Vintage rotisserie no manual. HELP!

[bforenow]

My Mother in law gave me her old rotisserie, probably from the 50s or 60s in excellent condition. Unfortunately no manual.

It's by Black Angus Inc. I can find no information on this company, it must have went under ages ago. There is a shallow pan on top and a hinged lid, I have no idea what it is for, water? For cooking? Can anyone give me any basics on using this, approx. how long and what temp for whole chicken, roasts etc.(yes I do plan on checking with a meat thermometer.) Or give me a site for a similar product where I could download a free manual? Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Uncle Bob]

What State/City was it manufactured in?

 

[bforenow]

Winsted, Conn, USA.

 

[Uncle Bob]

This business no longer exist in Winstead. Since it is an electric appliance I would not place water in the pan you mentioned. Maybe just place a chicken on the spit, set the temp at 350* and let it go for an hour. Then check the internal temp of the bird. Through trial and error you will be able to use it I am sure!

 

[bforenow]

Thanks for the help Uncle Bob! I kinda figured I would have to go the trial and error route. I'll give it a try tomorrow.

 

[Andy M.]

I believe the shallow pan on the top allows you to use residual heat to warm foods or keep them warm. I don't know if it would get hot enough to actually cook food. You may be able to steam veggies.

 

[Uncle Bob]

I believe the shallow pan on the top allows you to use residual heat to warm foods or keep them warm. I don't know if it would get hot enough to actually cook food. You may be able to steam veggies.

I do believe this is correct also. Somewhere in the deep recesses of my mind, I have a memory from my childhood of an electric contraption like this. This top pan was a "warming" tray of sorts. Maybe for bread etc.

 

[keltin]

The pan on top is a warming tray. More than likely, there used to be a cover for the top that is now lost. Either way, that pan gets warm and can hold other items warm as well. It’s a good place to put rolls to keep them warm. You could also put tightly sealed foil packs there as well.

It appears that this unit is also a toaster oven so you can use it for broiling as well. If it has a bottom heating element, then it can also be used for baking, but more than likely, it only has a top element that is used for the rotisserie and for broiling. There should be a setting on the control knobs that differentiate between rotisserie (activate the motor) and just broiling (motor is off).

When you use the rotisserie, make sure to keep the drip pan in the bottom position as shown in the picture.....but you can remove that wire rack for rotisserie coking. The wire rack would be use for broiling, and when broiling, you would move the drip pan and wire rack to the upper slot so that it is close to the upper element.

I typically do chickens at 400 degrees F, and give it 15-17 minutes per pound. So for a 4 pound bird, at 17 minutes per pound, it will take 68 minutes. After that time, check the temperature in the thigh of the bird with a meat thermometer. It is done at 170 degrees F. Remove the chicken, cover in foil, and let it rest 5 to 10 minutes before carving. When doing a chicken in the rotisserie, make sure to truss it (tie it up) well. You want the legs and wings to be tight against the body and not flapping about, and certainly not bumping into the heating element as the bird turns.

 

[BreezyCooking]

The pan on top is definitely a warming/heating tray.

My "modern" Popeil "Showtime" Rotisserie has one, along with a cover for it, & it's meant to be used to warm/heat rolls, beans, already cooked vegetables, etc., etc. Works quite well. If your pan doesn't have a cover, I'm sure a sheet of aluminum foil would work just as well.

 

[keltin]

Heh.....I just re-read the OP’s post and took a closer look at the pic. The warming tray on top has a hinged lid that can be closed.

Ok, since the lid is flat, it’ll me hard to get rolls in there, but you can definteily steam veggies and keep other types of food warm. I probably gets pretty hot in that pan since it’s right on top of the heating element. Does the pan lift out for cleaning? If not, you may want to stick to using foil pouches in it.

 

[bforenow]

Thanks so much for all the information everyone! I probably won't use the warming tray on top. I had no idea what it was. I thought maybe you put water in it and it helps in cooking the meat. Yeah I know, that doesn't make any sense...LOL! Thanks Keltin for the additional cooking times/temp. I really appreciate it! Can't wait to give this a try tomorrow. I think I'll try a small chicken.

 

[bforenow]

Well, I tried this item out today and I'm not too impressed. I cook whole chickens on my BBQ and they are much better. I guess this is headed for a charitable organization. Thanks for the replies.

 

[Barb L.]

Well, I tried this item out today and I'm not too impressed. I cook whole chikens on my BBQ and they are much better. I guess this is headed for a charitable organization. Thanks for the replies.

Plus the BBQ is easier to clean !!

 

[Caine]

Well, I tried this item out today and I'm not too impressed. I cook whole chikens on my BBQ and they are much better. I guess this is headed for a charitable organization. Thanks for the replies.

Don't be carting it off to the Starvation Army so quickly. You may change your mind about the barbeque come February.

 

[bforenow]

LOL. I don't know, freeze my buns off grilling in Feb., or mess with this huge dinasaur of an appliance. I think I'm probably going to pass it on to someone that will appreciate it more than me. I don't know if those new-fangled rotisseries are any good, maybe that's something I'll look into.
My mother in law also gave me a Nesco roaster oven, along with this rotisserie. I made a delicious roast with it. THAT's a keeper.

 

[Katie H]

My mother in law also gave me a Nesco roaster oven, along with this rotisserie. I made a delicious roast with it. THAT's a keeper.

You'll come to appreciate the Nesco roaster when Thanksgiving rolls around...assuming you are in the U.S. I used mine last year to bake my sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, extra stuffing and heat bread, all at the same time. We have only one oven, so it was a godsend.

I just separated the casserole dishes with a wire rack (turned it into 2 layers) and heated everything just fine. Will definitely do it again this year.