Rotisserie Chicken with Knob Creek Maple Glaze and Drip Pan Potatoes

This recipe is sponsored by Knob Creek Bourbon - they kindly sent me some bottles of their product, and are featuring this recipe on the Brothers of Bourbon site. Give them a visit, and tell them DadCooksDinner sent you!

Rotisserie grilled chicken is the ultimate roast chicken. The high heat of the grill browns the skin. The constant spinning bastes the chicken in its own juices. And the trussed bird pushes the knobs of the drumsticks away from the body, cooking the bird evenly - juicy breast meat and tender, well cooked legs.

I was working on this recipe for the Brothers of Bourbon website when my Knob Creek contact emailed me. “We have a new limited edition bourbon - Knob Creek Smoked Maple. Would you like to try it?”

Oh, Yes. Yes, I would. I was already planning a maple syrup and Knob Creek glaze for the chicken; the extra smoked maple flavor makes it the ideal match for this recipe.

So, without further ado, Here’s how I make my perfect chicken.

I start by dry brining my chicken. The chicken is salted the night before, and it rests in the refrigerator. The early salting brines the chicken in its own juices, seasoning the chicken all the way through. And yes, I do know that “dry brine” is an oxymoron. By definition, a brine is water and salt. But “brining” is such an established cooking term that I can’t think of a better way to describe it. “Early salting” is technically correct, but sounds weird.

The next day, it’s time to cook. I truss the chicken and secure it on the rotisserie spit with the spit forks, then start preheating the grill. When the grill is ready, I set it up for indirect heat, with a drip pan in the middle and the heat on the edges. (My grill’s infrared rotisserie burner gets turned on now - it’s a great accessory for rotisserie chicken.) The spit plugs into the rotisserie motor, the chicken starts spinning, and I close the lid.

After a half an hour, halfway through the cooking time, I put par-cooked potatoes in the drip pan under the chicken. The potatoes soak up chicken drippings and brown in the heat of the grill.

When the chicken is almost done, I brush it with a glaze of maple sugar, a pinch of chipotle powder, and Knob Creek Smoked Maple bourbon. Knob Creek builds on the sweet maple flavor, and adds an hint of complex, smoked oak.

Would you like to eat the ultimate roast chicken? Try this recipe. You won’t be disappointed.

Recipe: Rotisserie Chicken with Knob Creek Maple Glaze and Drip Pan Potatoes

Equipment

• Grill with Rotisserie (I use a monster Weber Summit)
• 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

Rotisserie Chicken with Knob Creek Maple Glaze and Drip Pan Potatoes

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5 from 1 review

• Author: Mike Vrobel
• Total Time: 9 hours
• Yield: 4-6 1x

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Description

Rotisserie Chicken with Knob Creek Maple Glaze and Drip Pan Potatoes recipe - Sweet glaze on crispy rotisserie chicken, with potatoes cooking in the chicken drippings.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 (4 pound) chicken
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt (or 2 teaspoons fine sea salt)
• 1 ½ pounds red skin potatoes, cut into ½ inch slices
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Knob Creek Maple Glaze

• ¼ cup maple syrup (Grade B if you can find it; it’s darker and has more flavor)
• ¼ cup Knob Creek (preferably Smoked Maple)
• ½ teaspoon chipotle powder (optional, or substitute cayenne pepper)

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Instructions

1. Dry brine the chicken: Season the chicken with 1 tablespoon salt, inside and out. Refrigerate for at least eight hours, preferably overnight.
2. Truss and spit the chicken: One hour before cooking, remove the chicken from the refrigerator. Fold the wingtips 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.
3. Set up the grill for indirect high heat (450°F or higher): Set the grill up for indirect high heat with the drip pan in the middle of the grill.
4. Simmer the Knob Creek Maple Glaze: While the grill is preheating, put the maple syrup, Knob Creek, and chipotle powder in a small saucepan. Simmer over medium heat until reduced by half, about ten minutes.
5. Rotisserie cook the chicken and potatoes: Put the spit on the grill, start the motor spinning, and make sure the drip pan is centered beneath the chicken. Close the lid and start cooking the chicken.
6. Toss the potatoes with 1 teaspoon of salt in a microwave safe bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and microwave for eight minutes to par-cook the potatoes. The potatoes should be mostly cooked; if they need more time, toss them, re-wrap the bowl, and microwave for a few more minutes. Set the potatoes aside until the chicken has been cooking for 30 minutes, then remove the plastic wrap and pour the potatoes into the drip pan under the chicken in an even layer. Close the lid and cook the potatoes with the chicken.
7. The chicken is done when it reaches 160°F in the thickest part of the breast, and the potatoes are done when they are browned and crispy on the top; both should take about 30 more minutes.
8. During the last 15 minutes of cooking, brush the chicken with the Knob Creek glaze every five minutes to build a crust of glaze on the bird.
9. Summary: The total cooking time is about one hour. The potatoes go in after the chicken has cooked for 30 minutes, and start brushing the glaze on the chicken after 45 minutes.
10. Serve: Remove the chicken from the rotisserie spit and remove the twine trussing the chicken. Be careful - the spit and forks are blazing hot. Remove the drip pan and use a slotted spoon to transfer the potatoes to a platter. Let the chicken rest for 15 minutes, then carve the chicken. Drizzle any remaining glaze over the chicken and serve.

Notes

For trussing instructions, see my Rotisserie Grilling: Two Chickens video.

• Prep Time: 8 hours
• Cook Time: 1 hour
• Category: Rotisserie
• Cuisine: American

Notes

• This recipe doubles easily - two chickens cook as fast as one on the rotisserie. (If you look closely at the pictures, you can see that’s exactly what I did - I had two chickens going at the same time.) Two pairs of spit forks makes this easy - secure each chicken to the spit with its own set of forks. If you only have one pair of spit forks, put one fork on the spit, and push one chicken onto that fork. Slide the other chicken on the spit, both chickens facing in the same direction, then use the second spit fork to push the chickens together as tight as possible.
• I like the hint of smoke and heat that the chipotle powder adds, but it’s optional if you really don’t like heat in your recipe. Or, if you can’t find chipotle powder, substitute cayenne powder - it will give you the heat, but not the smoky flavor.
• The side burner on your grill is the perfect place to simmer the glaze - you can reheat it right before brushing it on the chicken.

What do you think?

Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

Related Posts:

Rotisserie Peruvian Chicken (Pollo A La Brasa) with Drip Pan Purple Potatoes
Rotisserie Chicken with Fennel, Coriander, and Red Pepper Rub
Rotisserie Chicken with Chinese Oyster Sauce Glaze
Click here for 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.

It's a Kindle e-book, so you can download it and start reading immediately!

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