FAUX-tisserie chicken. As in chicken that we made in the oven to mimic the rotisserie chicken you buy from your favorite grocery store — only it tastes so much better. We start by dry brining the chicken with salt and baking soda – more on that in a bit. Then we’ll rub it down with oil and season it with simple ingredients from the refrigerator and pantry. And when this chicken comes out of the oven, it’s fall-apart tender. You can serve the oven-roasted chicken as is with homemade mashed potatoes (ready in 20 minutes!) and with your favorite steamed or roasted veggies. And what’s leftover can be turned into bbq chicken nachos, chicken tortilla soup, white chicken chili, or lemon chicken orzo soup. Bonus points if you use the bones to make homemade chicken stock. Sauté a few veggies, add the remaining bones and then let it simmer with some black peppercorns, bay leaves, and fresh thyme/rosemary. Let it hang out for a couple of hours, remove everything, let the stock simmer, and concentrate. Use it to make my homemade chicken corn soup or roasted garlic white chicken lasagna soup! Homemade rotisserie chicken is the meal that keeps on giving!
What ingredients do you need to make an oven rotisserie chicken?
Whole chicken: For this recipe, you’ll want to use a small 3.5-4 pound chicken. Remove the neck and gizzards from the chicken. And make sure to use a skin-on chicken. Skinless chicken will dry out too much in the oven and won’t work for this recipe.Seasonings: You’ll need a good bit of kosher salt for this recipe, as well as baking soda, black pepper, garlic powder, and smoked paprika.Herbs: you’ll need fresh thyme and rosemary. If you don’t have fresh herbs on hand, you can replace them with dried herbs. I’d use a little less than what is listed if you have dried herbs; they are more potent.Lemon: cut the lemon into wedges. We’re going to put this in the cavity of the chicken while it roasts.High heat oil: I prefer to use melted ghee for this recipe instead of the high heat oil. However, both options work.
How to make the best oven rotisserie chicken:
Why do you dry brine roasted chicken with baking soda?
Dry brining with baking soda helps boost the browning process in the oven. The chicken will get crisper and much more golden in the oven because baking soda raises the chicken skin’s pH and allows the protein to break down better. However, it’s important to note that for this to work, you must allow it to rest in the refrigerator uncovered for at least 10 hours.
Top tips for homemade rotisserie chicken:
What to serve with slow-roasted chicken:
Seriously Amazing Cheddar Mashed PotatoesBubbly, Cheesy Cauliflower CasseroleGolden Brown Garlic Butter Roasted CarrotsAutumn Crisp Apple Sweet Potato SaladCrunchy Parmesan Toasted Bread Kale Caesar Salad
And there are tons of other ideas here!
How to use leftover chicken:
Chicken TetrazziniFried or Baked Chicken TaquitosWinter Lemon Chicken Barley SoupChicken Pot Tater Tot HotdishMexican Chicken Noodle Soup
For best results, I do suggest dry brining the chicken. Please see the post for why it’s important to dry brine the chicken. If you do not dry brine the chicken, omit the baking soda.A larger chicken will also work for this recipe, however, you’ll want to increase 1 teaspoon of salt for every pound of chicken you use over what is listed and you’ll also need to roast the chicken for longer; about 15-20 minutes more per pound.
