Chicken question for Joetissierie owners

Moleman

Hello, because of all the recent posts recently in regard to the Joetissierie I've pulled the trigger and bought one. I'm just awaiting delivery. Now roaster chicken were buy one get one free so I got a couple. My two questions are; do I need to leave the chicken out to dry for a day or two as you do spatchcock? And secondly is 16 pounds of chicken too much to spin? I appreciate any responses. I'm looking forward to trying this. Thanks 

bhedges1987

There are some owners here that will chime in sometime I assume. 

SmokeyPitt

I don't have a Joetisserie but I have used a rotisserie on other grills. To your first question about drying, I would say it probably isn't necessary.  It is a form of direct cooking so I think you will get crispy skin. However, I don't see any harm in drying either if you want extra crispy skin. 

I also happened to run across something on Amazon Q&A that said the max weight was listed as 40 lbs so you should be fine to spin 16 lbs of yardbird.

OhioEgger

Not necessary to let the chicken dry but I generally do. I loosen the skin and let it sit in the frig for a few hours before putting it on the spit. Seems to work well.
That's not too much weight, but try to get them as well centered and balanced as you can and be sure to secure them firmly. I usually take a pair of pliers and give the thumbscrews on the clams an extra tweak to make sure they're good and tight.

Smolder

I usually brine and do a rub of some sort. Like previous posters said, make sure to secure and balance as best you can. Chicken can be kinda hard to keep from slipping on the rod. I second the pliers on the thumbscrews. I've had them come loose a couple of times.
 One other thing I did to the rod was mark with a sharpie where the two inside edges of the egg are, and used a dremel tool to cut light grooves so I can tell where the center of rod will be for what ever I'm putting on it. It will make sense to you after a couple of uses.
 Also important is how you build your fire. There are you tube videos explaining this.

OhioEgger

Smolder said:

 One other thing I did to the rod was mark with a sharpie where the two inside edges of the egg are, and used a dremel tool to cut light grooves so I can tell where the center of rod will be

Nice idea! Thanks for that -- I'll be doing the same.

eggnewtoy

Last week, I salted a whole chickenwith kosher salt about 3 hours before spinning and it was excellent. Not a huge difference but quite tasty.

Moleman

I appreciate the responses. Thanks for the information. 

Hub

I would cook less chicken on my first Joe cook.  Like every accessory, it takes a little time to learn it.  Most importantly, make sure the chicken is firmly attached to the spit rod.  It's a moving piece and bad things can happen.  My first chicken cook on the Joe didn't go well because I loosely attached the chicken and it fell off of the rod and into the coals .. kind of a caveman chicken cook! Get it tight ... real tight.  Then you are fine.

Carolina Q

Hub said:

Most importantly, make sure the chicken is firmly attached to the spit rod.  It's a moving piece and bad things can happen.  My first chicken cook on the Joe didn't go well because I loosely attached the chicken and it fell off of the rod and into the coals .. kind of a caveman chicken cook! Get it tight ... real tight.  Then you are fine.

That has never happened to me... until it did! Bird was floppin' around like the proverbial chicken with it's head cut off. I kept tightening and it kept coming loose! Never into the coals, but it was not pretty. Dunno why, but I haven't spun one since.

smbishop

When I bought my Joetisserie, I found this video on how to truss a chicken.  This guy has a couple of cookbooks on Amazon.  I bought his kindle versions.  A lot of good, basic recipes for the rotisserie.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OW7yfODF3UA&feature=youtu.be

Hub

Carolina Q said:

Hub said:

Most importantly, make sure the chicken is firmly attached to the spit rod.  It's a moving piece and bad things can happen.  My first chicken cook on the Joe didn't go well because I loosely attached the chicken and it fell off of the rod and into the coals .. kind of a caveman chicken cook! Get it tight ... real tight.  Then you are fine.

That has never happened to me... until it did! Bird was floppin' around like the proverbial chicken with it's head cut off. I kept tightening and it kept coming loose! Never into the coals, but it was not pretty. Dunno why, but I haven't spun one since.

No reason to not spin.  You just learn from your mistakes.  Personally, I don't like to spin a whole chicken but instead spin 3-4 bone in, skin on chicken breasts.  Never had a problem with them and they always, always come out awesome.

HeavyG

smbishop said:

When I bought my Joetisserie, I found this video on how to truss a chicken.  This guy has a couple of cookbooks on Amazon.  I bought his kindle versions.  A lot of good, basic recipes for the rotisserie.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OW7yfODF3UA&feature=youtu.be

I agree that when spinning poultry it can be useful to tie them up to keep the legs from just flopping around.

eggnewtoy

Here's a trick on how to truss without string:  
http://www.foodandwine.com/blogs/how-truss-chicken-without-any-string

Dredger

I use elastic ones similar to this. https://www.amazon.com/Rotisserie-Elastic-Cotton-Blend-e-Cookbook/dp/B01HR30HT6/

I can truss a chicken in less than a minute.


Do use pliers to secure the tines.

Moleman

I ended up doing one chicken at a time but did two of them. They were fantastic. Any suggestions for anything else to cook would be appreciated. And does anyone the spit diameter for ordering the correct size baskets. I'm sorry I waited this long to buy it. I appreciate all the responses to the original post. 

OhioEgger

Moleman said:

 spit diameter for ordering the correct size baskets. 

I bought this one. It's adjustable to fit most rotisserie spits, including yours. Works great.
https://www.amazon.com/OneGrill-Flat-Grill-Rotisserie-Basket/dp/B004Z2G0BW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1485211909&sr=8-1&keywords=one+grill+flat+grill

Focker

My brother sent me this roulade last night.

One of my recent faves, tacos al pastor.

Used Mike Vrobel's method religiously when trussing yardbirds for years.  Chef Steps has a better, brilliant method for trussing, exposes the legs.  This was burn barrel chicken on the 22 WSM.

https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/tips-tricks-best-way-to-truss-a-chicken

Moleman

Focker, do you use any certain recipe for the, tacos al pastor? That certainly looks like something I want to try. 

Focker

Moleman said:

Focker, do you use any certain recipe for the, tacos al pastor? That certainly looks like something I want to try. 

I used this recipe, and marinaded overnight.  Threw the pineapple on last hr or so.
https://www.buzzfeed.com/alvinzhou/homemade-al-pastor?utm_term=.dyGjQk764#.loRRbK0rV

Moleman

Focker, one last question for you about tacos al pastor, did you secure the pineapple any way? I see you have the forks into each side of the meat. I'm worried the pineapple will spin freely? I have had the meat marinating for a few days and am soon to try it. I appreciate your time.  

eggnewtoy

I do everything in either a basket or on skewer.  Chops, pork roasts, prime ribs, steaks, wings. Chicken pieces, fish, shrimp, lobster tails, any meat,  roasting green chiles and other veggies.  The baskets are great.  

Focker

Moleman said:

Focker, one last question for you about tacos al pastor, did you secure the pineapple any way? I see you have the forks into each side of the meat. I'm worried the pineapple will spin freely? I have had the meat marinating for a few days and am soon to try it. I appreciate your time.  

I just push the spit through the core, keep it center.  The pineapple will spin fine, no worries.