Before you blanch at the idea of eating a songbird, some context: Lo spiedo bresciano goes back centuries, and is a holiday dish of those who were too poor to be able to afford other meats, and were also not allowed, by the ruling nobility, to hunt anything larger. Considering that one would be fined if one were caught shooting anything that walked or bounded over the land, if not worse -- the Visconti, who ruled Brescia from 1300 to 1430, had poachers mutilated -- hunters bent on providing a meal for their families naturally went after what the nobility didn't care about: Small birds.
As did farmers, both because some small birds eat the crops in the fields, and because barnyard animals that could provide commodities such as eggs, or be sold to raise cash, were much too valuable to be eaten.
Hence the classic Spiedo Bresciano.
Like any old dish, however, it has evolved with time.
- On the one hand, people aren't quite so poor as they once were, and can afford to add other meats to the spit, for example pork spare ribs, quail, and rabbit.
- And on the other, mores have changed, and it is now illegal to catch what was once allowed. Therefore, to enjoy the traditional Speido Bresciano you have to go out and catch the birds yourself, have a friend who hunts, or have access to commercially raised small game birds. Or you can adapt the recipe as many modern Bresciani do, cooking quail, rabbit, pork, chicken, and so on in the traditional way.
- In the Valtrompia and the Bassa Bresciana, the flatlands extending from Brescia out into the Pianura Padana, people used song birds and pieces of pork loin, figuring three birds and a couple of slices of loin per person. The birds are plucked, their eyes are removed, and they are gutted. Then they are spitted, arranging them so their heads all face the same same way, and putting the smallest birds at the ends of the spit where the heat is lower, with a slice of pork loin rolled up around a strip of lard and a sage leaf between each pair of birds. The spit is basted with melted butter.
- Around Rezzato, in the lower Gardesana (between Brescia and Lake Garda, towards the Pianura Padana), they also add pieces of rabbit to the spit, and in other surrounding towns they go further, using pork spare ribs cut about 2 1/2 inches (6 cm) long, song-bird-sized pieces of chicken, and finger-thick slices of potato.
- In the alto Garda (towards the mountains) and the Valle Sabbia the Spiedo is richer; in addition to the song birds they use chicken, rabbit, duck, pork liver wrapped in lace fat, rolled up slices of pork shoulder butt (what is coppa if it's cured), which is tenderer than pork loin, and spare ribs.
When you have assembled and cut your meats, spit them in repeating order: Bresciani using everything usually start with a slice of potato, followed by a rolled up piece of pork, a sage leaf, a songbird (spitted side-to-side), sage, potato, a piece of rabbit, sage, potato, a songbird, sage, potato, a piece of chicken, sage, potato, a spare rib, sage, and so on, until all is spitted. When spitting the meats, make certain the birds are all arranged facing the same way.
Next, Cooking the Spiedo
