word 'camp' was only associated with the great
outdoors).

We twirled a big chunk of beef around on a stick of green wood
for hours and it turned out to be gore except for the outside half inch. We
ate slivers of the cooked bits while we sliced the still quivering remains and
cooked it in a pan over a metho stove inside the tent (the cyclone had just

crossed the coast at that stage).

My next experience involved a spit made from discarded bits and pieces of
automotive memorabilia including 2 1/2 litre Riley half shafts, camshaft
sprockets and timing chains. Not surprisingly, the spit turned out much like
the donor vehicle - impressive to look at but deeply flawed from a
functional point of view.

I've been asked about spit designs in the past but, despite my pleas to
various experts, have not been able to come up with an uncomplicated

(read - affordable) solution.

Cheers

BBQ Blue

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