Rotisserie ovens were around as many as 200 years ago! This is a good
example of just such an oven, in front of the fireplace.
The oven had a hinged door, (facing away from the camera in this photo,
towards the fireplace), which would open up to allow a turkey or other
large cut of meat to be placed inside. The door would then be closed,
and every so often, someone tending the fire would turn the handle on the
side of the oven, thus rotating the meat to allow even cooking.
Underneath this oven would be a receptacle to catch any fat that was
a by-product of the cooking, the fat, in turn, would be used for making candles.
Nothing went to waste.