Hit your backyard and Take a Spin!
Rotisserie foods are back again!
Are you one of the 800 million Americans that bought rotisserie chickens this year?
Yes
It is great for those busy days, and is inexpensive.
There is of course another reason; they're good,
if cooked properly.
So how do you rotisserie cook a chicken properly?
Rotisserie cooking is a form of roasting. To roast something simply means putting it in the oven uncovered. Putting a bird on the grill with the lid down is roasting. What the rotisserie adds is even cooking. Because the bird is constantly in a state of being turned it will cook more evenly and the turning keeps juices moving and not dripping. A rotisserie chicken will be moister than one simply roasted.
Did you bring home a beautiful golden, aromatic bird with fantasies of biting into crackling skin and succulent flesh, only to find yourself chewing unto a bland, rubbery whatever?
Rotisserie's are hot because of healthier eating (less fat), and it's a goof-proof way to cook chicken, pork, beef, lamb... constantly being turned it will cook more evenly and the turning keeps juices moving and not dripping (self basting).
Step 1: Have the chicken (fresh is best, not frozen if possible) thawed, cleaned, air-dry 10 to 30 minutes at room temperature and ready to cook. Have the spit and forks cleaned and the rotisserie ready to go.
Brining is great, as is salting with seasonings (dry rub) the day before to have a moist end result.
Dry Rub Recipes
Seasoned with salt and pepper, stuff a bird with lemon, onion or apple, garlic and rosemary to stabilize chickens.
Step 2: Tie the chicken wings together with twine at the first joint from the tip around the back of the chicken.
Step 3: Run the rotisserie spit through the chicken breast, parallel to the backbone. Try to image a line running through the very center of the bird. The spit will run out through the body opening.
Step 4: Test the whole thing for balance by rolling the rotisserie spit in the palms of you hands. It should turn easily and not have a heavy and light side. If it isn't balanced adjust the spit forks. Use the onion, apple and or lemon to help stabilize it.
Trussing tightly, ( it is never to tight), a bird or any meat protects fragile bits from overcooking, a must!
truss: Secure poultry or other food (usually meat) with string, pins or skewers so the food maintains a compact shape during cooking.
Step 5: Attach the rotisserie spit forks into chicken breast and tail areas. Make sure the forks are pressed tightly together and that the chicken is very secure.
Step 6: Test the whole thing for balance by rolling the rotisserie spit in the palms of you hands. It should turn easily and not have a heavy and light side. If it isn't balanced adjust the spit forks.
Rotisserie Chicken
Rotisserie Cooking with a Charcoal Grill
Charcoal grill using indirect heat, the fire is built on the side of the kettle or in a ring around the perimeter, away from the location where the food is to be positioned. The meat is cooked by radiant heat rather than direct heat (as if in an oven). None of the hot coals should be under the meat. A drip pan (disposable aluminum pan) is placed directly under the meat. The drip pan will help to prevent flare ups, it is important that the drip pan be at least as large as the meat. Pour ½-inch to 1-inch of water, juice, beer, wine, broth, soda into the drip pan to create steam, which will rise and help to prevent moisture loss in the meat.
Due to the extended cooking time, fresh charcoal must be added every 30-40 minutes to maintain the proper cooking temperature.
Truss the meat.
Slide one pair of prongs (a tool that resembles a large fork) onto the spit and then push the spit and prongs into the meat. Slide the other set of prongs on the opposite side of the spit and insert the prongs into the meat. The prongs help prevent the meat from slipping on the spit as it rotates.
Both sets of prongs usually have a wing nut that should be tightened to keep them firmly in place on the spit. This is where my DH comes in with his handy pliers. This is one time I told my DH that tighter is good! He over tightens everything to the breaking point!
The spit is then attached to the brackets of the rotisserie assembly. One end of the spit slides into the motor.
Some rotisseries have counterweights that can be adjusted to provide proper balancing of the meat on the spit. The meat should be balanced on the spit to prevent uneven cooking and possible overworking of the rotisserie motor.
When spit has been balanced, start the motor and observe the rotation to ensure that the spit is balanced and there are no obstructions.
Check for doneness with a meat thermometer before removing the meat from the heat source.
Internal temperature
Beef, Lamb, Veal Roasts and steaks Medium-rare 145°F
Medium 160°F
Well-done 170°F
All Poultry 165°F
Whole chicken, turkey, Boneless turkey roasts
Poultry breasts and roasts (white meat)
Poultry thighs, wings and drumsticks (dark meat)
Duck, goose
Pork
Medium 140°F
Well-done 160°F
Fresh, raw ham
Fully cooked ham, to reheat
Remove the spit from the grill with heavy oven mitts and remove the spit from the meat. Cover the meat with foil and allow it to rest for a few minutes or for whatever length of time is appropriate for the particular lamb cut.
Rotisserie Cooking with a Gas Grill
Gas grills for use in rotisserie cooking have front and back burners or models that have three burners arranged in a line front to back. Ignited the grill to preheat before the meat is placed on the rotisserie. When the grill has preheated, all of the burners except for the rear burner are shut off. The spit is positioned over the front or center burner so that the food is not directly over the heat source (the rear burner). If the grill has only two side-by-side burners, set both of the burners on low. When a drip pan is placed on the grate, the meat will be shielded by much of the direct heat of the burners.
A drip pan at least as large as the meat is placed directly under the location of the spit. Because the drip pan will help to prevent flare ups and moisten the meat.
Pour ½-inch to 1-inch of water or your choice of liquid as stated above into the drip pan to create steam, which will rise and help to prevent moisture loss in the meat.
Truss the meat.
Slide one pair of prongs (a tool that resembles a large fork) onto the spit and then push the spit and prongs into the meat. Slide the other set of prongs on the opposite side of the spit and insert the prongs into the meat. The prongs prevent the meat from slipping on the spit as it rotates.
Both sets of prongs usually have a wing nut that should be tightened to keep them firmly in place on the spit.
The spit is then attached to the brackets of the rotisserie assembly. One end of the spit slides into the motor.
Some rotisseries have counterweights that can be adjusted to provide proper balancing of the meat on the spit. The meat should be balanced on the spit to prevent uneven cooking and possible overworking of the rotisserie motor.
When spit has been balanced, start the motor and observe the rotation to ensure that the spit is balanced and there are no obstructions. Like a loose wing which can stop the meat from spinning and end with a 1/2 cook/burnt chicken!
The lid of the grill should be lowered and remain closed to ensure even roasting.
Check for doneness with a meat thermometer before removing the meat from the heat source.
Remove the spit from the grill with heavy oven mitts and remove the spit from the meat. Cover the meat with foil and allow it to rest for a few minutes or for whatever length of time is appropriate for the particular chicken, beef, or lamb cut.
Baste every 15 minutes with....
Get zaar recipes for basting
Don`t relying on a cooking time chart for proper doneness use them just as a guide, always use a meat thermometer. A time chart does not allow for the many variables that often influence doneness. A chart should be used as a guide only and cannot substitute for accuracy of a good meat thermometer. To accurately check temperature, the thermometer must be pushed through the thickest part of the meat and away from any bones (bones conduct heat).Don`t overcook!!!
Post Cooking times and temperatures
It is also easy to visually determine meat is thoroughly cooked. The exterior of the meat will appear crispy with a dark brown color and the meat will begin to split apart. Even with these visual signs of proper doneness, it is still recommended that a meat thermometer be used to verify the internal temperature of the meat.
FYI
It is important to read the
instruction manual included with the rotisserie. Make sure that the unit is used correctly and that safely instructions are always followed. If the rotisserie unit will be used with a charcoal or gas grill, it is important that the rotisserie is designed specifically for the particular grill that is being used as the heat source.
Gather Friends and Family to Enjoy! Rotisserie Cooking with a Charcoal Grill
As the bird cooks on the grill it can become a little unbalanced due to fluid loss. I keep an eye and have some celery or carrot sticks, or whatever that I can wedge inside the chicken to try and re-balance on the rotisserie.
Here are some
RECIPES
What??? You say you have left over chicken
Do check out
Lorraine of AZ`s Five Easy Meals that Start with Rotisserie Chicken
Rita~
kiwidutch
... he's gonna tell me that Zaar has pushed me a step too far ... 
Red Apple Guy
Mirj
becky watkins
Tiggrr
Manami
