Non-VegetarianLombarda cuisine Main Course

Spiedo Bresciano

Name: Spiedo Bresciano
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 3 h
Total time: 3 h 40 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Lombarda
Ingredients: 600 g pork ribs (costine); 500 g pork neck (coppa); 400 g Chicken thighs; 200 g lardo; 40 g fresh sage leaves; 250 g Unsalted butter; 15 g coarse sea salt; 3 g Black pepper

Spiedo Bresciano is a classic Brescia-style spit of mixed meats and sage, slow-roasted and continuously basted with butter until deeply golden and succulent.

🇮🇹Italy· Lombardy

Prep: 40 min
Cook: 180 min
Total: 220 min
Servings: 6
Difficulty: Medium
Calories: 780 kcal

Ingredients

0 of 8 gathered

Servings

600 g pork ribs (costine) — cut into single-rib portions
500 g pork neck (coppa) — cut into 3-4 cm cubes
400 g Chicken thighs — boneless and skinless, cut into 3-4 cm chunks
200 g lardo — cured pork back fat, sliced 5mm thick and cut into squares
40 g fresh sage leaves — whole, washed and dried
250 g Unsalted butter — cubed for melting
15 g coarse sea salt — for seasoning
3 g Black pepper — freshly ground

Equipment

•Sturdy metal skewers
•Deep roasting tin with elevated rack
•Small saucepan
•Basting brush or small ladle
•Sharp chef's knife

Nutrition

Per serving, approximate

Calories: 780 kcal
fat: 65 g
carbs: 1 g
fibre: 0 g
protein: 48 g
calories: 780 kcal

Instructions

1
Cut all meats into uniform 3 to 4 cm pieces so they cook evenly throughout.
2
Thread the meats onto metal skewers, alternating pork ribs, pork neck, chicken, and squares of lardo.
3
Tuck two fresh sage leaves tightly between every single piece of meat along the skewers.
4
Season the assembled skewers thoroughly on all sides with coarse sea salt and black pepper.
5
Preheat the oven to 150 degrees C and place the skewers across the roasting tin so they stay elevated.
6
Melt the butter gently in a saucepan over low heat with five sage leaves.
7
Slow-roast the skewers for three hours, rotating them a quarter turn every twenty minutes.
8
Baste generously with warm melted butter and collected tin drippings every fifteen minutes until golden and tender.
9
Rest the skewers for five minutes, then slide the piping hot meat onto a platter over polenta.

Chef's tips

This home oven method simplifies the traditional five-hour open-flame rotisserie while keeping the authentic basting technique. Pour 100 ml of water into the base of the roasting tin initially to prevent early meat drippings from burning before the butter builds up.

Ingredient substitutions

lardo → thick-cut unsmoked pancetta or streaky bacon
pork neck (coppa) → pork shoulder

Storage

Keep leftover meat off the skewers in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Reheating

Reheat slowly in a covered baking dish with a spoonful of reserved butter sauce at 160 degrees C until hot.

Common mistakes to avoid

•Skipping regular basting, which leads to dry meat instead of a rich, glossy coating.
•Roasting at too high a temperature, which chars the exterior before the tough pork cuts tenderise.
•Omitting the sage leaves between meat segments, losing the distinct aromatic profile of the dish.

Serving suggestions

Serve immediately over a generous mound of soft yellow cornmeal polenta.Pour the warm, sage-infused butter drippings from the tin directly over the polenta.Accompany with a structured Brescian red wine such as Botticino or Cellatica.