Weekend Cook: Rotisserie Chicken

Rotisserie Chicken

This was one of those "Let's make our own rotisserie chicken instead of buying one" moments.   My rotisserie gear, btw, was a Christmas gift from my mother-in-law, and I have used it almost exclusively for boneless leg of lamb because our farm-grown chickens are too big to fit.  However, supermarket chickens fit just fine.

Simply stuffed with lemon and fresh ginger pieces after setting in the refrigerator overnight, uncovered, to let the skin dry out - that's the secret for crispy skin.  I stuffed the breasts under the skin with pesto and tied on some fresh thyme and a pat of butter.

These took an hour and ten minutes for the breast to reach 165f, 170f in the thigh - though I lost some heat when I checked them at 40 minutes to be sure everything was on schedule.  They were very moist and flavorful for store-bought Cornish hens.  If it had been warmer, I'd have been motivated to baste them to get more color - but it was blowing and snowing - not good for standing beside the gas grill.

I foiled some beets to steam alongside - they didn't cook all the way through, but a quick pass in the microwave finished them.  They were so sweet that Dan thought I had put brown sugar in the foil!