Rotisserie chicken is a delicious and versatile dish that can be the star of any meal. With crispy golden skin and tender, juicy meat a homecooked rotisserie chicken beats grocery store versions any day.
Making rotisserie chicken at home is easy, especially if you follow this foolproof step-by-step guide. In just a few simple steps, you’ll learn everything from selecting the right chicken to trussing and seasoning, plus cooking tips to get perfect results every time.
Step 1: Choose the Right Chicken
When selecting a chicken for roasting, there are a few things to look for:
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Size: A 3 1/2 to 4 pound chicken is ideal. Anything larger may not fit on your rotisserie spit or in your oven.
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Shape: Pick a chicken that is tight and has thighs that are close to each other. This will make the cooking go more evenly.
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Intact skin: The skin helps keep moisture in and gets deliciously crispy during roasting.
An air-chilled chicken still has its skin on and tends to be better quality than one that was water-chilled. Organic and free-range chickens also have great flavor.
Step 2: Prepare the Chicken
Before seasoning, you want to make sure the chicken is properly prepped:
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Remove giblets: Check inside the cavity and remove any giblets or other parts.
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Trim excess fat: Use kitchen shears to trim off any large fatty deposits.
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Pat dry: Use paper towels to pat the skin and open wound very dry. The drier the skin, the crispier it will get.
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Loosen skin: Slide your fingers under the breast skin to detach it from the meat. This allows seasonings to get between the skin and meat.
Step 3: Truss the Chicken
You can use butcher’s twine or kitchen string to truss the legs and wings close to the body. This keeps everything held tight so the chicken roasts evenly.
Here’s a quick trussing method:
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Take a long piece of string and center the chicken on top, legs facing you.
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Wrap string around the tail end and tie securely.
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Pull the legs together and loop string around each leg and tie together.
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Wrap string around the ends of the drumsticks and tie together.
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Loop any excess string under the wings to hold them in place.
Step 4: Season the Chicken
Now it’s time for the fun part – seasoning! Be generous here, as the seasonings will flavor the meat from the inside out.
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Spices like garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika should be rubbed directly onto the meat under the skin.
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Cavity: Put fresh herbs like thyme, rosemary, or lemon wedges inside the cavity.
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Outside: Coat the skin all over with olive oil or melted butter then rub on your favorite seasonings.
Some great rotisserie chicken seasoning combos are:
- Lemon pepper, garlic powder, dried parsley
- Onion powder, paprika, oregano, garlic salt
- Cajun seasoning or jerk seasoning
- Ranch seasoning and lime zest
Step 5: Roast the Chicken
Now the chicken is ready to roast. This can be done in the oven or on an outdoor grill rotisserie.
Oven Method
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Preheat oven to 450°F.
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Place chicken breast-side up on a roasting rack in a pan.
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Roast for 15 minutes then reduce heat to 350°F.
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Roast until the thickest part of thigh reaches 175°F on a meat thermometer, about 60-75 minutes.
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Let rest 15 minutes before carving.
Rotisserie Method
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Preheat grill to medium heat, about 350°F.
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Skewer chicken securely on the rotisserie spit.
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Cook for 18-22 minutes per pound, until 165°F at thickest part of thigh.
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Let rest 15 minutes before carving.
Extra Tips for Perfectly Cooked Chicken
Follow these tips for the most flavorful, juicy rotisserie chicken every time:
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Refrigerate the seasoned chicken uncovered overnight before cooking. This dries out the skin for extra crispiness.
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Use an instant-read thermometer to check doneness instead of relying on cook times.
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Let the chicken rest at least 10-15 minutes before carving for juicier meat.
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Save the backbone and wings to make homemade chicken stock.
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Store leftover chicken meat in an airtight container in the fridge up to 4 days.
Serving and Using Leftover Rotisserie Chicken
A homecooked rotisserie chicken is delicious on its own, but it also makes amazing meals all week long.
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Serve rotisserie chicken warm with roasted veggies and rice pilaf or green salad.
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Use shredded leftover chicken in soups, wraps, tacos, casseroles, chicken salad, and more.
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Make stock from the bones, then use it to cook rice, make soup, or braise greens.
With just a few simple tricks, you can make restaurant-quality rotisserie chicken easily at home. Crisp skin, juicy meat, and incredible flavor are just minutes away. Follow this fail-proof step-by-step guide for your best rotisserie chicken yet.
Leave the store-bought stuff behind with some tips from the chefs at Kismet Rotisserie and ‘What’s Eating America’ host, Andrew Zimmern.
People are not roasting enough chickens at home. What are we afraid of? Is it the commitment? The process? Or is it just that we live in a Grubhub world? Par cooked, microwavable meals are being sent to your door via the postal service. I suppose the concept of coming home to roast a whole chicken might be less desirable, considering it’s significantly more time consuming than nuking a Lean Cuisine.
Two facts to contextualize the following poultry insight: 1. I have previously worked in restaurant kitchens for five years… And yet. 2. The first roasted chicken I ever prepared in my own home was, in fact, this past Saturday.
I do suspect however, that I’m not alone in this late blooming. But now that you’ve tried a few easy and satisfying recipes this weekend, I want you to believe in the bird too.
Roasting your first chicken is extremely wholesome content. Trust me, the memory is fresh. There is a unique and special intimacy associated with cooking an animal in its whole, intact form. You are working with a chicken, not just, chicken. The goal is to buy your meat products from a real farm, raised by real persons and, locally sourcing chickens from smaller butcher shops will get you better quality, sustainable poultry. If approaching your first bird includes its head and feet, I salute and respect you. Save the neck and gizzards, baby! Those are special bits, and your gravy and chicken stock options increase significantly with these spare parts. They will add a richer, more unctuous quality. This is what the professionals like to call, “Flavortown. ”.
Still, it’s more likely that you’ll find a chicken that has already been partially killed for your convenience. Is it easier to buy one of those precooked rotisserie birds in a hot plastic purse from the grocery store? Absolutely. But here’s the thing: DIY is sexy, and vastly more rewarding. Wholesome and sexy — a dichotomous energy, I’m aware. Oven mitts and rustic aromatics are cute, but a plump and golden brown bird with savory juices and pan drippings is. hot. The end.
Sara Kramer and Sarah Hymanson of Kismet Rotisserie in Los Angeles are known for their perfectly crispy, golden-skinned chicken, so I reached out for their pro tips on what it takes to roast the perfect bird.
According to the duo, spatchocking (also known as cutting out the backbone and laying the bird flat for roasting), is the way to go, “and save the backbone for stock!” Youtube will teach you how this is done if a visual is needed, but you are quite literally just taking a pair of shears and cutting along each side of the spine, removing it, and flattening the bird out by pressing on its body with your hands. When it comes to seasoning, they advise doing so the day before you plan on roasting. “We like a dry cure, as opposed to a brine. Leave it uncovered to dry out the skin a bit, which helps with crisping.” I used a touch of olive oil, a generous amount of salt, coarse ground black pepper, and a sprinkling of dried parsley, rosemary and thyme. When it comes to roasting, the duo recommends “a hot, hot oven. Its the best way to get the (very highly prized) crispy skin and to get the light and dark meat to cook to the right temperatures at the same rate. Plus, its quick, which you cant argue with!” I roasted a four pound bird at 450 degrees for about 45 minutes. Check with a meat thermometer to make sure it’s reached 165, internally at the deepest part of the leg meat.
This chicken was sublime. The skin was very crispy and the meat was quite juicy. This is the recipe to use if you want great success, with less of a time commitment. But, I was curious what a brine might do for the moisture levels. Andrew Zimmern, host of his own show What’s Eating America, and four-time James Beard Award winner, gave his hot take with a recipe that changed my life.
I repeat, the following roasted chicken recipe changed me. With a few more ingredients and a day and half of preparation, you can also alter your life for the better. It requires a 24-hour brining process, and another six hours (at least) to dry out. This sounds intensive. It’s not. Just mentally prepare to start your dinner two days in advance and you will be rewarded with a chicken so saturated with flavor, so incredibly succulent, it’s mind-bending. Upon probing it with a fork, its juices poured out of it, even after resting it for 15 minutes. What the heck. I fed this to three people in my household who all said, in slight variation but with the same sentiment, “This is the best chicken I’ve ever eaten in my life.”
Zimmern’s other very noteworthy poultry musings:
- Room temperature meats cook more evenly.
- If you baste the bird, the part you are trying so hard to keep moist will dry out and get too done.
- You can brine any kind of chicken, but not whole stuffed birds because it makes the stuffing too wet.
- In the same pan as the onions, roast the necks, gizzards, livers, and hearts. It makes the gravy taste better.
- Buy real chicken that was raised by real human beings.
Simple Steps to the Perfect Rotisserie Chicken | Weber Grills
FAQ
How to make your rotisserie chicken?
Rotisserie instructionsTruss and skewer the chicken (giblets removed). Coat generously with the dry rub. Cook according to rotisserie manufacturer’s instructions (for my Cuisinart rotisserie, it’s one hour on the “Rotisserie” setting). Let it rest about 10 minutes before carving.
How to make roasted chicken at home?
Gather all ingredients. Place chicken in a roasting pan; season generously inside and out with onion powder, salt, and pepper. Cut celery into 3 or 4 pieces; place in the chicken cavity. Cover the chicken and bake it in a hot oven until it’s no longer pink at the bone and the juices run clear, about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Can you rotisserie in a regular oven?
A regular oven will work to roast a chicken, but it won’t turn out as good as a rotisserie. You can come close, but it’s still not the same. Considering your oven is larger, it may take more energy to heat the larger oven than the rotisserie might use.
How do you make homemade rotisserie chicken?
Homemade Rotisserie Chicken is the best recipe for a flavorful, juicy chicken with crispy skin. Easy roasted with an herb marinade! Mix together the salt, paprika, garlic powder, black pepper, onion powder, ground thyme, white pepper and cayenne pepper. Remove giblets from chicken and pat dry with paper towel.
Is rotisserie chicken easy to make?
It’s easy to make rotisserie chicken, and you can eat the leftovers with a few sides or shred them for quesadillas, enchiladas, chili, and other dishes. Rotisserie chicken is simple to make at home: all you need is a rotisserie in your oven or grill. Of course, it’s easiest to buy one at the store, which shortcuts the time and effort.
How to cook chicken in a rotisserie oven?
The rotisserie oven comes with a cheat sheet to help you figure out the correct time. When your chicken in the oven is done, use a digital instant read thermometer inserted into the chicken breast to check the internal temperature. It is safe to eat at 165°F. Make sure the whole chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.
How do you make Rotisserie Chicken Smoky?
Chicken: Choose a whole chicken about 3.5 to 4 pounds with the skin intact. If cooking in an air fryer, be sure the whole chicken will fit. Oil: A little oil helps the seasonings cling to the skin, making it extra crispy. Any oil or cooking spray works. Melted bacon grease will give rotisserie chicken a smoky flavor.
How do you spice up rotisserie chicken?
BBQ Rotisserie Chicken: Make a BBQ spice rub with ½ cup brown sugar, ½ cup paprika, 1 tablespoon ground black pepper, 1 tablespoon salt, 1 tablespoon chili powder, 1 tablespoon garlic powder, 1 tablespoon onion powder, 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper.
How long do you cook chicken in a rotisserie?
Cook chicken for 18-22 minutes per pound, or until the chicken reaches 165°F on a meat thermometer. A 3.5lb chicken will cook for 60-80 minutes. Once the chicken has reached the right temperature, turn off the heat and allow the chicken to rotate for 15 minutes without heat. Remove from the rotisserie and serve. Preheat oven to 450°F.