Make Juicy, Delicious Rotisserie Chicken at Home

Learning how to make rotisserie chicken at home is simple and it delivers the same juicy results without the fancy cooker or the trip to the supermarket.

Store-bought rotisserie chicken is so juicy and flavorful. And, it’s so easy to grab a cooked rotisserie chicken from the store for a quick and easy dinner. I used to think it was impossible to get that same juicy, crave-able flavor at home, without a professional rotisserie (that I’d have to clean afterward). But, once I learned that I could make rotisserie-style chicken in the oven, and it only would take minutes to prepare, while the oven did the rest, I was sold! You should also check out our herb-marinated roast chicken recipe.

Making your own rotisserie chicken at home in the oven means that you can choose a good quality chicken to roast and you know that the spice rub that is used on the chicken doesn’t contain any additives. And, you can know the chicken hasn’t been injected with any synthetic tenderizing agents.

Plus, once I started doing my own oven rotisserie chicken, I noticed that the rotisserie chickens in the stores looked so small, scrawny, and hardly able to serve a family. Buying a whole chicken, I have found that there is always more meat on the bones than the chickens they choose for the rotisserie in the store, and so the cost for what we’re getting is actually much better!

Making a Rotisserie Chicken in the Oven

Making your oven rotisserie chicken is incredibly easy.

1. Mix Up Your Spice Rub

I use a mix that contains a good amount of garlic and onion powders, some paprika and a pinch of cayenne for smokiness and color, and some thyme for that savory undertone. And, of course, the ever-essential salt and pepper.

2. Prepare the Bird

Remove the bird from the package and remove the giblets from the body (and possibly neck) cavity.

3. Season the Chicken

Rub the chicken with melted butter or oil. (This helps the spice rub stick and gets the skin nice and crispy.) Sprinkle the spice mixture onto the rotisserie chicken and rub it in to be sure it sticks to the butter.

4. Choose a Roasting Dish

Place your seasoned chicken on a roasting rack in a roasting pan, (You could even use a rack placed in a high-sided cookie sheet, or just place the chicken directly in a cast-iron skillet or a baking dish. Keeping the chicken on a rack while roasting is advisable if you can because this will help the bottom of the chicken to be more crispy since it’s not sitting in juices and fat as it cooks. But if you don’t have that option available, your rotisserie chicken will still turn out wonderful in a cast iron ban or baking dish.) If using a roasting pan or rack, pour water to just cover the bottom of your pan, for easy clean up later.

5. Roast the Rotisserie Chicken

Roast it low and slow for tenderness and juiciness, until the internal temperature of the thigh of your chicken, reaches 160F or slightly over. Roasting time will depend on the size of your chicken but typically takes 2-3 hours.

6. Let it Rest

Remove the chicken from the oven and let it rest for 20 minutes for the juices to settle before serving.

This chicken can easily be prepared for the oven up to 24 hours in advance and refrigerated until you are ready to turn on your oven.

Leftover Rotisserie Chicken Recipe Ideas

Not only is rotisserie chicken a perfect, minimal prep dinner, it’s also the perfect way to prepare meat for using in other dishes throughout the week. Some people even like to roast two at a time and save the second one to use in recipes throughout the week.

Here are some ideas for using leftover rotisserie chicken:

• Chicken salad
• Tacos or nachos
• Sandwiches or wraps
• Chicken noodle soup or tortilla soup
• Chicken pot pie

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How To Make Rotisserie Chicken at Home

Learning how to make rotisserie chicken at home is simple and it delivers the same juicy results without the fancy cooker or the trip to the supermarket.

Prep Time

10 minutes

Active Time

2 hours 30 minutes

Resting Time

20 minutes

Total Time

3 hours

Servings

4 people

Course

Main Course

Cuisine

American

Estimated Cost

$5

Equipment

• Roasting pan

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken (3-5 lbs.)
• 1 Tbsp butter or olive oil

For the Spice Rub

• 1 ½ tsp paprika
• 2 tsp sea salt
• 1 ½ tsp garlic powder
• 1 ½ tsp onion powder
• ½ tsp thyme
• ½ tsp black pepper (fresh ground)
• ⅛ tsp cayenne powder

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

1. Begin making your rotisserie chicken by preheating your oven to 300F.
2. Mix the spice rub ingredients together in a small bowl.
3. Remove the chicken from its packaging. Remove any giblets from the body or neck cavities.
4. Brush chicken with butter and sprinkle with the spice mix. Rub the spices into the chicken skin to help them stick.
5. Place the chicken onto the rack in a roasting pan and pour water into the bottom of the roasting pan to cover the bottom. (Alternately, you can put the chicken into a cast-iron Dutch oven, cast iron skillet, or baking dish.)
6. Bake the chicken until a thermometer placed in the thickest part of the thigh reads 160F (or slightly over), 2-3 hours.
7. Remove the chicken from the oven and let it rest for 20 min before slicing. (The chicken will continue to rise in temperature as it rests, and the final temperature should be around 165F).

Nutrition:

Serving: 1pound | Calories: 504kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 41g | Fat: 36g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 171mg | Sodium: 1343mg | Potassium: 454mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 842IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 27mg | Iron: 2mg

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Now that you know how to make a rotisserie chicken at home, how are you going to use your leftovers? If you have any!

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