Rotisserie Chicken With Fennel, Coriander, and Red Pepper Spice Rub

A reader emailed me a question from my Rotisserie Grilling cookbook.
*You know about the cookbook, right? Available in e-book and paperback editions? Just checking.She loved the rotisserie chicken…except for getting it off the spit. Her question was – how do I handle two chickens? What do I do to get them off the spit without making a complete mess?

I started to reply: “Look at how I do it in the video.” Then I remembered…I don’t have a video of that.

The video is taking longer to edit than I thought; it should be posted in a couple of days. To entertain you while you wait, here’s the rotisserie chicken recipe from the video.

This is a simple chicken, rubbed with my current favorite spice rub. The rub is an Italian mix of coarsely ground fennel and coriander, with black pepper and a pinch of hot pepper flakes to give it some kick.

I know it’s January, I know it’s cold, and I know I was whiny about shoveling my deck last weekend. (Sorry about the whiny bit.) That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t grill this weekend – get out there and fire something up!

Video

Recipe: Rotisserie Chicken With Fennel, Coriander, and Red Pepper Spice Rub

Equipment

• Grill with Rotisserie attachment (I used a Weber Summit with an infrared rotisserie burner. Here is the current version of my grill.)
• Aluminum foil drip pan (9“x13”, or whatever fits your grill. I use an enameled steel roasting pan or Weber Extra-Large aluminum foil drip pans.)
• Butchers twine
• Instant Read Thermometer
• Spice grinder or mortar and pestle

Rotisserie Chicken With Fennel, Coriander, and Red Pepper Spice Rub

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• Author: Mike Vrobel
• Prep Time: 1 hour
• Cook Time: 1 hour
• Total Time: 2 hours
• Yield: 8-12 1x

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Description

Rotisserie Chicken With Fennel, Coriander, and Red Pepper Spice Rub recipe – rotisserie chicken with a crunchy spice crust.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 2 (4 pound) chickens

Spice Rub

• 2 tablespoons kosher salt (1 tbsp per bird)
• 2 teaspoon fennel seed (1 tsp per bird)
• 2 teaspoon coriander seed (1 tsp per bird)
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (1/2 tsp per bird)
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper (1/2 tsp per bird)

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Instructions

1. Season and spit the chicken: Put the fennel, coriander, and red pepper flakes in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle. Coarsely grind the spices, then mix in the salt and pepper. Sprinkle the chicken with the spice rub inside and out, patting it onto the chicken to help it stick. Lift the skin over the breast and and rub some of the spice rub directly on the meat. Fold the wingtips back underneath the wings, then truss the chicken. Skewer the chicken on the rotisserie spit, securing it with the spit forks. Let the chicken rest at room temperature while the grill pre-heats.
2. Set up the grill for indirect high heat: Set the grill up for indirect high heat with the drip pan in the middle of the grill grate.
3. Rotisserie cook the chicken: Put the spit on the grill, and start the motor spinning. Make sure the drip pan is centered beneath the chicken. Close the lid and cook until the chicken reaches 160*F in the thickest part of the breast, about 1 hour.
4. Serve: Remove the chicken from the rotisserie spit and transfer to a platter. Be careful – the spit and forks are blazing hot. Remove the twine trussing the chicken. Let the chicken rest for 15 minutes, then carve and serve.

• Category: Rotisserie
• Cuisine: American

Seasoned, trussed, and spit

Ready for the grill

Done, ready to carve and serve

Notes:

• If you have the time, use the spice rub as a dry brine. Rub the chickens the night before cooking, and refrigerate overnight. One hour before cooking, remove the chickens from the refrigerator, and continue with trussing and spitting them.
• No rotisserie? No worries. Set your grill up for indirect high heat, put the drip pan under the grill grate, put the grate back on the grill, then put the chickens breast side down over the drip pan. Grill with the lid closed for 30 minutes, then open the lid, flip the chickens breast side up, and grill for another 30 minutes, or until they reach 160°F internal temperature in the breast.
• This recipe was originally titled “…with Rosemary, Fennel, and Coriander Rub. That is, until I forgot the rosemary. It’s a good addition – add a teaspoon of fresh rosemary leaves, and grind them up with the other spices in the spice grinder.

What do you think? Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

Related Posts:

Video: Rotisserie Grilling: Two Chickens
List of my other rotisserie recipes

Check out my cookbook, Rotisserie Grilling.

Everything you could ask about the rotisserie,
plus 50 (mostly) new recipes to get you cooking.

Available in paperback, or as a Kindle e-book so you can download it and start reading immediately!

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