Marinate your chicken overnight for maximum flavor.
- Carbohydrate 0 g
- Cholesterol 172.5 mg
- Fat 34.638 g
- Fiber 0 g
- Protein 42.78 g
- Saturated Fat 9.913 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (230g)
- Sodium 161 mg
- Sugar 0 g
- Trans Fat 2.94400000000001 g
- Calories 494 calories
Step-by-step
- The night before, or in the morning: Rinse the thawed chicken with cold water and pat it dry with paper towels.
- (Don't forget to remove the giblets--that's the little bag of stuff inside the body cavity--and rinse the inside, too.)
- Put the chicken in a large bowl or roasting pan or plastic storage bag and cover it liberally with teriyaki sauce.
- Seal or cover it tightly, excluding all the air that you can, and put it in the refrigerator until you're ready to start cooking.
- You might want to turn it about halfway between the time when you put it in the fridge and the time you plan to start cooking.
- To cook: Truss/tie the chicken according to your rotisserie's instructions.
- Cook according to your rotisserie's instructions until done.
- Baste with more teriyaki sauce periodically during the cooking process.
- Once the chicken reaches a safe temperature (180 degrees), remove it from the rotisserie and let it rest on a serving dish or cutting board until it's cool enough to carve.
- Serve with steamed veggies and rice.
Rotisserie cooking imposes a strict physical limit: the bird must spin freely inside the heating chamber without catching on the elements, which dictates both your choice of chicken size and how tightly you truss the wings and legs. Utilizing a thick commercial teriyaki glaze introduces sugars that caramelize rapidly under direct heat, meaning moisture management before cooking is critical for achieving a crisp exterior rather than a burned, steaming mess.
- Pat the cavity and skin completely dry with paper towels after rinsing to ensure the thick marinade adheres evenly without sliding off the surface.
- Remove the internal giblet bag from the cavity prior to the eight-hour refrigeration window so the meat absorbs seasoning uniformly from the inside out.
- Truss the bird securely with butcher's twine to keep the wings and drumsticks close to the body, preventing dry edges from burning during rotation.
- Insert a digital thermometer into the deepest part of the thigh, pulling the chicken from the heat source precisely when it registers 180 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Store leftover meat in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days, or freeze carved portions for later use, gently reheating them covered with a splash of broth to prevent the lean breast meat from drying out.
Letting the cooked bird rest undisturbed on a cutting board allows the internal juices to redistribute fully throughout the muscle fibers before carving begins. Slicing too early causes valuable moisture to escape onto the board, resulting in a dry mouthfeel regardless of how long the meat soaked in the glaze.
