Roasting spits make a comeback

One of the oldest cooking techniques on earth is heating up in noncommercial dining. “[Rotisseries use] the same primitive technology that has been with us for 10,000 years,” says Joaquin Menendez, director of dining services at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. “Build a fire, put three sticks and a piece of meat [on] and slowly roast it with the smoke.” Here’s why three operators are adding modern rotisseries to their kitchens.

Visual appeal

At Aegis Living's Marymoor community in Redmond, Wash., the smell and sight of a rotisserie in motion reminds residents of cooking in their own home, says culinary services director Justin Sledge. “They have the nostalgia and the way it triggers their senses,” says Sledge.

At Utah Valley, Menendez will open a new restaurant called The Rotisserie in January to provide a sit-down alternative to other fast-food options. “The consciousness of the millennials is starting to change the origin of the food and the sources and the Paleolithic diet, where we have less processed foods,” says Menendez, who is banking on students’ willingness to pay more for higher quality food. “In the food court ... I’m taking check averages from $4 to $6, and I’m forecasting $8 to $10 at The Rotisserie.”

Likewise, the attitudes and values of incoming residents at senior living facility The Springs at Greer Gardens—due to open in late 2015 in Eugene, Ore.—are what led Director of Culinary Services Sam Currie to purchase a rotisserie. “We all experience food much more visually than we did 40, 50 years ago, even 20 years ago,” Currie says. “We wanted that component of creating some sights and sounds around food that would be intriguing to people.”

Related:4 hot spins on rotisserie dishes

Health benefits

“One of the great things about rotisserie is you don’t have to add any additional fats or sauces,” says Currie. “You can keep those additional calories to a minimum and let the natural fats and calories do their work.” Menendez appreciates the opportunity to prepare rotisserie meats with simple rubs or marinades. “Definitely there’s less processing, less additives. … You bring forward all the flavor qualities and texture qualities of the protein, and [use] and less oil,” he says.

Technology

Advancements in rotisserie technology go beyond just a rotating spit. Menendez plans to use seafood attachments to help keep the shape of fish fillets while cooking, he says. Currie purchased a rotisserie with 10 vertical spit locations and a combination of prongs, shelves and baskets to maximize versatility. “[It has a] set of hooks that hang and go around so we can roast multiple items at the same time and not have any cross-contamination,” Currie says. “In our size of community, the majority of the time we’re not trying to do 200 portions of the same thing, but rather 20 to 40 portions of four or five different things. That versatility is really important for us.”