Alexandra Ramirez
1. Ronco
Best Overall Rotisserie Oven
5/5 Product Rating
A curved glass door on the front of the oven allows an unobstructed view of the food that’s cooking inside the lighted interior. It also comes equipped with a three-hour automatic timer that shuts off automatically when its time is up.
Heat is circulated efficiently because of a precision rotating speed and a specialized heating element. This also allows self-basting as it rotates and causes excess fat and grease to drip into a removable tray while still sealing in natural juices. Ultimately, the food prepared in this oven is tender and delicious, and meats are evenly browned.
There are three useful cook settings on this rotisserie oven: Roast, sear and no heat rotation that allows the meat to rest.
Additionally, this rotisserie oven is energy efficient, using about 1/3 of the energy a normal oven uses but with faster results.
Included with the rotisserie and its non-stick spit is a basket that allows you to easily cook smaller items such as hamburgers, pieces of chicken, vegetables, whole fish and steaks. A carving platform, oven gloves and food ties are also part of the package.
Removable parts and accessories are dishwasher safe.
Ronco offers a one-year limited warranty on this product.
– Sarah Lytle
2. Cuisinart
Best Overall Rotisserie Oven – Runner Up
4.8/5 Product Rating
If you’re looking for a rotisserie oven that provides a lot of cooking options, this is an oven that you will want to seriously consider. It offers twelve programmable cooking functions that include both rotisserie and convection. In addition, this oven’s other features allow a cook to perform almost any necessary task – toast, warm, bake, broil, reheat leftovers and defrost frozen pizza.
Thanks to its programmable cooking functions and exact heat sensor, the oven temperature is precise. Bread is consistently toasted because of an even toast shade control and you can optimize toasting time based on the number of slices you’re toasting. Even pizza size is programmable up to 12 inches to provide the best possible results.
This rotisserie oven also comes with a wealth of accessories such as an oven rack, baking/drip pan, broil rack, spit and skewers, a skewer grip, and crumb tray. Digital controls with a clock and timer, adjustable thermostat temperatures that adjust from 200-450F for cooking and to 500F degrees for broiling, and four rack positions add to its list of features. It also promises easy clean up with a non-stick interior.
The Cuisinart TOB-200 Rotisserie/Convection Oven boasts 1875 watts of power. It weighs 25 pounds and has 0.75 cubic feet of capacity, allowing it to accommodate a 12-inch pizza, six slices of bread, four bagel slices, a four-pound chicken, a five-pound duck, a four-pound pork roast or a three-pound beef roast. While a little larger than some of its competitors, its capabilities make it worth a second look.
– Sarah Lytle
3. Elite
Best Budget Rotisserie Oven
4.7/5 Product Rating
This powerhouse appliance allows the home cook to make food in larger quantities. It has an extra-large capacity of 0.8 cubic feet with interior dimensions of 11.75 inches x 8.75 inches x 12 inches, large enough to bake a 12-inch pizza or toast six slices of bread. The oven also showcases 1500 watts of power.
Cooking is made even easier when using the accessories that accompany this oven. An oven top dome lid that allows this oven to perform as a steamer or to keep food warm is an extra-special feature that few rotisserie ovens include. To add to its appeal, this Maxi Matic oven also comes with a wire grill rack, roasting pain, pan removal handle clip, slide out crumb tray, rotisserie removal tongs and rotisserie spit and fork assembly.
Food is cooked to perfection with the combination of a heat selector function switch and an adjustable temperature control knob that moves from 150F to 450F. To aid the home cook even further, this oven offers a 60-minute timer control knob with auto shut off and signal bell along with a “stay-on” feature for extended cooking time.
This all-in-one kitchen appliance is packed with features and can easily assist in the kitchen, whether it’s putting a meal on the table in the middle of a busy week or preparing food for a casual get together or elegant dinner party.
Elite by Maxi Matic offers a one-year warranty.
– Sarah Lytle
Rotisserie Oven Buying Guide
When shopping for a rotisserie oven, it’s vital to consider a variety of factors that will mean the difference between an appliance that sits around and gathers dust or one that fulfills its purpose.
Purchase Considerations
As noted above, a rotisserie oven is designed to cook items such as whole chickens or even a turkey. While meat is placed on a spit in all rotisserie ovens and rotated slowly while cooking, allowing fat and grease to drip into a tray, they’re not all designed in the same way. Noted below are important things to consider before deciding which rotisserie oven will best meet your needs.
- Space: Before moving forward, calculate how often you will use a rotisserie oven. Even rotisseries that are designed to fit on a countertop can take up a lot of space. If you’re not certain that you will use the oven at least once a week, you may want to reconsider purchasing one at all. However, keep in mind that especially when cooking a large meal, a rotisserie oven frees up your normal oven for other things.
- Capacity: Another thing to consider is how much your rotisserie oven should hold. Obviously, this will largely depend on how much food you typically need to prepare at one time. Some rotisseries are quite large and can handle a turkey, two chickens or a large roast while others can hold only one chicken at a time.
- Spits: A spit is the device inside a rotisserie oven that holds the food close to the heat source. Some rotisseries are equipped with a horizontal spit which passes through the food and places it horizontally over the heat source. The downside to this type of spit is that the meat or poultry needs to be balanced correctly so that it can rotate and cook properly. Other rotisseries come fitted with a space-saving vertical spit which places the food that’s cooking in front of the heat source. Unlike a rotisserie with a horizontal spit, the meat or poultry does not have to be balanced properly. Smaller cuts of meat also work well in this type of rotisserie oven. Rotisserie ovens also come with either single or multiple spits. If you like to cook multiple cuts of meat at once versus a large roast or bird only, then you’ll want to invest in an oven with multiple spits.
- Heat: In tandem with the spit is the heat source. Typically, rotisserie ovens are equipped with convection or radiant heat. In ovens with convection, the heat flows around the food while it’s cooking. With radiant heat, the food rotates over or in front of a stationary heat source. To put it simply, convection has air flow with the aid of a fan while radiant heat does not. One of the definite upsides to a convection rotisserie oven is that food cooks faster.
- Temperature Controls: The earliest rotisserie consisted of a spit that held meat over an open flame. Rotisseries are even used today inside charcoal or gas grills. The heat source in an electric rotisserie oven is much more consistent and easy to control. A rotisserie oven that allows the temperature to be set by degrees to accommodate various sizes of meat and poultry provides greater flexibility.
- Timer: One option made available on some models is a timer. This is especially helpful if you cook the same food often and know exactly how much time is required from start to finish.
- Functions: As you saw in the featured rotisserie ovens listed above, some are quite basic and function as a rotisserie only while other rotisseries ovens also allow its users to bake desserts, roast vegetables, and toast bread. It’s important to consider all the ways in which a rotisserie oven would best serve you and then factor that into your final purchase.
- Accessories: The accessories that come with the oven can prove to be invaluable so don’t overlook these helpful tools. Look for items such as skewers for kabobs, a basket that enfolds more delicate items such as seafood, and a roasting rack. Don’t forget to look for easy clean-up, including parts and accessories that are dishwasher safe.
- Warranties: Last, but certainly not least, take a close look at the manufacturer’s warranty and read the fine print. These will certainly differ from brand to brand and while the warranty may not be the driving factor in your purchase, it should be given thoughtful scrutiny.
Conclusion
Humans have known for thousands of years that meat roasted slowly over a direct heat source is delightfully crispy while tender and juicy at the same time. The rotisserie is an invention almost as old as time itself and modern technology has made this method of cooking incredibly simple.
Choosing the right rotisserie oven does not need to be overwhelming. The first step is to determine what your specific needs are. Do you want the oven to perform more than one function? How much food do you need to cook at one time? How much space can your kitchen afford to lend to a rotisserie oven? Once you have answered the most basic questions, the entire process becomes much simpler.
The purpose of this buyer’s guide is to aid you in your quest for the rotisserie oven that matches your needs. Having made an adequately informed decision will allow you to feel confident in your final choice and enjoy your rotisserie oven for a long time.
Resources
- Ronco – ronco.com
- Cuisinart – cuisinart.com
- Maxi Matic – maxi-matic.com
