Rotisserie chicken is having a moment right now: here’s an easy way to make a dupe in your own oven

While we’re not in the business of knocking a good old roast chicken, there’s something about a rotisserie chicken that hits different – and we fall for it every time. Maybe it’s the way the smell has us instantly transported to some little French market, buying baguettes and living our best lives in the sun. Perhaps it’s just the way it tastes, that special spice rub bringing all of the flavour. Or it could be the way it’s cooked, traditionally lower and slower than a normal roast chicken, getting constantly basted by its chickeny chums as it turns on the spit. Most likely, it’s a combination of all of these things and we are here for it. 

Obviously not everyone (or indeed anyone) has a rotisserie oven to hand, so lately, we got to thinking, could we recreate some of that rotisserie magic at home? After some careful experimentation, we think we may have cracked it. We followed the template of a traditional rotisserie, and gave our chicken an overnight dry brine with a mix of herbs and spices, to help maximise the flavour and ramp up the juiciness. As per tradition, we also cooked it low and slow to keep things even juicier. And our final stroke of ingenuity? Cooking our chook upright in a bundt cake tin! This easy trick allows hot air to circulate through the whole bird, helping it to cook more evenly and ensuring crispy skin all over. This, combined with the occasional butter baste, produced the best-tasting chicken we’ve had in a long while. And what’s even better about this approach is that you can chuck some potatoes in the bottom of the tin, so they cook in all that lovely chicken fat while the bird cooks. Honestly, you won’t look back.