Not sure why your method works, but we get extra juicy chicken on our rotisserie, and we don't debone it or do anything other than baste it with melted butter, smoked paprika, salt and pepper. To die for, juicy!!

Maybe your method works because you are doing a really hot sear? Searing the juices in?

One theory I've had is that most of the cooking is done with skin side down, and maybe the skin is holding the juices (like a bowl) rather than letting them drip away. And the cooking time is relatively short, 40 min.

For how long do you cook your rotisserie chicken?

Yes to the skin holding in the juices. I've observed this phenomenon. The rosemary probably also helps to steam the chicken, and the closed lid also retains steam that has escaped from all. Other than that, I have no guesses.

For me, the quality of the chicken is key. I find big chickens, and those huge breasts they're breeding for, tend to be drier and need more attention. I get the best and smallest chickens I can. :) I most often do them bone-in, in the combi-steam oven on a bed of roots and vegetables, rather than herbs, and don't turn them, but do butterfly them and cook flat. The flesh is always juicy, and the skin crisp. I do boneless-skinless pieces in a similar manner but often without vegetation and it also comes out juicy.

I'm guessing the salt is helping retain moisture. I don't think the "skin cup" holding juices plays as big a part as the fat shielding the meat from direct heat. 140-150 is probably the big one though.

@John Liu, I cook my rotisserie chicken 15-20 minutes per lb. We have a propane grill with an infrared back burner. I check the thigh temp with an instant read thermometer, and let the chicken rest under foil for 15 minutes before slicing it to serve.

Yes, it's the opposite of when you specifically puncture the skin to let the fat drain out. :) If I roast a chicken whole, I have to be careful when puncturing the skin using a thermometer or all the fat runs out before the resting, and leaves the chicken dry.

I'm wondering if your method would work for chicken parts in the Traeger Grill on a bed of rosemary. I know that cutting the chicken may compromise that fat bowl, but may be worth a try. I have a freezer full of parts, and rosemary keeps our hillside from sliding.

@John Liu If you do the rotisserie, put one of those throw away tin pans under the chicken with some water in it. The drippings will go in there, the steam keeps the chicken moist, and your grill won't get all messed up.

Meat tenderness is temperature dependent. Higher, meat shrinks more and gets drier and tougher.

When you cook your chicken skin side down, the following situation determines how much heat gets to the chicken meat:

1. Skin has some water, water evaporation prevents heat from getting above 212F, doesn't matter how hot the heat is.

2. Once the water from the skin dries out, the fat in the skin controls temperature. The melting of the fat takes away BTU for phase change energy.

3. Fat is not a good thermal conductor.

Therefore, your meat has a better chance of not getting overcooked.

The more heat, the tougher the meat to eat

dcarch

I might suggest that not overcooking the chicken has a lot to do with it. 140-150° is pretty low for chicken.

Out of curiosity, what kind of chicken are you using? I've noticed a lot of the mass market chicken is "enhanced" which adds to its moisture level too.

Usually your basic supermarket chicken, foster farms or similar.

You might want to check the packaging but I would suspect it's "enhanced" which is a nice way of saying they're selling you salt water with the chicken.

If you're on any kind of sodium restricted diet, you should read the package carefully. The "enhancing" solution can up the sodium content considerably.

really, just summarizing what people wrote -- you leave the skin on and possibly, your chicken is brined (or gets the equivalent with the salting and soaking) and your rosemary helps diffuse direct grill contact (heat). Sounds delicious.

Thanks everyone. I'm trying to learn, what is it that works in this technique, so I can apply it to other ways of cooking chicken.

Foster Farms doesn't have the salt injection enhancing thing and most other regular grocery store chickens do--be interesting to do a comparison. :)

My brined and seasoned chicken is on a bed of rosemary in the Traeger Smoker. I have it on 350 degrees. Fingers crossed. I'm smoking a pan of mac and cheese next to it. Pairing with smoked corn on the cob and fig salad.

My husband cooks chicken thighs on the BBQ - bone and skin on and they're always juicy and good. I think it's just because he doesn't over-cook them. It's also a skin-down for most of the cooking. When I do them in a sauté pan, à la Jacques Pépin then they're good too. I do his little cut either side of the bone so they lie flat in the pan. I really think over-cooking is the worst culprit for the chicken. I know that in England a lot of the chickens are "enhanced" but happily we do't get that here.

"---I really think over-cooking is the worst culprit for the chicken.----"

The French has better chickens. :" Label Rouge"

dcarch

Surely you can get the equivalent?