Rotisserie Chicken

Yes, you have to have the correct cooking equipment for this week's food idea, but I've been talking about my fabulous convection oven for nearly a year - so I'm sure you've all run out and purchased one by now!

Whole chickens were on a great sale at Ralphs - so I had to have one. And they're SO easy to broil in the rotisserie mode of the oven, as long as your oven has a rotisserie mode! Our Delongpri convection oven has a rotisserie contraption that hooks up quite easily, and accommodates a whole chicken up to 6 pounds. I always try to find one that is between 5 - 5 1/2 pounds. The meat guy at the grocery store was just putting out a fresh batch of birds, and he selected a beauty for me to take home.

First I take all the gross things out of the bird and toss them. I know, you are supposed to save the gizzards and the neck and all that other disgusting stuff crammed in the cavity for gravy - or, even worse, to actually cook and eat? YUCK - I just toss it all. (If you want to save it to use as part of your base for soup if you're going to do that later, I do approve of that use of the gross stuff, because eventually, it still gets tossed!)

Give your bird a nice bath, then towel-pat dry.

I like to fill the cavity with herbs from the garden - today we had rosemary, thyme and dill. I also threw in a lime, with the ends cut off and slits throughout, and an onion, peeled and also slitted, but still whole.
Use string from the butcher to truss your stuffed bird. I don't really truss so much as I just tie the bird up with string. This has two purposes - it keeps the onion, lime and herbs in the cavity during cooking, and it keeps the wings and legs from flapping all over the oven while the bird is turning on the rotisserie.

Next, skewer the rotisserie bar through the center of the bird, and fasten the ends in a place that will allow the bird to rotate freely in the oven. You may need to test it a couple of times before you're completely happy with your chicken placement on the skewer and the rotisserie rack.

(I usually prepare the chicken up to this point in the morning, then wrap in plastic and put in the fridge until evening when it's closer to dinner time. If you do this, take the chicken out of the fridge about 30 minutes before the next step.)

Lightly rub oil all over the chicken, and season to taste. I use salt, pepper and granulated garlic. Hook the rack into the convection oven and cook away. I set my oven temperature to "Broil" and the function to "Rotisserie." I set the timer for 1 1/2 hours, but I start checking the internal temperature after about an hour - it's always premature, but by that point the house is smelling so delicious that you could SWEAR that bird is ready to be eaten.

My food thermometer has the poultry setting at 180 degrees, but I go by the Julia Child method and cook the bird to 160 - 165 internal temperature.

Let it rest for 20 - 30 minutes, but I'll bet you'll be picking off and nibbling the delicious crispy skin from the entire bird - and you might as well, because it loses its deliciousness as the chicken sits longer... or so I've been told.... we always eat it all right out of the oven.