Rotisserie Chicken

I know I've mentioned this recipe several times in the past, but I wanted to write a post about how I like to prepare this chicken. I originally found this recipe here at food.com (what used to be recipezaar.com).

Lots of people think it is silly to make a rotisserie style chicken when you can easily buy a precooked chicken at most grocery stores for about $5. This is true, but when whole chickens are on sale, you can get a much larger chicken than the precooked ones for the same $5. That means lots more meat and we usually can get two meals from one chicken.

Another plus of this recipe is that it freezes well. I like to pick up several chickens (when on sale, of course) and prep them all at once. It just makes it easier to make several when you've got all the spices out. I've even made up little bags of the seasoning using snack bags to have on hand.

And another reason I like to make these myself is that my husband is on a healthy food kick and he prefers chicken without the skin. So I skin the chickens before seasoning and freezing and they still come out great. (And I've been known to plop a frozen chicken in the crockpot and have never had any problems....just don't tell the food police that 'cus cooking from frozen is a no-no.)

Here's the recipe:

Rotisserie Chicken

3+ lbs roasting chicken
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon garlic salt

Skin the chicken (I use my kitchen shears and this makes it pretty easy to do). Remove the guts and any visible fat.

Mix up the seasoning in a small bowl.

Place chicken in a ziplock bag. (If not eating right away - otherwise skip this part.)

Then sprinkle spice mix on the chicken, making sure to cover all sides. It's less messy this way than seasoning it before putting it into the bag. Seal bag.

Freeze.

Thaw out overnight in fridge and cook in crockpot on low. I've cooked these as long as 12 hours and they still taste great. The longer you cook it, the more the chicken will fall apart.


I like to have a few of these on hand for those times you want to take a meal to a friend. I have an extra crockpot that I put it in and don't have to worry about how long it takes to get it back.

So there you have it: an easy rotisserie chicken recipe that really is better than buying store bought.