We all love rotisserie chicken, don’t we? The bird’s crispy skin and juicy meat are sure to make everyone drool over.
Traditional turkish foods, chicken doner and meat doner kebap in Istanbul, Turkey. Doner kebab (also döner kebab) is a type of kebab, made of meat cooked on a vertical rotisserie.
Many of us often bring a tender rotisserie chicken on our way home from work for a family dinner.
Have you ever thought of cooking this rotisserie chicken at home? Won’t it be nice to cook a lavish, restaurant-like food at home whenever you want? If yes, a rotisserie oven is what you are looking for. In fact, this oven is perfect for preparing meat for gyros, tacos al pastor, doner kebab, and any type of shawarma.
Roasting is one of the easiest methods of cooking meat and a vertical rotisserie does this job better than any other ovens. This oven saves counter space and prepares healthy food by removing unhealthy fat.
A rotisserie oven cooks in a pretty uncomplicated way. You have to stick a piece of meat dabbed on spices (if you like) on a spit, set it into a slot in the oven cavity, turn the oven on, and just leave it until the meat is cooked. The spit continuously rotates, exposing all sides of the meat to heat for even and fast cooking.
Some models make use of convection heat for better and faster cooking. They have fans that circulate heat across the oven cavity. For this reason, these ovens are great for searing food. Even heat circulation quickly scorches the outside of the meat when the inside remains tender and juicy.
There are three types of rotisserie oven: rotisserie toaster oven, horizontal rotisseries, and vertical rotisserie.
A rotisserie toaster oven is multifunctional. Apart from cooking meat, you can use it as a toaster oven for baking pizzas, making cookies, toasting bread. These ovens are not particularly designed for roasting meat on a spit, so the outcome is unlikely to be on the par with a horizontal or vertical rotisserie.
A horizontal rotisserie is a dedicated roasting appliance that keeps the meat juice contained within while roasting. Balancing the meat pieces and other ingredients on the spit is a bit challenging due to the horizontal design.
How a vertical rotisserie is better than these oven types? Well, this oven delivers flavor-enhanced food with better air ventilation, even heat circulation, and precise rotation speed. Other unique benefits to get are:
Saves Time
If you can’t manage time to cook a family dinner, a vertical rotisserie can come to your rescue. Roasting meat takes surprisingly less time in this oven because it heats up much faster and circulates heat evenly across the caveat. Moreover, you don’t have to oversee it like regular cooking. Just stick the marinated or spiced meat into the spit, turn on the heat, and it will be done after a while.
Easy to Use
All you have to do is place the whole chicken, meat strips or cubes on the skewers and wait. There is no need to rotate the skewers as it will be done automatically.
The cubes of meat and vegetables in a shashlik or kebab skewer may come loose and fall off in a horizontal rotisserie. But this will never happen in a vertical unit.
Also, such an oven comes with kebab skewers, fish baskets, and steel trays for collecting fat and drippings. Just follow the user manual, and you will have no problem in the kitchen.
Healthier Food
A vertical rotisserie oven cooks delicious food, which is healthier than the food cooked in a horizontal rotisserie or a regular oven. All unhealthy meat fat drains at a bottom tray. So you get to eat saucy, tender meat instead of the usual greasy roasts. The food also tastes good, almost something you have in a fancy restaurant.
Cooks Flavorful Food
A vertical rotisserie drains the fat, but the food still turns out to be flavorful because of the vertical drippings. If you brush the top pieces with marinade, it will trickle to the bottom, greasing all the pieces way down.
For this design, it is easy to infuse the food with a particular flavor. For example, if you want to have a pineapple-flavored kebab, skew a chunky pineapple piece above the meat on the spit. Juice from the pineapple piece will drip down and infuse all the pieces with flavors.
Characteristics of a High-Quality Vertical Rotisserie Oven
So, you want to buy a vertical rotisserie oven to have all those amazingly tasted yet healthier roasted chickens, beef kebab, and taco al pastor? Well, some pre-purchase considerations will help you with buying a good-quality unit.
Design & Features
The appearance of a rotisserie does not matter but the good look is a plus point since it will be on your kitchen counter. Most of them have a black or stainless steel body. A few models have colorful options but those might not be the best choice when considering build quality, features, and cooking performance.
However, the build quality matters as you want this oven to survive numerous cooking sessions. A product cost around a couple of hundred dollars should last just more than a year or two.
Choosing a product from a well-reputed brand almost 50% ensures that the oven is good. However, you still have to check the quality of the metal used on the body and how durable they are. Some models come with a warranty, which gives customers confidence about their quality.
The size of a vertical rotisserie matters because it will be on your kitchen countertops. You have to know the dimensions to see how much footprint it is going to take.
Another important factor is the cooking capacity. Most vertical rotisseries can cook a full chicken at once. But choices are limited if you are looking for a unit that can accommodate a full turkey.
A rotisserie oven has a limited capacity to cook at once. For example, some models can cook a full turkey while others cannot accommodate anything larger than a full chicken. Invest in a large vertical rotisserie if you are in the mood of throwing parties frequently. But a small oven is fine for prepping family meals.
Cooking Performance
The cooking performance of a rotisserie does not mean how tasty the food turns out, for it depends on the cook. Rather, performance indicates the features that help with cooking the perfect roasted and barbecued meat.
For example, the temperature control feature allows cooking various poultry and meat delicacies witho
ut compromising with the taste. It is even better if you can put it on a timer. You can simply forget about the dish after setting the timer. The oven will turn off automatically after the cooking is done.
The number of spits is another factor to consider. Most models come with one spit or two. But multiple spits allow you to roast more meat strips at once. A single strip oven is fine if you want to cook a whole chicken. However, multiple spits are good for cooking kebabs and smaller meat cuts.
Look for these qualities when you are purchasing a new vertical rotisserie. However, if that seems too much of work, we’ve rounded up a list for your convenience.
The vertical rotisserie from Royali has all the qualities to be your absolute favorite kitchen appliance for cooking
meat. Costing just shy of $350, the oven is pricey, but it is quite great for both personal use and small events. If you are thinking of hosting 20 to 25 people, this oven can get you covered without breaking a sweat.
Design & Features
With 12.5 x 11.5 x 18.75 inches of dimensions, the Royali vertical rotisserie is suitable for small parties and family get-together. The oven is also suitable for commercial purposes such as food stand or food truck. In fact, it can take the abuse of continuous exposure to the outside environment due to the durable stainless steel body.
A propane tank supplies fuel for the operation while there is a 110V plug for the rotisserie motor. Double infrared burners with ceramic coating are designed to deliver even heating across the oven caveat.
The machine is delivered fully assembled. So, there is no instruction leaflet included, but a recipe book would be nice.
Cooking Performance
The Royali vertical rotisserie cooks different types of meat. The process is quick and the end result is delicious and juicy.
Cooking a whole chicken or turkey in this rotisserie is a breeze since the capacity is from 5 to 13 pounds. Apart from roasting a whole bird, you can use it for preparing the meat for gyros, different types of shawarmas, tacos al pastor, and doner kebab.
The oven uses a propane tank for creating the flame and heat. The cooked meat also produces smoke and all the heat expected from an industrial gyro or tack machine. So, using it indoors is obviously a fire and health hazard. You should take it to an outdoor space at the time of prepping meals.
This rotisserie is absolutely worth the money if you have an outdoor cooking space. It produces excellent tacos al pastor. In fact, the meat tastes as flavorsome as street tacos.
You will get loads of compliments from friends and guests because this oven keeps the meat juicy inside and crispy outside. It happens because the infrared burners distribute heat evenly and you can control the temperature on both sides.
If the Royali vertical rotisserie is beyond your budget, this NutriChef countertop unit seems perfect for the budget
shoppers. Priced at less than $100, this model can also cook delicious, moist, and tender meat items. Whether to prepare a whole bird or some kebab skewers, this oven offers a hassle-free cooking experience.
Design & Features
The vertical countertop oven is made of glass, plastic, and steel. The transparent glass middle is sitting on a black base. Its overall look is good enough to fit into a modern kitchen.
Build quality of this oven is good if you can overlook some flimsy metal parts. Also, people with bigger hands may find it difficult to operate the buttons and knobs as they are small.
Rated at 1500W and 110V power specs, the oven offers quick prepping of different meat preparations including the rotisserie, shawarma, and kebabs. The spit in the middle rotates so that the food gets heat evenly on all sides.
Along with the central spit, the rotisserie comes with a grease drip tray, a kebab rack, and seven skewers. The drip tray contains the fat and grease to keep the interior mess-free and the tempered glass door saves everyone from spattering. The glass is stain-resistant so cleaning is a breeze.
Prepping meat items is quite easy on this oven as it provides even distribution of high power heat, temperature settings up to 464°F, and time adjustment up to 60 minutes.
Despite producing high heat, the machine is countertop safe because of the heat-resistant glass door and the automatic power-off feature.
Cooking Performance
Your dinner will never be boring again. Versatile meal prep option offers a treat for your palate. You can cook pork, lamb, beef, and chicken to prepare shawarma, kebab, and tacos al pastor. The rotisserie chicken will be delicious with crispy skin and tender, moist meat inside.
A large turkey won’t fit into the oven. But you can easily cook a big chicken or a small turkey. To get the best result and to avoid any tripping accident, cook no more than five pounds of meat at once. Adding more pounds will increase the cooking time and you will need to watch out more for an overflowing drip tray.
If you are looking for something bigger than Nutrichef Countertop, this unit is a good choice. This is another vertical
rotisserie at less than $100 from the same brand. The Upgraded oven is multifunctional, and it is great for cooking loads of delicious meat at once.
Design & Features
This vertical rotisserie is a rectangular unit that has an innovative design, allowing different types of cooking. The front side has a heat-resistant tempered glass that prevents splatter.
Unfortunately, the oven is somewhat front heavy. Despite having anti-skid feet, it may trip over when you put pounds of meat into the spit. To ensure a safe cooking environment, you should either keep the oven within a fixed frame or attach it to the surface behind it. It would be a good idea to set the rotisserie up into a fixed place because it is too big to be moved often.
The spit in some models might be too short to lock into the bottom spinning part. In that case, you have to purchase a spit that fits.
Nutrichef offers a one-year warranty for this product.
Cooking Performance
Great for roasting and baking, the Upgraded rotisserie has your back whether you need to prepare a turkey for the Thanksgiving dinner or roast kebabs for a small party. It cooks your favorite meat items and keeps them healthy by draining the fat.
Measuring 13.4 x 18.9 x 12.2 inches, this unit can cook 6 to 8 pounds of meat at once. A bird that side is enough for a family meal.
Cooking in this oven is quite simple. Just marinate the chicken or meat strips with your favorite spices and seasonings, insert them into the spit or skewers, set the timer, and wait for the meal to be done in time. There is also a baking pan and grill rack, allowing you to treat your palate any way you want.
The oven has a temperature (up to 464°F) and a timer (60 minutes) setting, which are easy to control. There are three cooking modes—bake, broil, and rotisserie—so even a novice cook does not face any problem.
The Sunbeam Carousel rotisserie is not a budget product like the Nutrichef models. However, it is excellent in terms
of quality and cooking performance. It cooks such flavorsome juicy meat that no one will ever want to miss any party in your home again!
Design & Features
This oven is a metal cylindrical unit that sits on the top of a plastic base, which has a knob for setting the timer. It has a glass door that slides open from the right to left.
There is a metal spit that goes through the center of the oven and locks into the bottom part, which has a cage-like frame and a dripping tray. That basket-like frame contains the bird’s legs and wings within it, roasting them nicely without burning. Most vertical rotisseries don’t have that feature and burn the tips of the wings and legs while cooking. The bottom cage also keeps the whole chicken and meat strips more contained.
Cleaning up the rotisserie is quite easy. The door removes easily and you can put all the removable parts into a dishwasher.
Cooking Performance
Regular ovens dry out the meat when roasting. But a vertical rotisserie keeps it perfectly juicy while the skin remains crispy. It is a great cooking machine if you want to have restaurant-quality roasted and grilled meat at home.
The vertical spit design seals in natural meat juice while unwanted fats drip into a tray at the bottom. It means that the prepared meals have exploding flavors but not unhealthy fats.
It offers a smokeless cooking environment with the help of the see-through door. You can cook a wide variety of foods including a whole chicken, kebabs, and even corn on the cob to perfection. The uniform heat distribution nicely browns up the meat from all sides.
However, the oven is not good for broiling big birds. To get the best results, keep everything under 4 pounds. Otherwise, cooking will take more time and the chicken may not be cooked at all.
The vertical rotisserie from Wonderper is a budget-friendly oven suitable for a small family. At less than $100, this
machine can produce lip-smacking grilled and roasted meats. As this unit is compact, you can take it outside during the summer to have fun and spare the kitchen from turning hot.
Design & Features
The Wonderper rotisserie has a simple design and a sturdy base. The stainless steel body and white base do not clash with any other kitchen accessories. Also, it does not trip over even when fully loaded. Some units do not stay stable, which creates a safety hazard.
This small oven is for home use only. So, you have to invest in a bigger one if you like to throw parties and entertain everyone with homemade foods. However, the small footprint is a blessing for those who have a tiny kitchen. A compact counter space cannot stop them anymore to have gyro or taco al pastor at home.
The machine operates at 1,100W to yield a high-power performance. It comes with a dripping pan and a few small skewers. There is no front door but splattering is still not a problem.
The parts that are used for cooking are detachable. So, you can easily clean them and keep the machine functional for a long time.
One downside is that the oven is delivered unassembled. Wonderper provides a booklet for the assembly but the process is time-consuming.
Cooking Performance
If you compare this unit to other top-tier vertical rotisseries, it works slowly but this slow-cooking produces amazing roasted chickens and meats for gyros and tacos al pastor. The vertical skewers allow grilling meat layers, vegetable kebabs, fish, and hot dogs too.
Unlike some other models on this list, this oven has an open structure with half-round stainless steel reflectors on the back. This design slows down the cooking process but retains the authentic taste.
This open broiling technique does not let the meat fibers harden, resulting in surprisingly tender, juicy meat. In fact, the longer cooking time allows the spices to go deeper and make the food flavorful. The bad news is the oven is small for roasting a turkey. You have to keep the chicken or other meat items less than 6 pounds for efficient cooking.
There is no button for setting the timer or adjusting the temperature. A single power switch is there with an indicator light. A single switch for powering up the motor and heating element is definitely a minus point. You have to stop the machine every time for saving the seared meat, which slows down the cooking even more.
Turn all those boring dinners into delectable meal time with this Klarstein Kebab Master Pro. You can prepare
restaurant-like rotisserie chicken and turkey and rediscover grilling and barbecues with this vertical rotisserie oven. Preparing appetizing and healthy foods has never been easier!
Design & Features
This rotisserie oven is made of stainless steel and tempered glass. There is a central spit for cooking a whole chicken, turkey, or a meat mound for making gyros and tacos al pastor.
In addition, there are a dripping pan, 7 kebab skewers, a fish basket, and 3 grilling plates. With this arsenal of add-ons, you can broil and roast anything you want.
This oven does not pose any safety hazard, thanks to the thoughtful design and engineering. It does not trip over even when fully loaded. The non-slip rubber feet ensure this secure stance. Also, the heating element turns on only when the glass panel is closed. Until that panel closes correctly, the blue light in the cooking chamber won’t go off.
Cleaning the rotisserie is a simple task because all the parts that collect grease and oil are removable and made of stainless steel. A bar of dish soap and a sponge scrub are enough for a quick cleaning job.
Cooking Performance
The Kebab Master Pro cooks in a closed environment, thanks to the tempered glass sliding door. The glass panel keeps smoke and heat inside the machine, so your kitchen remains clean and cool.
Although the heat-resistant glass keeps the heat inside, don’t touch it with bare hands after cooking something. Always use its cool-touch handle.
The oven is simple to operate. You just have to secure the marinated chicken or meat strips into the center spit and set the timer. It will automatically turn off when the meal is done.
Powered at 1,500W, the oven reaches a temperature of up to 464°F. However, there is no way to adjust the temperature. You can set the timer, but it would be better had the highest setting been more than 60 minutes. Such a power rating and the customizing timer option help with making the food ready in a short time.
This oven provides a large cooking space, suitable for roasting a whole chicken. It also comes with seven kebab skewers and a fish basket. The family dinner will never be boring again. Prepare a different dish each day.
Want to taste the authentic rotisserie chicken at home? Then, this Flexizon rotisserie oven should be on the list of
your kitchen accessories. Priced at less than $100, this multi-functional machine allows you to have restaurant-quality meals at home. Even the novice cooks can rejoice because this rotating oven comes with a cookbook.
Design & Features
This compact unit is perfect for every household not because of its size but for its easy functions. The machine is equipped with all necessary parts including the spit, drip tray, skewers. There is also a fish rack in case you like to have grilled fish sometimes.
The effective control panel has a timer setting and a button for powering ON/OFF. There is a heating element at the backside, and it creates a huge amount of heat at a power rating of 1,500W. There is a tempered glass door that keeps the heat and smoke inside. The door has a cool handle do you don’t burn the hands when the oven is hot.
This oven is completely safe to use as it meets the ETL safety standards. It does not trip over and the glass cover successfully keeps the splatter contained. It has an alarm timer and the power automatically shuts off when you open the door.
With an excellent and functioning design, the oven cooks efficiently and keeps the kitchen mess-free. However, while you can clean the baskets, drip pan, skewers, and some parts of the oven easily, the backside—where grease builds up at the time of cooking—is hard to reach.
Cooking Performance
With this vertical rotisserie in your home, each dinner time will feel like a party. You can have your favorite rotisserie chicken, shawarmas, tacos al pastor, and grilled fish. You can also have vegetable kebab skewers or grill them on the fish basket. You just have to decide what kind of delicacies you want to have for dinner!
To cook anything, you have to push the heating element to its slot in a vertical position and then lock it into that place. Then, you have to put the meat into the rotisserie, close the door, set the timer, and turn the heat on.
It would be better if the timer could be set at more than 60 minutes. However, this seems enough for prepping most of the dishes.
This rotating oven is perfect for cooking tasty grilled and roasted foods at home. The foods are also healthy because the vertical design makes the fat and grease to drip away at a bottom tray.
The rotisserie oven from Zz Pro is a great compact unit for cooking different types of meat preparations. It provides
time-saving and energy-efficient cooking to produce tasty meals. Taking up a small footprint, it nicely fits on your kitchen countertop. At less than $100, the price is also within the reach of most buyers.
Design & Features
With a high-powered 1350W heating element, this oven can produce up to 300°C of heat.
This oven is a safe addition to any kitchen because the whole unit is shielded with a cylindrical borosilicate glass, which is harder and more durable than normal glass. It also has a fat collection tray and several ceramic nuts for inserting the bamboo stick skewers. There is a central heating tube that evenly circulates heat to the surrounding skewers.
Most of the parts including the dripping pan, the glass cover, metal cover, oil gathering tank, and few other components can be detached for easy cleaning.
Cooking Performance
The oven has a heating tube at the center that distributes heat uniformly to all across the interior. Also, the skewers around it rotate, which means the foods will be broiled evenly.
Food gets heated up quickly because the 1,350W heating tube releases thermal radiation and short infrared waves. Your potato, corn, tomatoes, and meat will be roasted in no time.
You can cook any type of kebabs and roast meat strips for gyros, tacos, and shawarmas. Unfortunately, you cannot cook a whole chicken or any other bird because there is no central spit.
There is no timer but you can adjust the temperature between 50°C and 300°C by rotating a knob on the front.
The oven is safe to use but don’t touch the glass directly after cooking something. It is not heat-resistant so there could be burn injury.
If you want a small, compact rotisserie unit to prepare a range of mouth-watering foods, this Thritop oven is a
perfect choice. Priced at less than $100, this multi-functional oven is efficient and portable. If you want to make restaurant-like meals at home, this one is a good investment.
Design & Features
The Thritop vertical rotisserie is a compact unit that is suitable for home use only. It is not also capable of entertaining a party unless it is a party of five to six people.
Despite the small size, the oven produces high heating at 1,100W power. There is an ON/OFF switch with an indicator light.
As a budget rotisserie, its build quality is average. However, the detachable parts are still dishwasher safe, so cleaning is not much of a hassle.
The oven comes with 6 small skewers that rotate together with the central spit. There is also a drip tray that collects all the gravy and oil.
Cooking Performance
The rotating oven is great for preparing authentic Brazilian rotisserie chicken, kebabs, stick beef, and meat for shawarma and tacos. You can even put fish and vegetables onto the skewers.
The temperature in this machine reaches up to 400°F, which is enough for all of your broiling and roasting needs. Whether you are prepping a whole chicken, shashlik, fish, or sausages, food always comes out delicious because of the 360° rotation and even heating.
Unfortunately, you cannot roast a whole turkey in this oven. It can accommodate a chicken up to 4 pounds of size. When you are making shawarma or doner kebab, the meat will not be cooked if it is larger than the 7-inch baking pan.
