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KennethT

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    Countertop Rotisseries

    in Kitchen Consumer

    Posted

    In my understanding, oven "roasting" is really just baking - where hot air conveys heat to the food.  A rotisserie cooks solely through infrared - a true rotisserie or roast should be open to the air so the food is not heated at all by convection, but only from the heat source.  Theoretically, the sinusoidal application of heat and room temperature as it spins towards and away from the heat source makes for very tasty birds.

    Brining, then drying, then marinating?

    in Cooking

    Posted

    Over on the Countertop Rotisserie forum, I decided to get a small inexpensive rotisserie, primarily to cook small birds for my wife and myself.  For the machine's maiden voyage, I was planning on doing kai yaang (thai grilled chicken) from Pok Pok as I've had it in the restaurant in NY many times and always enjoy it - it is very similar to some of the great grilled chickens I've had in Thailand...  Serious Eats put the recipe here, http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2013/11/andy-ricker-whole-roasted-chicken-game-hen-recipe-from-pok-pok-cookbook.html but I also have the book.

     

    The recipe calls for brining the bird overnight, then stuffing, and air drying in the refrigerator for 12 hours.  I don't quite understand the purpose of this - I understand that letting it sit open in the refrigerator will help dry the skin - I used to do this with ducks and it worked great - but why brine beforehand?  I've always thought that most of the flavorings put in a brine don't really affect meat flavor very much - except for the salt... but am I off base?  Can it really add flavor and not just salt?  Would that flavor dissipate in the 12 hour drying session?

     

    Then, after the bird is dried, it is marinated in soy/fish sauce/sugar for a couple hours.  Why do this if you just spent 12 hours trying to dry the skin?

     

    If you're not going to overcook the bird, why brine in the first place?  And if you're going to marinate in a wet marinade for a couple hours, why take 12 hours to dry the skin beforehand?

    Silky Smooth Chicken Breast

    in Cooking

    Posted

    I've never had the soy sauce chicken, but I've had plenty of Hainanese chicken rice in Singapore, and similar versions in Vietnam and Thailand - and it seems that the best ones are cooked in simmering liquid, then plunged into an ice bath and until cooled - this stops the cooking and minimizes any carry over and helps gelatinize (is this a word?) the skin.  I also think that the breed of bird has a lot to do with the meat texture as well.  Back when I was doing more cooking, I'd done tests at home to recreate this, using the same method with 3 different breeds of chicken - and got vastly different results.

    • Like 3

    Countertop Rotisseries

    in Kitchen Consumer

    Posted

    I'm hoping I don't hvae a problem with splatters either - I think this will be minimized since the heat source is between the meat and the reflector/shield - I imagine any splattering would be there, rather than the area where there is no heat applied and the meat faces room temperature.  He says, crossing his fingers....

    Countertop Rotisseries

    in Kitchen Consumer

    Posted

    Thanks both @andiesenji and @boilsover - I hadn't thought about the grease spitting all over - I was actually thinking about sitting it on top of my stove (which wouldn't be used at the time) and facing it towards the wall where I can hang a sheet of foil or something.  No, it doesn't look like there is any distance adjustment, which would be nice, but I don't think critical for what I want to do...

     

    My biggest concern is how a chicken would sit on the central main spit - I don't see from the photos what would keep the spit from just turning inside the chicken while the chicken itself doesn't move, and I can't seem to find the user manual online...

     

    Also, FYI, I just saw this same machine on Amazon for $69 including shipping...

     

    So, I guess, worst comes to worst, I can get it from Amazon, take a look at it and the manual, and if I don't think it will work well, just return it and start looking all over again...

    Countertop Rotisseries

    in Kitchen Consumer

    Posted

    @andiesenji What do you think of the one I linked to above?

    One of the things I like about it is that it is open - there's no door there to trap heat inside and turn it into an oven rather than a true rotisserie.  But I'm curious as to your thoughts since you're always so knowledgeable about this stuff!

    Dinner 2018

    in Cooking

    Posted

    @rotuts I've tried that before, but rather than using the IP, I cooked chicken thighs SV, then chilled to refrigerator temp.  Coat like normal but I fried in oil a bit hotter than normal because I wanted to brown the crust but only warm the insides to eating temp.  It worked well, but I don't think the crust adhered as well as normal - sometimes it would come off in big flakes..... but I think it was definitely worth revisiting.

    • Like 2

    Countertop Rotisseries

    in Kitchen Consumer

    Posted

    @JoNorvelleWalkerI prefer them too but they're more expensive...  One of these days, I have to run down to the poultry market in chinatown - I've always seen good prices there on lots of different types of poultry - poussin, squab, quail, silkies, etc...  I have lots of room in the laydown freezer in the corner of my dining room.

    • Like 1

    Countertop Rotisseries

    in Kitchen Consumer

    Countertop Rotisseries

    in Kitchen Consumer

    Posted

    1 hour ago, lindag said:

    I have a Cuisinart rotisserie that I got maybe 10 years ago Shown here.

    I assure you I did not pay $900 for it!  Closer to <$200 then.

    I still have it but haven't used it in several years.  The footprint is really big so storing is not easy, particularly for someone with a small apartment/kitchen.

    Also besides being hard to clean I really don't think it does any better a job than a regular oven, I wouldn’t recommend one.

     

    Wow... that thing is huge! Way overkill for what I need - the biggest bird I'll cook weighs less than 3 pounds...

    Countertop Rotisseries

    in Kitchen Consumer

    Posted

    @dcarch I've seen yours and, of course, have considered making my own.  But since I don't have scrap material lying around, I'd have to buy all the parts, which seemed to cost about the same as a small, inexpensive prebuilt model.  Not to mention the time to make it, which I'm a little short of right now...

    Countertop Rotisseries

    in Kitchen Consumer

    Posted

    Bumping this thread....

     

    I've been thinking about getting a rotisserie for my small NYC apartment, mainly to do small birds - cornish hens, small chickens etc.... there are only 2 of us, and we try not to make leftovers, so a small sized one would be fine.  I see some are vertical and others horizontal over a range of prices...

     

    Any suggestions of what I should be looking at?  Thanks..

    Sharpening stones

    in Kitchen Consumer

    Posted

    Many years ago (long before I heard of either Edge Pro or eGullet) I bought one of those two sided stones in a restaurant supply store - it came with a plastic holder/case with suction cup feet so it doesn't slide, and it is made to sit in a bath of mineral oil.  it was really cheap and works well, as long as you try to maintain the knife's angle when you use it - that's where the Edge Pro shines - keeping the angle consistent.  If you get one of those stones and it doesn't come with the plastic case/mineral oil bath, you can always soak it in water and then lay it on the counter on top of a folded damp towel, which will keep it from sliding.  As you sharpen, keep putting some water on teh surface of the stone using your fingers so there is always a small "puddle" on top of the stone which will help lubricate and remove metal filings as you go.

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