Home cooks have long wondered how to achieve the pull-apart tender results of store-bought rotisserie chicken in their own kitchens. It's a thought that's on par with questioning if we're alone in the universe and early man's fascination with fire.
For much of modern culinary history, chickens were roasted at high heat in a roasting pan—potentially on a roasting rack within that pan. The results can be mixed: each part of the chicken cooks at different times, forcing the home cook to make the difficult decision of picking favorites when it comes to which part is properly cooked.
And then, those who spend their days philosophizing and thinking about all things home cooking wised up and introduced what's become known as the faux-tisserie method. That is, replicating the results of rotisserie chicken without the bulky rotisserie equipment that few have time, space, or energy for.
My colleague Adina Steiman likes a three hour low-and-slow technique to get that rotisserie treatment. But I've been using this method reliably for the past few years. But, in the name of staying curious, I called up Melissa Clark and Christopher Hirsheimer, the duo behind the Canal House Cooking cookbook series, to get their thoughts on the matter. Clark and Hirsheimer are masters of all things simple home cooking, but have a special knack for turning chicken into the stuff of dreams. They'll braise it in balsamic vinegar for a sticky sweet version or trussed and basted in butter for one with golden browned taut skin.
"We've cooked so many chickens over the years," says Hamilton. "Chicken over and over and over again." And, as it turns out, they also invented the original method for rotisserie-at-home in the late 1990s.
"I had just come back from France shooting a story for Saveur," says Hirsheimer. "And found this beautiful capon roasted over an open fire." The only problem was that Hamilton and the rest of the test kitchen team at Saveur had no idea how to replicate it in a traditional home kitchen.
Hamilton recalls that it was Hirsheimer who had the "genius" idea to place the chicken directly on the oven rack with a sheet pan beneath it to catch all of the drippings to mingle with whatever rough-cut potatoes and vegetables you have on hand.
"It does kind of freak people out," says Hamilton about the idea of putting chicken directly on the rack, "But clean up is really very simple—a quick wipe and you're done."
While there may be a bit more cleanup, the chicken cooks a heck of a lot faster at 425°F. And, most importantly, putting the chicken directly on the track allows air to circulate around the chicken as it cooks, just like it does in a conventional rotisserie.
But asking the pair about a rotisserie-at-home breakthrough they made two decades ago has got their roasted poultry wheels spinning again.
"Michel Richard—God love him—used to have Citronelle restaurant out in LA," recalls Hirsheimer. "I remember going there and he had the most delicious chicken he cooked his chicken in cream in the oven at 200."
"Oh doesn't that sound delicious?" says Hamilton. "Now, I'm just thinking about this—What if you go high then go low? Maybe start at 500°F?"
"I know what we're making for dinner tonight!" squeals Hirsheimer.
It went on like this for nearly ten minutes. Because the question of making delicious chicken at home is never really done being answered.