When we’re hungry and crunched for time, we sometimes pick up a rotisserie chicken from the local grocery store. It makes a serviceable meal. A better adjective than serviceable to describe the experience does not exist. But, hey, we’re hungry, and it’s fine. Frankly, a guy like us could do a lot worse.
This rotisserie chicken ain’t that rotisserie chicken. This rotisserie chicken is spit-roasted on our backyard grill. It tastes exhilaratingly delicious. We’ve made chicken many ways. We haven’t found a method that produces a more succulent, more flavorful bird.
It also is easy. All one needs is (1) a Weber grill, and (2) a Weber rotisserie attachment. Well, those things and a chicken; the process requires a whole chicken. Thankfully, whole chickens are readily available.
They say that variety is the spice of life. For rotisserie chicken, we often use our go-to barbecue seasoning: this Cowtown BBQ All-Purpose Barbecue Seasoning. Today, though, we created a Moroccan paste. With bold flavors of paprika, turmeric, garlic and ginger, it tickled our palates with delight. That was quite the sentence, but it was quite the meal.
Moroccan Rotisserie Chicken from Gentleman at Home on Vimeo.
Moroccan Rotisserie Chicken
Ingredients
- Six to eight cloves of garlic
- One tablespoon of Hungarian paprika
- Two teaspoons of turmeric
- Two teaspoons of salt
- One teaspoon of cinnamon
- One teaspoon of ginger
- One teaspoon of cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon of ground allspice
- 1/4 cup of olive oil
- One whole chicken
Instructions
Add garlic, paprika, turmeric, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cumin, allspice and olive oil into a food processor or chopper. Blend until a paste consistency is achieved. Use the paste to coat the chicken. Don’t forget to make slits in the skin and slip seasoning under the skin, especially around the breast and thigh. This step, often overlooked, generates tons of flavor. Wrap the chicken with butcher’s twine to keep everything snug.
Slide chicken onto spit and secure. Cook over medium heat with the grill door closed. Place an aluminum tray underneath the chicken to catch the dripping and avoid flare ups.
After about an hour, begin testing with a meat thermometer. Remove when the chicken hits 165°F. Let it rest/cool for 10 minutes, then butcher it into quarters and serve.
