A year ago, my wonderful wife gave me a surprise present for my 40th birthday - a two week vacation, alone in France. The first week I took cooking classes in Provence, and the second week I wandered around Paris.*
My week in Provence was the highlight of my trip. It was very early in the season, and due to a last minute scheduling change, I wound up being the only person in the class! I got to be a temporary local*. If you ever get a chance, visit Patrick Payet and Famous Provence here - you won't be disappointed.
*The picture on the left, the one of me smiling, with my hands covered in Cognac and lady fingers. was taken during this class.
One day, I got to spend the morning wandering around the market at L'Isle sur la Sorgue
One of the things I saw there was a rotisserie chicken stall - they had a wall of chickens turning in front of a wall of propane - picture your local Boston Market's chicken cooker, but with a trailer hitch, being run by a man of middle-eastern heritage. It smelled heavenly. The interesting part to me was the potatoes - under all the spinning chicken was a sheet of foil, covered with sliced potatoes. They were browning from the heat of the fire, and soaking up the dripping juices from the chicken above. Being the rotisserie fanatic that I am, I knew I had to try this at home.
It turned out to be a lot harder than I thought it would - I couldn't get the potatoes to cook all the way through; they'd be nicely browned on the outside, but hard and undercooked inside. It wasn't until I saw a grilled potato recipe in Cook's Illustrated that involved pre-cooking the potatoes. The light bulb went on. Pre-cook the potatoes! Of course!
*Or, I think, you could slice them a lot thinner. Now that I think back to the rotisserie set up in the market, that may have been how they did it. I like the thick chunks of potato you get with the following method, though, so I haven't tried thin-slicing yet.
Recipe: Rotisserie side dish potatoes
- Grill with Rotisserie attachment (I used a Weber Summit 650 with an infrared rotisserie burner. Here it is.
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)
Ingredients:
- 2 lbs yukon gold potatoes, peeled (optional) and sliced ½" thick
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoon olive oil
Directions:
1. Prep the potatoes: Put the sliced potatoes in a medium, microwave safe bowl. Toss the sliced potatoes with the salt, pepper and oil until evenly coated. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and microwave on high for 5 minutes. (You want the potatoes to be just starting to cook through - too soft and they'll disintegrate).
2. Start the rotisserie main course: Pick a rotisserie recipe, and get it started. (Some suggestions are here, here and here.) The key piece is the foil pan that catches the drippings under your main course - that's where the potatoes are going.
3. Cook the potatoes: Once you have the main course started, put the potatoes in the pan underneath it. You don't want to crowd the pan - the potatoes will steam instead of cooking. Cook with the grill lid closed, tossing the potatoes in the pan every 15 minutes or so until they're well browned, usually 30 to 45 minutes. (I shake the pan with my grill tongs, then rearrange the really brown pieces and the undercooked pieces as necessary. Be careful - don't puncture the pan, or you'll have dripping fat everywhere in your grill!)
4. Serve:Remove the potatoes to a platter, and serve with the main course.
Notes:
*This recipe should work with a mix of root vegetables, though I haven't tried it yet. Carrots and parsnips would go well with the potatoes, or as their own dish.
*Don't ask the calorie count on these potatoes. They're cooking in dripping fat. They taste great, but they're not exactly a good option if you're on a diet. Unless you have the willpower to eat only one...
Inspired by:
 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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carol botts says
we want to do a rib roast on the rotisserie - also want to do the potato and vegetables - when do the vegetables go on, as it seems the potatoes would get done before the roast. any ideas?
Mike Vrobel says
Add the potatoes and veggies when the roast has 30 to 45 minutes left to go.
Mike V @ DadCooksDinner says
Great! I'm glad it worked for you.
Chuck Lutz says
Mike, I turned to your recipe for the seasoning, because I had never done a rotisserie lamb. I cooked a small (2.5lb) bone-in leg of lamb on the rotisserie in my Thermador oven for 40 minutes at 400 degrees. It was fantastic! i added the step of chopping basil really fine and smearing it all over the meat about 6 hours before cooking, but your baste was the best part.
Mike V @ DadCooksDinner says
You're welcome - those are my favorite potatoes in the world, so I'm glad you like them!
ericdo says
Mike. Thanks! Great inspiration. I made these potatoes today with Rosemary, Salt and Olive Oil under my Rib Roast. Awesome. I look forward to trying more of your recipies. Thanks Again. Eric
MikeV @ DadCooksDinner says
@Jonathan:
Thanks for following up with me. I'll have to check the clearance on the Genesis the next time I'm at my Dad's house.
Jonathan says
Thanks, Mike.
Sorry for being unclear. I do remove the grates and place a drip pan on the flavorizer bars but it still seems quite low. I think the Genesis can realistically hold a single chicken (trussed well). I've tried to fit 2 medium chickens on previously and I think it's just too difficult to manage spacing.
In any case, thanks for the reply and I'll keep plugging away. Even when I screw things up, the chicken keeps coming out great..
MikeV @ DadCooksDinner says
@Jonathan:
When you say "so low above the grates"...do you remove the grill grates when you use the rotisserie? You should - even my Weber Summit, which has pretty good clearance, is too tight for most food without removing the grates. I set the drip pan directly on the flavorizer bars.
When I was cooking a turkey on my Dad's Weber Genesis, we had to remove the middle flavorizer bar and rest the drip pan directly on the (unlit) middle burner of his grill.
Hope this helps, and let me know if that was the issue...
jonathan says
Thanks for all the great information. I've been trying to get into more rotisserie cooking during the past few months with a new Weber Genesis E320. The problem I seem to have is that rotisserie is SO low above the grates and I have to truss very very well in order to keep from dragging on the plan. It's hurting my confidence and preventing me from using the rotisserie more. The Summit appears much higher over the burners than the Genesis. Almost feels like a design flaw.
MikeV @ DadCooksDinner says
@Shaughna:
Thank you! I'm thrilled my site is inspiring you.
And, we'll call Rotisserier a word. (Rotisseriean? Rotisserieburger?, nah, I think you have it right.)
Shaughna says
Hi Mike,
I am the proud new owner of a Summit grill and can't believe how much I love this thing! Thanks for creating such an interesting blog. I found you looking for rotisserie inspiration. As a newbie Rotisserier (word?)I am filling up our meal plans from your postings. Brazillian steak night coming up!! But first, chicken with pan dripping potatoes. I'll run tomorrow...
Keep posting 🙂
Shaughna
MikeV @ DadCooksDinner says
@Keith:
You're welcome. Part of the reason I put this blog together is I was in the same boat you are a few years back - I had a rotisserie, with no recipes to use. I'm glad you found it!
Anonymous says
Mike,
I just bought the Weber Summit S-670 and was disappointed that it didn't come with a cookbook...especially since I'm new to rotisserie cooking. I googled and googled and what I found on your website blows me a way. I can't wait to try to these great recipes. Thanks for taking the time to show detailed pictures.
Keith
Chesterfield, MO
MikeV @ DadCooksDinner says
@Valerie
You're welcome! Let me know how things go in the countertop rotisserie. All my rotisserie cooking has been on the grill, and I'm curious if my recipes translate to a countertop model.
Valerie says
Fat, Shmat! It's what made us human, just make sure the fat comes from animals that ate their natural foods exclusively, spent their lives happily munching outdoors in the fresh air, drinking fresh clean wate, and were treated with great respect by caring handlers. Then you obeying natures law and health is possible.
Cant wait to try your recipes! I inherited a countertop rotissere from my mom which I adore! I have a nice english cut roast I am going to cook in it tomorrow. I had not thought of adding a pan of root veggies to the oven. Thanks for the tip! I will do exactly that! Thanks for the post.