Rotisserie Chicken

Chicken cooking in a rotisserie, which is an oven or broiler that has a rotating spit on which meat is cooked while it turns, is quite a familiar sight here in Pune, the city I live in, because of the large population of Iranis and Palestinians who have made this their home, to get away from the problems in their home countries. Unlike the Indian palate, which prefers the spicier tandoori chicken, the Iranis favor the blander tasting rotisserie chicken. Hence, even though they looked delicious enough, slowly turning and roasting in the rotisserie, I resisted trying out the rotisserie chicken for a long time, until one day I did decide to do so. And to my delight I found that I enjoyed the milder, subtler flavors quite a lot. Lip smacking, finger-licking tandoori chicken is still my favorite, but I am more open to the succulent taste of the chicken now.

In the past, rotisseries were turned manually or by some kind of clockwork devices. These days, however, electric motors are used to do the job. The rotation method of cooking the meat ensures that it cooks evenly, permitting easy access for it to be basted frequently, if required. Some of the more expensive ovens nowadays are usually equipped with a rotisserie, or can be installed with one. In order to use the rotisserie, the other cooking racks have to be removed, with a special type of carrier being used for providing holding points for the turning spit.

Apart from being easy to cook and juicily yummy, rotisserie chicken is also low in fat, since the fat drips off from it while it cooks and especially if it is cooked without its skin, and is a good source of protein.

Given below are a couple of recipes that you can try out:

Rotisserie Chicken 1

1 chicken, innards removed and cleaned
1 onion, medium-sized, quartered
3 cloves garlic minced
2 tsp thyme, fresh and finely chopped
1 tbsp rosemary, fresh and finely chopped
3 tbsp olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
a lemon

Begin by washing and drying the chicken. Then, placing a basting pan under the rotisserie, light up the burner. In the mean time, use the rotisserie skewer to skewer the chicken, and then attach the cages firmly. Then, stuff the onion, a sprig of rosemary, and the lemon into the chicken. Next, make a rub by combining the garlic, herbs, pepper, and salt, and rub this generously on the whole chicken. Then tie the thighs and legs of the chicken firmly, and roast for about two hours or until the reading on the thermometer becomes 160 degrees F. Then, turning the heat off, close the lid and allow the rotisserie to continue turning until the reading on the thermometer becomes 170 degrees F. Then remove the chicken, and covering it with foil, allow it to rest for about 15 minutes.

Barbecued Chicken 2

1 3-lb chicken
tbsp pepper, ground
1 tbsp paprika
cup butter, melted
Salt to taste

Rub some salt to the inner part of the chicken in order to season it and then put the chicken into the rotisserie, setting the temperature to high, and cook for about 10 minutes. In the meantime, combine together pepper, paprika, salt and butter. Then, turning the temperature down to medium, use the butter mixture to baste the chicken, and closing the lid continue cooking for about 1-1 hours, occasionally basting, until the temperature inside becomes 180 degrees F. Then, remove the chicken and allow it to stand for about 10-15 minutes before serving.