To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, a time to reap that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
We’ve been looking forward to our new rotisserie. Planning for its arrival yesterday, I had thawed a chicken Gert had picked up at the market on sale a few weeks ago. I have been purchasing fresh yardbirds of late, but $.89/lb. is a too good to pass on. With the rotisserie in the house, it was time to brine the chicken. Brining may be overkill for a rotisserie, but I wanted to ensure a moist dinner. Normally I would pull the bird from the brine in the morning and allow it to air dry in the refrigerator during the day. That drying helps create a crispy skin. When I looked this morning, the plastic bag had punctured and some of the bird, the breasts, were not submerged. I had no idea how long the bird was out of the brine. Making an executive decision, I repotted the bird in a more sturdy bowl and headed off to work.
At the end of the day I hurried home to begin cooking.I moved some grates around and got the OTG ready. I have not used this grill since I picked up the Performer in June. Until recently I began thinking I may raid it for parts for a UDS, but will not. I just have to wait for the Craigslist score for that project. Nevertheless, I immediately noticed a couple things. One is that the outdoor outlet is on the wrong side of the deck for this thing. I had to get out the long extension cord to power the rotisserie. No biggy, but it’s going to be a pain hauling that out each time. Bryan has a battery pack he uses with the Pitminder. Apparently that is the wrong voltage I need for the rotisserie, but perhaps there is another I can pick up.
I also note I need to get some butcher’s twine. Once the bird was on the spit, its legs and wings flopped as it turned. The spit was balanced just right. Twine would have kept that from happening. Admittedly, after a while that stopped. I did try to secure the wings with toothpicks, but they didn’t hold.
I rubbed the yardbird with Weber’s Kickin’ Chicken rub. A week or so ago I picked this up. I usually make my own rubs, but I needed something. This turned out to be decent. I used it again tonight just out of laziness. I put the rod into the motor and we were off.
The chicken cooked for an hour and 15 minutes at 300°ish. I pulled it and let it rest for a few minutes. I removed the leg and thigh for Gert and then sliced a breast for me. I re-heated some risotto and vegetables to accompany this.
Gert is not one who likes change. She’s also a huge critic of mine. She loves Roadside Chicken so it was a surprise to hear her say that this was her favorite chicken ever. It was pretty good, although I am not certain I would go quite that far. The chicken was moist moist moist. And this was so easy to do. We’ll be having rotisserie chicken frequently. Yum!
