Slow Cooking with a Rotisserie
Rotisserie cooking produces foods that are moist,
flavorful and attractive. The rotisserie system is most
commonly used for cooking meat or poultry and is
designed to cook food slowly. You can place a cooking
pan beneath the food to collect juices for basting and
gravy. To flavor the contents of the cooking pan you
may add herbs, onions, or other spices of your choice.
The cooking times on a rotisserie will be approximately
the same as for oven cooking.
Balancing the Food
In rotisserie cooking, balancing the food is of utmost
importance. The rotisserie must turn evenly or the
stopping and starting action will cause the food to cook
unevenly and possibly burn the heavier side.
The easiest foods to balance are those of uniform
shape and texture. To test if the food is balanced
correctly when secured, place the ends of the rotis-
serie spit loosely in the palms of your hands. If there is
no tendency to roll, give the spit a quarter turn. If it is
still stable, give it a final quarter turn. It should rest
without turning in each of these positions. It can then
be attached to your grill.
Food Preparation
When preparing poultry, truss the birds tightly so that
wings and drumsticks are close to the body of the bird.
The cavity of the bird may be stuffed prior to this. Pull the
neck skin down and, using a small skewer, fix it to the
back of the bird. Push the rotisserie spit through length-
wise, catching the bird in the fork of the wishbone. Center
the bird and tighten with the holding forks. Test the
balance as described before.
A rolled piece of meat requires the rotisserie skewer to be
inserted through the center of the length of meat, then
secured and balanced.
For meats that contain bones, it is best to secure the
rotisserie skewer diagonally through the meaty sections. If
protruding bones or wings brown too quickly, cover with
pieces of foil.
Guide to Rotisserie Cooking
Preparing to Smoke
Smoking gives food a distinctive, delicious flavor. You will
find a variety of wood chips or pellets available for use in
smoking grilled foods. Pre-soaking of wood chips may
be required so read and follow the manufacturers
instructions for preparing smoking chips prior to use.
Note:
It is our experience that many smoking chip
and
pellet products do not actually produce a smoke but
instead infuses the food with flavor. Please read product
labels carefully and if in doubt, ask your retailer for
details.
Using A Smoker Box
There are many optional smoker boxes available for
purchase. Follow these guidelines and always refer to
the label of your smoking chips or pellets for specific
directions.
Raise your Grill Lid and light the grill. Lower the Grill Lid
allowing your grill to reach the desired cooking tempera-
ture for the food you are grilling. Fill your smoker box with
your prepared smoking chips or pellets. Dried herbs and
spices may also be added to produce different flavors.
Wear a flame retardant BBQ Mitt and place your smoker
box on a Cooking Grid or Savor Plate™ directly above a lit
grill Burner. The heated smoking chips or pellets will
flavor your foods.
Tips for Smoking
You can reduce the strength of the smoke flavor by only
smoking for half or three quarters of the cooking time.
The heat required for smoking is normally LOW to
MEDIUM.
Foods naturally high in oils lend themselves well to
smoking, while drier foods benefit from a marinade.
Guide to Smoking
Vegetables are generally easy to cook on the grill. The
Cooking Rack makes it convenient because you can still
use the main cooking area while the vegetables are
suspended above the grids.
Pre-cook hard vegetables by briefly boiling or microwaving
them before cooking on the grill. Wrap vegetables in a
double thickness of foil to protect them while cooking on
the grill. Then, remove the foil if desired, 10-15 minutes
before the end of cooking, brush vegetables with butter or
oil and finish cooking.
Guide to Using the Cooking Rack
The Cooking Rack can be used for purposes other than
just the obvious. Consider using the rack for warming
French bread, garlic bread, croissants or even bagels.
A small whole fish wrapped in foil also cooks well on the
Cooking Rack. Parcels of seafood such as scallops,
prawns and sliced fish fillets prepared in a sauce and
portioned into small foil wraps cook well this way, too.
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Tuna steaks,
marinated in Asian flavors of sesame
oil, soy sauce and sherry.
Pork fillets,
rubbed with ginger, orange rind and
brushed with maple syrup.
Mussels,
brushed with lemon rind and chili oil.
Lamb cutlets,
marinated in virgin olive oil, lemon,
oregano and black pepper. The same marinade can
be used for a whole leg or rack of lamb.
Chicken,
boneless chicken pieces—especially sliced
breasts.
Fish,
sliced fillets of firm fish, assorted seafood such
as prawns, scallops and calamari.
Pork,
sliced fillets, diced or minced pork, sliced leg
steak, sliced chops.
Beef,
sliced fillet, rib-eye, round, rump, sirloin.
Lamb,
sliced fillet, round, loin.
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