What device did Leonardo da Vinci design to turn meat automatically while roasting?

Leonardo da Vinci designed a roasting jack to turn meat automatically over a fire.

A roasting jack rotates a spit so that food cooks evenly. Leonardo’s design used mechanical parts connected to a propeller or turbine-like element, which could be driven by rising hot air from the fire.

The device reflects Leonardo’s habit of applying mechanical principles to everyday problems. Automating the spit reduced the need for a servant to turn it continuously and helped maintain a more regular cooking motion.

The design is sometimes described as an early kitchen robot, but that phrase is modern and informal. It was a mechanical appliance for rotating a roasting spit, not a programmable machine or an autonomous robot in the contemporary sense.