Whole Rotisserie-Style Oven Grilled Chicken on a Spit with Crispy Skin
Very tasty, golden, vibrant, and festive! If your oven has a grill and a spit, this recipe is for you. A whole rotisserie-style chicken turns out very tender and aromatic. Thanks to the rotating spit, it cooks through well and gets an even, crispy crust.
Updated : 05 January, 2026
Easy
About 30 min.
Ingredients
1.8 kilograms
Chicken
2 teaspoon
Dry spices
to taste
Salt
to taste
Ground black pepper
Table
Table of volume measurements:
- teaspoon - 5 ml
- dessert spoon - 10 ml
- tablespoon - 20 ml
- glass - 200 ml
Preparation
Step 1
How to make oven grilled chicken on a spit? Prepare the necessary ingredients. It’s very important to choose the right chicken. Its weight should be no more than 1.5 kg (about 3.3 lb). It’s best to buy chilled chicken, because it’s harder to judge freshness and meat quality on a frozen carcass. The chicken should be light pink and have a neutral smell. If you’re using a farm-raised bird, it should be young (under a year), otherwise it won’t be suitable for roasting.
Step 2
If the chicken is frozen, thaw it ahead of time. Remove the packaging and place it in a container on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator 24 hours before cooking. For marinating, use a bowl or pot where it fits comfortably. The material should be non-reactive. Enameled, plastic, ceramic, or glass cookware works well. Rinse the chicken under running water, remove the giblets and any feathers if present.
Step 3
Peel the garlic. Rinse it, pat dry, and mince with a garlic press or, like me, grate it on a fine grater.
Step 4
Pat the chicken dry with paper towels so there’s no moisture and it marinates better. Rub the chicken thoroughly inside and out with salt, garlic, and a spice mix. Cover the container with plastic wrap, a lid, or a towel. Leave at room temperature for 15-20 minutes. The longer the chicken marinades, the tastier and juicier it will be. I often leave it overnight.
Step 5
Preheat the oven to 180°C / 356°F on top-and-bottom heat. If there are many large pieces of spices on top of the chicken, you can remove them so they don’t burn. Tie the chicken legs together with kitchen twine, and tie the wings so they sit snugly against the body. This helps the chicken stay compact on the spit while rotating and prevents it from catching on the oven walls - especially if your chicken is larger.
Step 6
Skewer the chicken on the spit along the backbone. At this step it can be helpful to have someone assist, because for the chicken to hold well and not spin, it’s best to pierce part of the carcass from the inside as well. On my spit, there are metal prongs to secure the chicken: they pierce the carcass from above and below and then are fixed with bolts.
Step 7
Turn the spit with the chicken in your hands and check that it’s firmly secured and not rotating freely. Mount the spit in the oven and switch on the grill mode. Roast until golden and crispy for about 1.5-2 hours. Choose the exact time and temperature based on your oven.
Author note
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