Vertical rotisserie, comments please.

[pengyou]

vertical rotisserie oven - Google Search

They look like this....is this a useful appliance? I am looking for a quick and convenient way to slow cook a whole chicken and this looks like it would fit the bill. Do they work well? What else can they do besides roast a chicken - or goose, some kind of poultry? I now have 2 ovens (large and small), a microwave, a chafing dish, a crock pot, a rice cooker, a convection hot plate and a 2 burner stove. One more accessory would help me easily churn out a 10 course dinner...well, not really easily, but I wouldn't have to worry about space to cook things. Is food cooked in one of these relatively healthy? It looks like fat would drip out as the food was cooked.

 

[Selkie]

I use a wire rack made for roasting chickens upright. (it sticks up the chicken's butt.) I paid about $12.00 for it (maybe as high as $15.00,) and I bake/roast my chicken in a regular oven. All of it comes out browned and crispy. Why pay for an expensive appliance that only does one thing... besides take up storage space.

And none of those roasters you have on the web page will hold a goose! I doubt some of them could even hold a duck.

 

[pengyou]

Thanks! Very good points...maybe the first thing that caught my attention is that my oven is not tall enough to have a chicken stand up in it. I have heard that cooking a chicken this way makes it more tender - my dream is to be able to consistently have tender chicken every time I pull it out of the oven, without having to hover over it. As far as the cost is concerned, I live in China, so can buy a halfway decent one for about $50. It is much more than $12, I agree, but I want to see what the benefits of this tool are. As I mentioned, I often cook for a dozen or more people at a time and want to see how flexible this thing is - what else can it do for me besides cook poultry? and am also very interested in the health benefits of it. It also looks like it is a tool that does not require a lot of attention.

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

You can also cook pork, veal, or beef roasts on a vertical rotisserie, or if you are adventurous, a Middle Eastern Shawarma.

 

[Andy M.]

... I have heard that cooking a chicken this way makes it more tender...

I would be nice if that was true, but it's not.

 

[Timothy]

I use a conventional counter-top rotisserie made by Sunbeam, model 4785. I've read reviews of it that knock it badly, but frankly, they must be from cooks who have no business being in a kitchen.

It works perfectly for me and produces birds that are perfectly cooked and falling off the bone tender.

It's a snap to clean and cooks FAST! When I'm in the mood for Cornish hens, it also cooks them perfectly. Serious Yum!

The complaints I read about it say:

1. It's hard to clean. (Not true. Takes me 5 minutes after soaking the parts that get meat cooked to them...just like a pan.)
2. Too small (For what? An ostrich?)
3. Heat all goes out the vents (Well, it's supposed to grill the food, not bake it. The heat is designed to go out the top and let the element cook the food with radiant heat)
4. The food basket cooks unevenly. (Ok, you're supposed to either put the food in the center OR the outside, depending on if you want it to cook quickly or longer. Not both at once.)

Here's the beast:

 

[pengyou]

Thanks! Is this a horizontal rotisserie or vertical? I am curious as to what difference the orientation makes.

 

[Timothy]

Thanks! Is this a horizontal rotisserie or vertical? I am curious as to what difference the orientation makes.

The Sunbeam 4785 is a standard horizontal rotisserie that uses only rear elements to cook the foods. It's designed to allow the heat to vent out, and this lets the direct infrared heat cook the meat, which results in better browning of the meats and veggies cooked in it.

I've probably cooked several hundred pounds of meat in mine and God only knows how many veggies. I love the thing!

I could easily exist with only my Wok and this Rotisserie for cooking.

The small parts that are used to secure the meats/veggies to the rack or spit have to be soaked in soapy water to remove all the cooked on stuff, but once soaked, it comes off easily and quickly.

The people who complain about how hard it is to clean are those who try to clean it without the soaking. Sure, it would be a nightmare to clean like that! I throw mine into a plastic tub in soapy water and finish them the next day. Piece of cake!

 

[pengyou]

......Piece of cake!

What kind of cake?

 

[pengyou]

Thanks for your input! It is easy to buy rotisserie cooked chicken here in Shanghai - the price for a cooed bird is often a little cheaper than an uncooked one...the problem is that the cooked birds are laced with msg, something that does not sit well with me. One of the objectives of joining this forum - besides to meet some really great and interesting people - it to learn how to cook food that is more healthy with less hassle...which gives me an idea for another post

 

[Timothy]

Thanks for your input! It is easy to buy rotisserie cooked chicken here in Shanghai

You're very welcome, pengyou!

I've read so much about Shanghai and seen it in so many TV shows! I would love to visit once. If I ever figure out a way to get there for a vacation, I'll ask you for a list of places to see and eat!