Roasting on the barbecue

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If you want to buy a barbecue by specifying to the seller that you want to roast chicken, he will immediately offer you a barbecue with a lid, advising you because once the lid is lowered, the heat will surround the chicken and cook it. However to roast a chicken, it's not the heat that should turn around the chicken but indeed the chicken around the heat. You therefore need direct cooking and especially the equipment to make your chicken rotate (or other food to roast).

Roasting: The advantages

First of all the meat will be juicier, more golden and cooked gently. You must understand the difference between grilled and roasted. To grill you will need particularly hot coals, whereas to roast which requires more time, the coals should be less hot.

Equipment and setup

Almost all barbecue models have the necessary equipment for roasting. This is what we call a rotisserie set or spit, it must consist of a basket or a spit as well as a motor. Be very careful with purchasing your equipment, the motor must be powerful enough to turn the meat at a good speed, and especially that it can support the weight of a turkey for example or a wild boar...

Roasting on a wood barbecue

Roasting a chicken on the barbecue requires a bit of experience,

• the first thing to know is that you must not have coals that are too hot. You would risk burning the meat.
• Don't place the meat to be roasted too close to the coals.
• And especially as this is a long cooking method, take your time and add charcoal regularly (about every 30 minutes.)

With a gas barbecue, set the burner on low, and place a drip tray under the meat to be roasted to prevent flames and especially to properly disperse the heat.

The most important thing then is balance and safety. Indeed to succeed in your spit cooking, you will need to pay close attention to the balance of your meat. It must be placed in the center of the spit, well tied so that there is no counterweight, which would accelerate the motor rotation. The wings and legs of the chicken or turkey must be well secured. The wisest thing once the spit is in place is to turn the meat in your hands to see if the balance is perfect.

Cooking time is very difficult to define, and don't rely on the indications in recipes, as it depends on the weight of the meat, the fire, the wind, etc... The best thing is to use a meat thermometer which will tell you exactly when the meat will be ready.