How to Cook a Whole Chicken in a NuWave Oven

If you can't keep up with the latest and greatest kitchen gadgets, you're not alone. With countless new products hitting the scene daily, it can be challenging to know which ones to buy and how to use them once you get them home. Case in point: How do you cook a whole chicken in NuWave oven?

A quick Google search pulls up hundreds of pages of reviews and recipes about the NuWave oven. It also displays countless posts, questions and answers about everything from cooking a whole chicken in NuWave oven to the top pick for the best NuWave rotisserie chicken recipe.

In case you're not familiar with this cooking contraption, a NuWave oven is speedy like a microwave, but claims to keep your food moist, unlike most microwaves. According to the NuWave oven website, this kitchen appliance uses three different cooking strategies simultaneously to cook and heat your food: infrared, conduction and convection. This allows for a speedier cooking process.

To cook a whole chicken in NuWave oven, you should start with a thawed chicken. You can also cook chicken wings in the NuWave oven. A standard NuWave rotisserie chicken recipe generally follows this format:

• Start with a 3-1/2 to 4 pound thawed whole chicken.
  
• To season it, place the whole chicken in a 1-gallon plastic bag and pour the seasonings of your choice all over the chicken (add 3 tablespoons of olive oil for moisture).
  
• Close the bag and rub the seasoning all over the chicken.
  
• Take the chicken out of the bag and place on a cooking rack, breast side facing down and fold wings under legs.
  
• Roast chicken for 15 to 17 minutes per pound on power level Hi.
  
• Flip the bird halfway through the cooking cycle.
  
• Let the chicken cool for 10 minutes.
  
• Chicken is done when it reaches an internal temperate of 170 to 180 degrees Fahrenheit.
  

It's important to note that if you have other NuWave products, you may need to adjust the cooking time and size of the bird. For example, you want to think twice before cooking a whole chicken in NuWave air fryer. This is a smaller device, so a whole chicken may not fit. That said, you can always choose a smaller sized bird or break the backbone to fit.

Read more: General Nutrition Facts About Chicken

When handling, preparing and cooking chicken, it's important to follow all safety guidelines. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists Campylobacter bacteria, Salmonella and Clostridium perfringens bacteria as potential contaminants when consuming raw chicken. All of these can result in a food borne illness or food poisoning.

The good news is, you can take steps to prevent this from happening. For example, avoid washing raw chicken and use a separate cutting board. Also, make sure to cook chicken to 165 degrees Fahrenheit

Read more: 11 Food-Safety Mistakes You Don't Know You're Making

When you make a whole chicken, there's a good chance you'll have leftovers. To keep the meat fresh and safe to eat, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says to refrigerate or freeze poultry within two hours of cooking. And if you happen to dine outdoors in the blazing sun, get that chicken in the refrigerator within one hour of cooking.

The USDA recommends storing leftover chicken in the refrigerator for no longer than three to four days or in the freezer for three to four months. Make sure to wrap the leftover chicken and put it in a storage container.

When you want to defrost the chicken, the safest method is to place the frozen chicken in the refrigerator and let it thaw. This takes more time than the microwave, but it is the top choice from food safety experts.