How to Use Rotisserie Chicken

Rotisserie cooking dates back to the caveman era. At its most basic, the technique involves skewering a hunk of meat on a spit and suspending it over a fire. Modern rotisseries range from grill-top baskets to electric counter-top models to the behemoths supermarkets use to cook 50 chickens at once. Most any meat can be cooked on a rotisserie -- chicken, pork, beef, lamb, fish. Rotisserie cooking reduces the final fat content but also self-bastes the meat as the fat drips away, resulting in a crusty exterior and moist interior. A rotisserie chicken from the grocery store provides a convenient base on which to build quick meals.

Things You'll Need

• Medium stockpot with lid
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/4 cup finely chopped carrots
• 1/4 cup finely chopped celery
• 1 large or 2 small shallots, minced
• 4 to 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 8 cups chicken stock
• Salt and pepper
• Chef's knife
• 12-oz. package egg noodles
• 2 to 3 small red-skin potatoes, washed and roughly chopped
• 1 stalk celery, cleaned and roughly chopped
• 1/2 red bell pepper, roughly chopped
• 1/2 small or 1/4 large yellow onion, roughly chopped
• 2 small carrots, scrapped and roughly chopped
• 1 cup sliced button or cremini mushrooms
• 1/4 cup frozen peas
• 1/4 cup frozen corn kernels
• 6 tbsp. flour
• 1 cup half and half
• 1 package frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed

Instructions

Soup

1. Saute finely chopped onions, carrots, celery, shallots, two to three cloves minced garlic and your choice of other aromatics in vegetable oil in the bottom of a stockpot.

2. Add 4 cups prepared chicken stock and bring it to a boil.

3. Reduce the heat to a simmer and add salt, pepper and other seasonings of choice.

4. Remove breasts from a rotisserie chicken by inserting a knife parallel to the backbone and slicing through on a gentle angle to the outside edge of the chicken. Chop the chicken breasts into bite-sized chunks or shred the meat with your fingers or two forks. Remove the legs, thighs and wings by cutting completely through the chicken at the joints. Pick the meat off the bones and add it to the breast meat or reserve the legs, thighs and wings for another meal. Discard the carcass or refrigerate it to use for stock.

5. Add the chopped or shredded chicken to the pot. Bring the broth back to a boil and add egg noodles. Cook until the noodles reach al dente and serve.

Pot Pies

1. Remove breasts from a rotisserie chicken by inserting a knife parallel to the backbone and slicing through on a gentle angle to the outside edge of the chicken. Chop the chicken breasts into bite-sized chunks. Remove the legs, thighs and wings by cutting completely through the chicken at the joints. Pick the meat off the bones and add it to the breast meat. Discard the carcass or refrigerate it to use for stock. Set the chopped chicken aside.

2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

3. Bring 4 cups prepared chicken stock to a boil. Add roughly chopped red-skin potatoes, celery, bell pepper and two to three cloves minced garlic. Cover and cook for five minutes.

4. Add carrots and onions. Cover and cook for three minutes.

5. Add sliced mushrooms, peas and corn. Cover and cook for five minutes. Reduce heat to medium.

6. Combine flour, salt and pepper in a bowl. Whisk in the half and half. Add the slurry to the pot. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Pull the pot off the heat.

7. Add the chopped chicken to the pot and stir thoroughly to distribute it evenly.

8. Spoon the potpie filling into eight individual oven-proof bowls.

9. Cut each puff pastry sheet into four even pieces. Center each piece of puff pastry on a bowl and press the edges down. Place the bowls on a foil-lined cookie sheet.

10. Put the cookie sheet on the center rack in the preheated oven and bake for 25 to 35 minutes or until the puff pastry turns golden.

References

• "The Ultimate Rotisserie Cookbook;" Diane Phillips; 2002

Resources

• Parents.com: Easy Rotisserie Chicken Recipes