I will tell you what I did and what I didn't like and maybe those of you with more experience can tell me how to do better, or get more out of this thing.
I started with 2 roasting chickens. I knew I was supposed to tie them up, particularly so the wings didn't hang and catch on the rack, preventing the unit from turning properly. I should've looked up a diagram online, but I was a bit lazy and figured I could do well enough to tame the wings. I also used button thread, because of not knowing where someone had put the string. With a bad tying job with the wrong material, I was off to a good start!
Following the diagram in the manual, I turned the oven onto broil at 355 degrees. I put the pan with the rotisserie contraption at the bottom rack position, as instructed, so the shaft inserted into the proper space in the back of the oven. It turned! So I'd done that part correctly.
Everything looked good and the chicken was browning beautifully. But that was the outside. How long it would take, and what was going on in the inside was only a guess, since with the rotisserie, I can't, of course, use the probe.
I noticed all that empty space under the chickens "going to waste, " so cut up potatoes, garlic, and onions to take advantage of the hot oven, and whatever dripping juices would be provided to baste them.
After about 50 minutes, I used my instant read thermometer to check. It wasn't to proper internal temperature, so I had to continue to check every 10 minutes or so. This was disappointing to do, since with every prick, lovely juices poured from the chicken, no longer inside doing their job to keep the meat moist.
The legs were loosening, the moisture was visibly boiling under the skin, but the thigh and breasts continued to stay too cool for what seemed to me to be too long.
Finally, they jumped past the temperature I was looking for, and I removed the pan from the oven. THAT was a feat. It wasn't so bad going in... With everything cool, I didn't notice how awkward and heavy the unit and 2 chickens were. It was another story when the whole thing was sizzling and about 400 degrees. I didn't care if my arms bumped the metal stand when I put it in, but not so when getting it out!
Now I had 2 steaming chickens locked onto a hot, metal contraption. I let them rest, of course, but they were still hot, as I'd sure want them for serving. The birds were so done (and the veggies well past ready, too), the meat and bones of the extremities fell to pieces as I attempted removal from the rotisserie unit. (It was a messy process, and I didn't stop to wash my hands and get photos.) I guess I could've cut the meat from the carcass without removing them, but then I'd risk undesirable knife-metal skewer contact, so I'm not sure that's a better remedy. Plus, I just don't know how I'd cut the breast into servable portions that way.
I'm just not convinced this is better than rack-roasting while using the probe. It seems like a lower oven temperature might help.
Any other suggestions of why I had these problems, and how my experience might improve for next time?
Any suggestions of food choices that would be a better fit for success with the rotisserie process?
