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1
Light the charcoal in the fornacella — the long, narrow cast-iron grill designed for the skewer format — and allow it to reach high, even heat with no flame remaining. The coals must glow red and be uniformly distributed along the full length of the channel.
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2
Cut the castrato into uniform cubes of 1.5 × 1.5 cm, separating pieces of internal fat from lean muscle. Precision in size is essential: cubes cut larger will not cook through in the brief grill time.
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3
Thread the cubes tightly onto narrow squared wooden skewers, alternating one piece of internal fat between every two pieces of lean meat throughout the length of the skewer. The threading is tight — no gaps, no movement. This is where the dish lives or dies: without the alternating fat, the lean dries in the heat; without tight threading, the cubes cook unevenly and fall away from the stick.
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4
Lay the loaded skewers across the fornacella in a block, side by side, so that all cook simultaneously over the concentrated charcoal channel. Grill for 4–5 minutes total, turning the entire rack of skewers together as a unit — not individually — so the block rotates uniformly. The castrato is done when the exterior is charred at the edges and the internal fat has visibly melted and basted the lean; the meat should yield with slight resistance when pressed.
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5
Remove from the grill. Season immediately with fine sea salt. Serve at once with plain bread. The meat is pulled from the skewer with the teeth by holding the trailing end of the stick — this is the technique of eating arrosticini, not a suggestion.