Amazon's Top-Rated Rotisserie Oven 'Actually Earns Its Space In The Kitchen'

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

While rotisserie chickens are known to be "loss leaders" at many grocery stores — that is, products a store sells below market value in order to subtly manipulate buying habits — there may nevertheless be times when you wish to cook your own rotisserie chicken at home (particularly if you can't get your hands on one of the best store-bought rotisserie chickens). Not to mention, a countertop rotisserie oven can often be used for other products besides chicken, too. This is the case with the Ronco 6000 Platinum Digital Countertop Rotisserie Oven, available on Amazon for just under $250. With a 12-pound capacity, not only can this rotisserie oven cook two chickens at once, it can also handle a 12-pound turkey, veggies, hamburgers, and more (just not all at once!). And with a 4.6-star rating, customers generally seem pretty satisfied with the product.

One consumer who left a five-star review said they'd purchased an older Ronco rotisserie oven model, which lasted for 20 years, and were overjoyed to have this one available now. And although some specialized kitchen gadgets aren't worth sacrificing counter or drawer space for, this happy customer claimed that the Ronko rotisserie oven absolutely "earns its space in the kitchen." Other reviews were also fairly positive, with a couple drawbacks being that the oven gets hot enough that the reviewer cautioned against using it under overhead cabinets, and some of the instructions not being as clear as they could be.

Ronco's history goes back to 1964 and its charismatic founder, Ron Popeil. If you've never heard of the company itself, you've likely heard jokes referencing "O-Matic" gadgets, which stems from Popeil's early products and infomercials. In a Reddit thread discussing a 1998 Ronco infomercial for its Showtime Rotisserie & BBQ Oven, commenters seem both nostalgic and somewhat bemused by the old infomercial format — but several report getting decades of use out of this product. The main downside is that according to one Reddit user, Ronco products reportedly originally came with a "lifetime guarantee", which was nullified after Ronco was sold.

The Ronco 6000 Platinum Digital Countertop Rotisserie Oven is an updated version of the original, with digital settings and a dishwasher-friendly design — which makes it easier to clean, resolving an issue that came up in reviews of the older model. You can still purchase analog Ronco rotisserie ovens that allow you to set the time using a dial, although the older model is only about $10 cheaper on Amazon. Both models include a basket for cooking vegetables, etc., and offer a choice of three settings: roast, sear, and no-heat rotation. So the main difference seems to simply be whether you prefer digital or analog settings. If you do make the splurge on this iconic-yet-updated product, don't forget that there are plenty of ways to use up leftover rotisserie chicken if you get over-excited and end up with an excess.