You can enjoy healthy roasted chicken at the flick of a switch with the Cuisinart Vertical Rotisserie. Photo courtesy MackenzieLtd.com.
|
ERIC DANTIS is a professional chef in residence at THE NIBBLE’s test kitchen.
|
|
April 2010
|
 |
Vertical Rotisserie
Eat Healthier With The Cuisinart Vertical Rotisserie Oven
CAPSULE REPORT: With the Cuisinart Vertical Rotisserie Oven, you can make a juicy roast chicken or other meat, with little effort. The vertical rotisserie is designed to roast meat so it bastes in its own juices—that is to say, vertically! The fat drains down into a removable drip tray for healthier-than-oven roasting. Because you’re roasting the meats yourself, you can buy a tastier chicken, control the amount of salt and use the exact herbs and seasonings you’re in the mood for. The Cuisinart Vertical Rotisserie can be used with beef, lamb or pork, but we tested the appliance using poultry with the aim of lower-fat cooking. If you have the counter space to spare, it is worth it. This is Page 1 of a three-page review. Click on the black links below to visit other pages.
Vertical Rotisserie Overview
Many people think to pick up a roasted-and-ready chicken for a healthy dinner. If that’s a regular habit of yours, you just might want to invest in the Cuisinart Vertical Rotisserie. With minimal effort, your own roast chicken will present itself hot and freshly-roasted in 90 minutes.
Designed to create healthier meals in an easier way, the vertical rotisserie allows you to skip several steps usually necessary to roast a chicken. The meat comes out juicy, drained of unwanted fat and with the precise herbs or spices you feel like having. That chicken can have a different seasoning seven days a week. (TIP: Check your herb and spice containers for freshness by reading our article, Checking Herbs & Spices.)
Roasting a chicken in the rotisserie instead of the oven saved us, on average, about 15 to 20 minutes of time because we could skip searing the chicken on the stovetop while waiting for the oven to heat up, and basting it while it’s cooking.
|
|
Inside the rotisserie: Set the chicken on the rotisserie and watch the excess fat melt off into the drip tray. |
Rotisserie Details
The sturdy stainless steel rotisserie measures 16 inches wide by 15.5 inches by 17.5 inches tall, or about the size of a vertical bread box. While it is a bulky (though handsome) appliance, the size is necessary to cook a whole chicken (up to 4.5 pounds). It can also cook up to 8 pounds of beef, fish, lamb, pork or vegetables.
The Cuisinart Vertical Rotisserie is very light for its size, which is good because if you have a small kitchen space and need to move it from the counter to the top of the fridge, where we store it.
- The rotisserie has an easy-to-read electronic touchpad that has five temperature settings between 325°F and 450°F.
- A countdown timer shuts off automatically at the end of cooking time (or, for safety purposes, after three hours have gone).
- The removable, reflective heating plate inside ensures even heating.
- An easy-to-clean drip tray catches drained fat (see photo at right).
Dishwasher-safe accessories that are included are:
-
A poultry tower for birds
-
A set of skewers for cooking kebabs
-
A roasting rack for beef and lamb
-
An adjustable, multipurpose basket that can be used for fish, chicken parts and burgers
Can’t wait to roast your own? Click to the next page. |
|
 Inside the rotisserie: Set the chicken on the rotisserie and watch the excess fat melt off into the drip tray. Photo by Jerry Deutsch | THE NIBBLE.
|
Continue To Page 2: Using The Vertical Rotisserie
Go To The Article Index Above
© Copyright 2005-
2024
Lifestyle Direct, Inc. All rights reserved. Images are the copyright of their respective owners.
|
