Rotisserie roast beef makes great use of slow cooking and low fire to bring the juices out in a way you won’t see with oven-baked roasts. Rotisserie cooking means creating a premium beef that your guests will rave about as the best gourmet beef they’ve ever tasted.

Rotisserie Cooking Tips
Rotisserie cooking is best done in the following two ways—threading the meat onto a metal rod, which cooks the meat from the inside as well, or roasting the meat in a metal basket. Both methods are good, but the basket may be the best choice, as it doesn’t allow the meat to dry out from the inside, and you’ll still be able to get that perfect pink shade when cooking rare and medium-rare roast beef.

Additionally, placing the roast on the spit is not as easy as it sounds. If the roast isn’t balanced, it will cook unevenly. Driving the spit into the meat is the hardest part, as raw meat can be tough. The basket method uses a metal cage to cradle the meat while at the same time allowing the metal to retain the heat.

Before tossing the roast into the cage, however, make sure you include a roast beef rub. While seasonings should be kept simple so that the flavor of the meat will shine through, it’s also nice to add kosher salt, ground pepper and a little seasoning of your choice. Some people like to add garlic and thyme. But, if adding thyme, use fresh thyme over ground thyme, as the ground version tends to burn easily.

Make sure you have a drip pan beneath the roast: You don’t want to waste one drop of the exquisite juice. The dripping can be used to make gravy, to use in leftover roast beef stew or to make a thick sauce to pour over hot roast beef sandwiches.

Slow Cooking on the Rotisserie
Regardless of the heat source, however, the key is in the preparation. Make sure the grill is preheated before the meat is introduced. Slow cooking or cooking with indirect heat is the best way to roast a large cut of meat. Sear the meat at a very high temperature over direct heat, and then finish with a slow cook over indirect or low heat. Cylinder-shaped meats, such as rib-eye or top loin, work best because they cook evenly. If you have a large piece of meat, cut it in half before you insert it into the basket or thread it on the spit.