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First Braten rotisserie: chicken

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    First Braten rotisserie: chicken

    My rotisserie kit came a few months after the rest of the order so was eager to fire it up..

    Figured best to avoid fire directly under chicken given grease drippings, so mounted rotisserie in front and built fire in back. (Still couldn't figure how to make room for a drip pan so I have some cleaning to do..)

    Overall a decent first experience.. Was very nervous about burning skin so started off with the spit probably way too high above fire, lowered it gradually as I got more confident. Think that made for a longer cook but otherwise no harm done.

    On the whole..was fun, and tasty enough, but result not as good as my usual approach of spatchcocking and just lie flat in smoker. The breasts were done before the dark meat got to ideal temp so I pulled to keep them from drying out, dark meat was OK but not at its best.

    Things I wondered:
    1) Would I do better to put a spatchcocked bird on the rotisserie? I think the forks on this thing would hold it. Would that cook the legs/thighs quicker relative to breasts?
    2) Was chicken in front / fire in back the right configuration? Other ways to do this?
    3) Any clever way to put drip pan under chicken or otherwise facilitate cleanup?

    One victory: for the first time I started fire using only splits, kindling which got created while splitting, and a very small blowtorch. No oil-soaked newspaper or charcoal. And maintained a nice coal bed for the duration of cook. Getting better at this!

    ​​​​​​​I may try a rib roast or leg of lamb as next rotisserie adventure..
    Attached Files

    #2
    I do roto chicken on my Weber kettle fairly often. For me the best results come from direct heat under the bird and cook to 175 +\- in the thighs. Crispy outside, moist, tender, and done inside. I cook at about 350 at roto level measured by the Meater wireless thermometer. Perfect every time.

    Comment


    • das85
      das85 commented
      Editing a comment
      Thanks! I do have a Meater, will try aiming for 350 and with some direct heat under next time

    #3
    Bird looks great. In open fire cooking first try to establish a coal bed then feed the fire with small doses of wood. Radiating heat from the coals will do the trick, large leaping flames will tend to consume.

    BTW, nice cooking rig 👍

    Comment


    • das85
      das85 commented
      Editing a comment
      Thanks...makes sense. Maybe I'll try keeping fire in back and gradually moving coals directly under the bird.

      I do love this rig!

    • ecowper
      ecowper commented
      Editing a comment
      Troutman the Engelbrecht Braten 1000 is on my list of rigs I would upgrade to from the Hasty-Bake :-)

    #4
    I never truss a bird. That just makes it cook slower - especially the dark meat, and I pull when the breast reaches 158°.

    Comment


      #5
      I run a rotisserie on my Hasty-Bake and I also run the spatchcocked bird on the Hasty-Bake grill. I find the outcome about the same, but the rotisserie is more fun.

      A couple notes on technique. I get the bed of coals going nicely, then bank it to left and right and run rotisserie with coals off to each side, if that makes sense. I cut the wing tips off and don’t bother trussing the wings, but lightly truss the legs. I don’t do any of the dry brining, etc that I do when cooking the bird on the indirect cook and spatchcocked. All I do is get the bird out of the package, prep it, and let it sit in the fridge while I am building the fire, which takes about 45 minutes.

      I realize the Hasty-Bake is a bit different, but hopefully this is somewhat helpful.

      Comment


      • bbqLuv
        bbqLuv commented
        Editing a comment
        Spatchcocking is more fun, you can tell just be the name Spatchcock.

      • das85
        das85 commented
        Editing a comment
        Thanks, this does make sense.. I haven't been able to figure out how to do this on Braten because my logs are too long to fit lengthwise front-to-back. So if try to push coals to sides, then can't put a new log fully over coals. That's why I tried fire in back, bird in front. (I may not be describing this well.)

        Thanks for the suggestions will keep experimenting!

      #6
      Oh, and let me just say that bird looks good, love the cook pics, and I’m still massively jealous of the Braten 1000!

      Comment


        #7
        I dry brine, inject the breasts, rub with butter, then zat'tar. Bird is trussed tightlyand directly over the heat. I lower the height throughout the cook until done. Works well for us. Usually do two yard birds at a time with dark meat facing in.

        Comment


        • Bkhuna
          Bkhuna commented
          Editing a comment
          Za'atar is something I learned about just a couple of years ago. Man is that stuff great. Fortunately I have a store that sells very good, baked daily pita. Pita with good olive oil and Za'atar is something I eat several times a week.

        • texastweeter
          texastweeter commented
          Editing a comment
          I make my own now.

        #8
        With a rotisserie basket you can spatchcock. They are very versatile

        Click image for larger version

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        Comment


        • Troutman
          Troutman commented
          Editing a comment
          Yea those baskets are a great alternative.

        • Bkhuna
          Bkhuna commented
          Editing a comment
          Troutman - Now I think I need a longer fire pit. It's always something.

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