RONCO ROTISSERIE - ron popeil's best creation

This is one of those things that I should be probably be embarrassed about writing about, BUT it is one of my favorite things. My friend Butch turned me onto it. Everytime I would see him, he would go on and on about his Ronco Rotisserie...and how he and his bf would have Tuesday Rotisserie night every week...how he would season the chicken, how juicy and tender it would be, how easy it was...comes with a timer... la la la la la. Butch knows his food...REALLY knows it and loves it. I think that's one of the reasons we love each other so much...we're alike in that way.

I looked online for it and it's sold at various places...Target, on the As Seen On TV website, but I bought mine on Craigslist. You've probably gathered by now that I'm a fiend for Craigslist. I love a good deal and love to brag about it. I found mine for $60. It's about the width of a toaster oven, but it's really pretty tall. You need clearance behind it, around and above it since it does get really hot. It comes with a little dial timer and it's so simple...15 minutes for every pound of chicken. It automatically shuts off once the time is up. I read that you should then let it continue to turn without heat for another 10 minutes to let the juices settle back in (there's a switch for rotation minus heat as well).

My favorite slather for the chicken is Earth Balance (non-transfat butter substitute that tastes better than butter, in my opinion... no gamey flavor), fresh rosemary (or thyme) & italian parsley, lemon zest, smokey paprika, chopped up prosciutto, Lawry's seasoned salt (or other brand - Tony Cachere's Creole seasoning is awesome too), fresh ground pepper. This stuff goes under the skin, all over it, and sometimes I baste the chicken a little bit although you really don't need to do that if you don't want to since the juices run all over itself while the chicken turns. I am just a little obsessive about making sure the chicken is glistening in every crevice.

The chicken is INCREDIBLY juicy. I'm usually just cooking for me and Ting (my dog) so we'll have our dinner, and then the rest of it goes into a pot to make chicken soup for the next day. Win win. <3