Today I’m going to show you how to rotisserie grill a chicken. There aren’t a whole lot of better ways to grill a whole chicken than to do it on a rotisserie. That slow rotation over the heat cooks the chicken perfectly giving it a nice golden brown color. It really turns out amazing.
So, what do you need to rotisserie grill a chicken? A rotisserie of course. Now you can get a rotisserie for your grill whether or not you are using a gas or charcoal grill. With a gas grill they are usually manufacturer specific, but you can also find universal units. At the end of this article I’ll link to the one I use for my Weber charcoal grill, and also a universal model you can get if you’re using a gas grill.
First off get yourself a whole chicken around 3 ½ to 4 pounds. Rinse it off with cold water and dry it with some paper towels. Make sure if it had any giblet packets inside you remove them as well. Now you will want to season your chicken anyway you see fit.
There are a lot of different pre-made chicken rubs you can buy at the store; otherwise you can make your own. Sometimes I just go simple and use salt and pepper. However for this rotisserie chicken I’m going to do something different; I’m going to use a really tasty chicken rub. Here is what you need:
3/4 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup paprika
1/4 cup onion powder
1/4 cup garlic powder
1/4 cup Italian seasoning
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp dried thyme
2 tbsp dry mustard
2 tbsp cayenne pepper
2 tbsp black pepper
Mix all the ingredients up, or put it in a food processor. I like to put it through a grinder or food processor just to get it to be a finer powder. That is optional though. This will make about 2 ½ cups, so store any unused rub in an air tight container. You will probably want to use about 3 or 4 tablespoons on your chicken. Make sure to rub in well, and also sprinkle it inside the chicken cavity too.
Set up your gas or charcoal grill for medium-high grilling. If you are using a charcoal grill, mound the coals to one side and place a drip pan under where the spit will be. Make sure to follow the manufacturer’s directions for using the rotisserie. Now skewer the chicken onto the spit tail end first. Make sure you have the tail end prong on the spit first. If possible try to position the prongs so that they fit snugly around the chicken instead of piercing the meat. Tighten down the screws and insert into the rotisserie motor when the grill is ready.
If you want at this point you can add a bit of smoke to your chicken by throwing some soaked wood chips on the coals, or if you are using a gas grill you can add the wood chips to a smoker box.
Rotisserie grill the chicken for 1 ¼ to 1 ½ hours. The chicken should be at 180F when you take a temperature reading from the thickest part of the thigh. Once it is done, transfer it to a platter and let it rest for about 5 minutes before slicing.
That is how to rotisserie grill a chicken the easy way. They turn out so good this way. Now if you have a Weber charcoal grill and need a rotisserie, here is the one that I use. It works really well. If you are using a gas grill, here is a universal model you can check out.
image courtesy of terren in Virgina/flickr