Enjoying Chicken Rotisseries
By Jamie Blanchford
Just about everyone enjoys a meal that features moist, flavorful chicken. We eat more chicken than beef, pork, veal, venison and other wild game. In fact, on a worldwide basis, chicken is probably the most popular type of meat.
That's why you should really consider investing in a chicken rotisserie, because this form of roasting is simply perfect for our humble and tasty birds. For those of you who are not too familiar with rotisseries, we've prepared a short primer for you today, so you will understand exactly how this cooking method works.
Rotisserie cooking is better than simply roasting.
Everyone knows that roasting is a terrific way to prepare meat. It's probably the method that's most frequently used to cook meat, and the results are delicious. People routinely flock to restaurants that serve roasted meats, and they pay top dollar for roasts that have been rotisserie-prepared with marinades, rubs and other special spices.
Rotisserie is actually a form of roasting that brings in all of the benefits of indirect heat, minus the usual problems of conventional heating. How is this even possible?
The "secret weapon" of cooking with rotisseries is the spit - the metal fork that holds the chicken in position as it cooks. Cooking with a chicken rotisserie is much different than conventional roasting, because the rotisserie turns the chicken continuously while it's cooking. The continuous rotation ensures that the chicken is evenly cooked, retains its natural flavor, and stays moist and juicy.
Rotisserie chicken stays moist because it essentially bastes itself as it cooks: as the bird rotates on the spit, the fat drips off and drains away, but the chicken's natural juices flow over the meat repeatedly. That's not to say that you don't need baste the bird at all when you're using a chicken rotisserie, but you can probably baste less often because of this self-basting effect.
What we do recommend when you are cooking chicken rotisserie-style is that you marinade the bird for at least a few hours to make the flavor really stick to the meat. If you are using dry rubs for your chicken, it is a good idea to cut little slits on the skin of the chicken, so that there are numerous "flavor pockets" throughout the chicken.
You also don't need to worry about eating too much chicken once it's ready, because using a chicken rotisserie reduces the meat's natural fat content. As the spit rotates the fat drips off the chicken, but the natural juices that provide flavor and moisture remain inside the meat. Some home ovens are designed to let you add a spit or rotisserie fork, so you might want to look at yours to see if that's a possibility. Some large ovens even feature motors for rotisserie cooking.
If your oven does have the capability to turn a rotisserie spit, then you are in luck! You won't have to buy a dedicated roasting setup. But if the opposite is true, then don't despair; rotisserie setups are actually quite cheap nowadays. Everyone can afford to cook restaurant-grade chicken!
That's why you should really consider investing in a chicken rotisserie, because this form of roasting is simply perfect for our humble and tasty birds. For those of you who are not too familiar with rotisseries, we've prepared a short primer for you today, so you will understand exactly how this cooking method works.
Rotisserie cooking is better than simply roasting.
Everyone knows that roasting is a terrific way to prepare meat. It's probably the method that's most frequently used to cook meat, and the results are delicious. People routinely flock to restaurants that serve roasted meats, and they pay top dollar for roasts that have been rotisserie-prepared with marinades, rubs and other special spices.
Rotisserie is actually a form of roasting that brings in all of the benefits of indirect heat, minus the usual problems of conventional heating. How is this even possible?
The "secret weapon" of cooking with rotisseries is the spit - the metal fork that holds the chicken in position as it cooks. Cooking with a chicken rotisserie is much different than conventional roasting, because the rotisserie turns the chicken continuously while it's cooking. The continuous rotation ensures that the chicken is evenly cooked, retains its natural flavor, and stays moist and juicy.
Rotisserie chicken stays moist because it essentially bastes itself as it cooks: as the bird rotates on the spit, the fat drips off and drains away, but the chicken's natural juices flow over the meat repeatedly. That's not to say that you don't need baste the bird at all when you're using a chicken rotisserie, but you can probably baste less often because of this self-basting effect.
What we do recommend when you are cooking chicken rotisserie-style is that you marinade the bird for at least a few hours to make the flavor really stick to the meat. If you are using dry rubs for your chicken, it is a good idea to cut little slits on the skin of the chicken, so that there are numerous "flavor pockets" throughout the chicken.
You also don't need to worry about eating too much chicken once it's ready, because using a chicken rotisserie reduces the meat's natural fat content. As the spit rotates the fat drips off the chicken, but the natural juices that provide flavor and moisture remain inside the meat. Some home ovens are designed to let you add a spit or rotisserie fork, so you might want to look at yours to see if that's a possibility. Some large ovens even feature motors for rotisserie cooking.
If your oven does have the capability to turn a rotisserie spit, then you are in luck! You won't have to buy a dedicated roasting setup. But if the opposite is true, then don't despair; rotisserie setups are actually quite cheap nowadays. Everyone can afford to cook restaurant-grade chicken!
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