Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Our first rotisserie was an older compact Ronco with a cylindrical cooking chamber and a horizontal spit, a nice enough product that delivered fine results -- but it was a hassle. The chicken had to be very carefully and tightly trussed, because of the side-to-side orientation of the spit. The quad spikes that made up the spit had to be very carefully centered on the bird, so that the relatively weak motor wouldn't hang up as it tried to lift the heavier side, a process complicated by moving bird parts if the chicken wasn't perfectly trussed. Anything more than a 3.5-4 pound bird ran the risk of brushing up against the drip tray on every rotation, and in general, we found the whole process to be more trouble than it was worth. We just didn't use it very often. Enter the Cuisinart CVR-1000. Everything that was wrong about the Ronco was right about this one. The vertical spit, the spacious interior cooking space, the ability to choose different temperature settings, even the clean lines and stainless exterior. The cooking process couldn't be much easier and more convenient. Because it's a vertical spit, you just truss the legs together (or not), and slide the cavity of the bird down over the central support. That's it. No sharp metal spikes to drive through the bird, no trying to properly orient the weight of it all, no trying to match the ends of the spikes to metal sockets on another round disk. The support sits in the round drip tray (looks like a small cake pan), and both come out of the oven easily. So you can set everything up on the counter, slip it right into the oven, turn it on and an hour later you have a wonderfully cooked bird. Cleaning is a cinch. There's a polished heat reflector behind the heating elements that just slides right out. The drip tray catches all the juices, so what's left is just a quick and easy wipe-down on the glass door and interior walls. The oven sports an interior light, which is really more novelty than tool, but it's nice to be able to see a little more clearly how dark the skin may be getting. I try to avoid superlatives in reviews, but with products like this one, it's okay to fail sometimes. This is the best rotisserie I've owned. Performance and aesthetic appeal matched with wonderful ease of use and convenience. I do highly recommend brining your birds before cooking. While rotisserie chickens are often juicy and flavorful without, you can end up with some absolutely amazing results with. A delicious maple brine we use consists of 2 quarts water, 1 cup dark brown sugar, 1/2 cup soy sauce, 1/2 cup real maple syrup, 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons sea salt, 5 whole cloves garlic (peeled), 4 whole bay leaves, 2 large sprigs of thyme, 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns. Mix it together, bring it to a boil and cook it until all the sugars are dissolved. Let it cool to room temperature before adding the bird. Refrigerate both together (bird fully submerged -- this is enough brine for one 4-4.5 pound chicken) for between 5.5 to 6 hours, then toss it in the rotisserie according to the included instructions (about an hour + 5 minutes for that sized bird). What you'll have at the end is a subtly flavored smoky sweet very juicy and flavorful bird, superior to anything you might find at typical groceries or rotisserie fast food places. Love this machine, and will highly recommend it to friends and family.