NutriChef Countertop Vertical Rotating Oven - Rotisserie Shawarma Machine, Kebob Machine, Stain & Heat Resistant Door & Energy Efficient, Includes Kebob Rack with 7 Skewers (PKRTVG34)

If you love shawarma, rotisserie chicken, or al pastor, this NutriChef Countertop Vertical Rotating Oven is a must buy!At first I was skeptical, but the results did not lie. There are two modes, fast and slow, and it refers to speed of cooking/heat applied, not the rotation speed. Initially we tried slow, and I was convinced it was broken as the heating element didn't glow red hot, but upon changing it to "fast", it did. Seriously, this thing cooks perfectly. It's quite astonishing. It's pretty easy to use too. I'm not a chef, cook, or even home cook by any stretch of the imagination, and I got the hang of it pretty quickly. The ease of use reminds me of that old late night infomercial, "just set it, and forget it", although I can't tell you what the product was in that advertisement... this machine's timer goes up to an hour. It's pretty foolproof. Put a landbird or some seasoned meat on it on it, and in an hour you'll be sending food pr0n pics to your friends, despite swearing you're not one of "those" people. Plus, now you have a great reason to buy that machete or jumbo specialty butcher knife for the kitchen. This shawarma machine is the gateway drug to purchasing machetes; you've been warned. Whatever the case is, it's still better than having to put on a face mask (and shoes) just to go to the grocery store for a rotisserie chicken.

There is a discrepancy on the "fast and slow" switch, it changes the Heat setting, (not the speed).Once I found that out, all was well. I cooked a 6lb chicken in 2 1/2 hours on the "Slow" setting, cooler heat so I didn't scorch the wings or legs.This was the first time using it and I'm sure I'll come up with more dishes. I've never used a rotisserie before, It worked as advertised, once food is in the cooker, shut the door, turn it on and walk away! *NOTE* top of machine gets hot so keep out of reach with little children. Our first try turned out real well with some basic seasonings. *Also note*, "leave door closed" after it shuts off for a few minutes, the heating coils are still hot and may effect the glass. I read reviews where peoples glass broke, I'm a retired engineer and direct excessive heat can cause that. Other than that, enjoy it, It works Great!

The idea of the product is great but it has some deficiencies.It's great for cooking a whole chicken or a huge slab of meat but where it falls apart is with heat and physics and bad design for the kabob attachment.1) If you are cooking a whole chicken the heat will be destributed ok though he body. However, I've tried to cook 2 cornish hens, the top one had nice and crispy skin and the bottom one was still under cooked and had rubber for skin.2) the Kabob desin is pretty bad. 2 major problems are:- the metal spears were completely round, so the meat slides off as soon as you put it on. There is no way to keep the meat evenly destributed (see attached pictures)- there is no automatic rotation for the kabobs so i had to rotate the kabobs with 2 forks because the spears kept on sliding out of holding area. i could have left them in a single direction but i do not like having 1 side be burnt to crisp while the other side is under cooked3) The glass door sounds like a great idea for keeping the meat nice and hot and protect your kitchen from kitchen splashes. Until you try to scrub it off from a place where the meat accidently brushed against it.4) I could not get the top and bottom holder to be even, i've tried multiple times to pin them in place but the top and bottom wheel were not aligning correctly. (see attached photo)5) Even though the item is marketed as "dishwasher safe" for all detachable parts, the bolts which attach to the central turning rod started to rust and became brown after a single dishwasher use.

You can not control the heat. The low setting does not work. It is on the smaller side.That said this is amazing for a little chicken, al pastor, or donner. This is better than a horizontal grill rotisserie because you can collect the drippings and brush back on the meat.

I bought this about 2 years ago and after a very disappointing whole chicken experience I set it aside. Now 2 year later I finally get around to trying it out for the original reason I purchased it: Al Pastor. Short version is it works GREAT. There's just some magic with marinaded, thinly sliced meats cooking in their own fats. Since dusting it off and making the most authentic tasting al pastor I've had since walking across the border to Tijuana I've tested carne asada (probably would have been great on a grill or in a pan, but worked great and shaving the meat works to make a great taco), and most recently a Chipotle style chicken marinade (via culinaryhill.com) with ridiculously good results. I can comfortably fit around 2.5 lbs of meat. Typically I'll put half a peeled onion on the bottom (to raise the meat a bit off the Natal plate, makes it easier to shave meat off the bottom without grinding your knife against the metal), and another 1/2 peeled onion with some appropriate moist fruit under it on the top (just what I saw the street vendors do in TJ) and maybe a slice of bacon under the fruit for some extra fat, then periodically baste it with some fat and maybe fruit juice (aka pineapple for al pastor, orange for carne asada, something appropriate for the marinade). Really happy I finally tried it for this

I have made gyros, sharma, and al pastor on this appliance. The setup is easy and the cooking goes super fast, if you plan to shave off as it cooks. It is bigger than I thought, but it works very well.