How to make rotisserie chicken at home and on the BBQ

Rotisserie chicken at home: easy if you know how

Spit-roasted chicken is one of the recipes with chicken meat most loved by Italians. Whether it's traditional or you want a super quick dish to pick up in the morning at the market, this recipe really satisfies everyone. Here the typical spit-roasted chicken that you can find at the market stall or in a rotisserie, equipped with special ovens and rotating grills, can become a roast chicken that you can easily make even at home.

Spit cooking is one of the most popular methods of cooking on the BBQ or over direct heat. It is simply chicken, beef or pork cooked on a metal skewer which, rotating very slowly, at a constant temperature gives very uniform cooking and a characteristic crust to each cut of meat. For cooking and barbecue professionals it will not be difficult to recreate this recipe because it is precisely the union of the rotisserie and open fire that makes the magic. There are also some tricks to enhance the wow effect of the rotisserie. One of these is to collect the cooking liquids and use them to keep the meat moist, brushing it continuously. In this way you will have tasty meat, moist at the right point and not dry, avoiding excessive burning of the external part (dedicated to the crust). For those who, however, do not have this magical tool at their disposal, recreating spit chicken, aka roast chicken, is possible thanks to your home oven, the operation of keeping the meat moist is simply done by opening the oven and using a spoon to keep her hydrated.

Magic is created with good free-range chicken, constant heat, a well-measured mix of spices and a typical evergreen side dish: roast potatoes. So let's see how to prepare this delicious dish, both for those who have a skewer and for those who will use the oven, with a few small precautions.

Barbecue and baked rotisserie chicken recipe

Ingredients

• 800 gr/1kg of whole free-range chicken
• mix of spices such as RUB (or Chicken Rub) to taste
• extra virgin olive oil to taste
• Salt and Pepper To Taste
• 300g of potatoes for the side dish

Method

We start by brushing the chicken with olive oil and flavoring it with the mix of spices we have chosen - rosemary must never be missing - remembering to pass the mix inside too; in this case we can also add whole sprigs of spices.

For the traditional spit-roasted chicken : insert the chicken onto the spit about halfway along its length, close the two fork clips, turn the keys and secure it so that it does not move. Now insert the spit into the rotisserie after preheating to a temperature of approximately 130°C. We close the lid and continue cooking for about half an hour. Remember to brush the chicken with the cooking liquids that you have collected with a grill bowl. In the meantime, we can also put the potatoes on the stove, which we will have cut into wedges and seasoned with extra virgin olive oil and the mixture of spices we desire.

For the oven-roasted chicken : tie the chicken with roasting string, butter a shallow saucepan and put the chicken to cook in the oven, preheated to 200°, for about 40 minutes, keeping it wet with the cooking juices. Still in the oven we can put another saucepan with some potatoes that you have previously boiled, cut into pieces and passed with the same RUB or simply with some rosemary.

Once ready, remove the spit chicken from the heat and the roast chicken from the oven, plate it cut into pieces with the side dish of potatoes, some accompanying sauce and a light salad. A dish that everyone will love!