Rotisserie chicken at home

[rodentraiser]

I have no idea where I got this recipe but I decided to try it out yesterday.

You take a whole chicken, season it inside and out, and stick an onion inside. Then leave it overnight in the fridge. The next afternoon, you bake it in the oven at 250° for 4 to 5 hours. Instant rotisserie chicken like they sell in the grocery stores.

Now me, I didn't leave it in the fridge overnight because it had already been thawing there (and I use that term loosely) for three days. And my seasoning consisted of kosher salt all over the bird, inside (before the onion went in), and under the breast skin.

But it turned out delicious just the same.

I had put it on a small rack over foil on a cookie sheet. I'm still using that huge toaster oven which has both upper and lower temp controls and I set them each for 250. And honestly, I think this is the way I'll roast chicken in the future.

 

[caseydog]

I put rough chopped onions in my roto-chickens. Several sprigs of rosemary, too. But then they go on the charcoal rotisserie, with a drip pan full of diced red potatoes below.

CD

 

[Andy M.]

I put rough chopped onions in my roto-chickens. Several sprigs of rosemary, too. But then they go on the charcoal rotisserie, with a drip pan full of diced red potatoes below.

View attachment 76062

CD

Damn that looks good!

 

[caseydog]

Damn that looks good!

That is just a 22-inch Weber Kettle and a rotisserie kit. Weber sells one, but mine is one made by Cajun Bandit.

CD

 

[Andy M.]

That is just a 22-inch Weber Kettle and a rotisserie kit. Weber sells one, but mine is one made by Cajun Bandit.

CD

I was referring to the chicken . . .

 

[dcSaute]

there are many meats//cuts/poultry that - if you have the time - are seriously 'better' in terms of texture _and_ taste when not done in 'a screaming hot oven'

the other thing that is helpful especially for the dinosaur size chicken breasts of today . . .
slice them in half, thickness wise.
the really thick cuts, when done at higher temps, the outside is over cooked / dry / stringy before the interior is up to temp.

thick (beef) steaks - I like to sear in screaming hot pan, then put on a rack and finish in the oven at 250-275'F
the beef is much more 'relaxed' and tender than when done at high heat start-to-finish....

 

[HeyItsSara]

all of that sounds like it would major bad bacteria. letting it defrost for 3 days? cooking it for so long at only 250? I'm sorry, that does not sound like safe food practice at all.

 

[Andy M.]

all of that sounds like it would major bad bacteria. letting it defrost for 3 days? cooking it for so long at only 250? I'm sorry, that does not sound like safe food practice at all.

I see no issue with putting a frozen chicken in the fridge for three days to thaw.

Also, cooking food at a range of 250ºF-275ºF is perfectly safe. I would not, however, recommend going below 200ºF for food safety reasons. Remember, it is recommended to cook chicken to 165ºF for safety reasons.

 

[jennyema]

all of that sounds like it would major bad bacteria. letting it defrost for 3 days? cooking it for so long at only 250? I'm sorry, that does not sound like safe food practice at all.

Serve Safe Certified here. I agree with Andy.

Putting a hard frozen chicken in the fridge for 3 days is ok.

Cooking at 250 is also ok.

That said, I would never cook a chicken that low for that long. Not a safety thing. Just a taste and texture culinary thing. Chicken needs higher heat and cooked to temp — 160, not time.

 

[CharlieD]

sounds like if you were cooking brisket. Low and slow. Chicken does well at 400 degrees.

 

[caseydog]

all of that sounds like it would major bad bacteria. letting it defrost for 3 days? cooking it for so long at only 250? I'm sorry, that does not sound like safe food practice at all.

Pasteurization, or killing of bacteria, is a product of temperature and time. Bacteria is killed immediately at 160F, but it will also die at 130F, if it maintains that temperature long enough.

250F is well above 160F, so even chicken cooked low and slow at 250F will be completely cooked.

BBQ chicken (on a smoker) often confuses noobs, because they confuse the pink smoke ring with raw meat. Consequently, some people won't eat smoked chicken because their great grandma told them chicken can't show any pink.

Here is a pasteurization chart for cooking chicken sous vide. It demonstrates the inverse relationship between temperature and time for safe pasteurization. The temperatures are internal temperature (IT) of the meat, and the time is how long it needs to remain at that IT.

CD

 

[caseydog]

I cook my rotisserie chicken at around 300F until I reach 160 IT. That gives me a good crispy skin and moist, tender meat. I would not be hesitant to smoke a chicken at $250 until reaching 160 IT, but on the rotisserie, 300F just seems to work the way I want. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

CD

 

[Andy M.]

I tried a recipe from either ATK or Cooks Country for roasting a cut up chicken is pieces in a CI skillet. It came out perfectly cooked and delicious. Now I either cook chicken this way or spatchcocked.

 

[caseydog]

I tried a recipe from either ATK or Cooks Country for roasting a cut up chicken is pieces in a CI skillet. It came out perfectly cooked and delicious. Now I either cook chicken this way or spatchcocked.

I think I saw that on YouTube. I rarely cook a whole chicken, just cooking for me. When I do cook a whole chicken, it rotisserie cook it. Otherwise, I use parts, mostly dark meat parts, and cook them a variety of ways, including roasting them as you describe, in one of my CI skillets in the oven.

CD

 

[jennyema]

The best chicken I’ve ever roasted was at 475 degrees.

On a bed of sliced potatoes

Famous chef Barbara Kafka’s method

Barbara Kafka's Simplest Roast Chicken

Food52 Site.

food52.com

 

[rodentraiser]

I was referring to the chicken . . .

Isn't he the cutest thing? LOL

Yeah, that chicken does look delicious. I had to stop myself from licking the monitor.

My chicken didn't exactly want to thaw. I still had to put it in cold water and hold a pitchfork to its butt to get it to unfreeze itself. But it came out crispy and tasted great and there was no pink against the bone.

I'm like cooking like I am with gardening. I'm all about getting the most bang for my buck with the least amount of effort.

 

[HeyItsSara]

Ok all ... i don't eat defrosted chicken so three days old is pretty hard for me to imagine.

 

[rodentraiser]

I hear you.

But in my case, when I shop for groceries, I shop for the whole month. The Winco I go to is 40 minutes away (one way) and I can't justify the gas and wear and tear on my old car to drive there every week. My budget calls for using one tank of gas per month.

That means that any meat I bring home has to be frozen. Believe me, I'm not paying almost $10 for a whole chicken and then tossing it if it goes bad in the fridge. It gets frozen when I get it home and then thawed when I'm gonna cook it.

I could just shop at the Safeway in town 12 miles away, but I'd spend about $60 more for food if I did that.

 

[caseydog]

Ok all ... i don't eat defrosted chicken so three days old is pretty hard for me to imagine.

I think you have a case of "chikenitis." The main symptom is thinking that if you don't follow all the rules firmly established in 1921, you will certainly die.

CD

 

[HeyItsSara]

I live upstairs from a big grocery store. Chicken goes on sale pretty frequently. I can get fresh every day of the week. The taste is so much better - even if we didn't, if we shopped once a month, I'd eat fresh that one time during the month and eat other foods otherwise.

But, you do you.