Weber Kettle Rotisserie??

[BLACKJACK]

My old Weber fell and broke its legs off last year so I'm getting a new one, I've decided on the 22 inch Performer, its the same size as the old one but gives you the side table, wheels, and charcoal ash catcher.

Looking at some of the accessories the one that caught my idea was the 'Kettle Rotisserie'. I like to do whole chickens and turkeys, this looks like the clear chit, and the reviews on the big river site are good. Its not cheap but sure looks like a tool that I almost have to have!!

Anyone else have a Kettle Rotisserie?? My one concern is that the bird will be in the center, charcoal to the sides, there will be no room for the additional potatoes in foil or other things.

Another accessory that they sell is a Ribolator, anyone have this?? Wish I could post the links but you know how that goes, just goto the big river site and type it in.

Any advice is appreciated!!!

[gunner55]

We use ours for whole chickens all the time but don't put the charcoal on the sides.We put the charcoal in front of the bird so the drippings fall on the coals a little.Ours is a different model but is the same size & it works good,tastes even better

[Big Dave2]

My old Weber fell and broke its legs off last year so I'm getting a new one, I've decided on the 22 inch Performer, its the same size as the old one but gives you the side table, wheels, and charcoal ash catcher.

Looking at some of the accessories the one that caught my idea was the 'Kettle Rotisserie'. I like to do whole chickens and turkeys, this looks like the clear chit, and the reviews on the big river site are good. Its not cheap but sure looks like a tool that I almost have to have!!

Anyone else have a Kettle Rotisserie?? My one concern is that the bird will be in the center, charcoal to the sides, there will be no room for the additional potatoes in foil or other things.

Another accessory that they sell is a Ribolator, anyone have this?? Wish I could post the links but you know how that goes, just goto the big river site and type it in.

Any advice is appreciated!!!

Personally I see no need for a Ribolator. I've never owned a rotisserie either, I'm more into off-set grilling and smoking.

[MossyMO64]

Have a kettle rotisserie for about 5 years and am very happy with it, but yes the rotisserrie doe s take up the entire grill which makes for no room for side dishes on the grill.

Have never had a Ribolator but have heard from others that do and sounds like the size of the trays are very limited and for racks of ribs a few bones off the end of a rack need to cut off to fit the Ribolator's tray.

Check out the Vortex accessory for your kettle, excellent tool for both direct and indirect cooking on a kettle. There is a video and full description here - www.owensbbq.com/vortex.html

[BLACKJACK]

I've never owned a rotisserie either, I'm more into off-set grilling and smoking.

The reviews of the rotisserie on the big river site were very good, most complaints were about the 'fit', the reviews on the meat coming off were mostly positive, isn't the final product what its all about? Another common comment in their reviews was the 'wow' factor when guests show up and you've got the bird turning.

Just trying to get the opinion of other people that have used rotisseries. I cook most of my chickens and turkeys 'whole', I feel that they stay more moist, but it does get to be a pain to keep turning them, especially on bigger 12-15 pound birds. I could also see putting a ham or a pork loin on the spit. We will see. I'll report back at the end of the summer.

[BLACKJACK]

Check out the Vortex accessory for your kettle, excellent tool for both direct and indirect cooking on a kettle. There is a video and full description here - www.owensbbq.com/vortex.html

So this vortex thing, do you have one?? Looked at the video and it seems like you could do the same thing with just a pile of charcoal.

[Big Dave2]

The reviews of the rotisserie on the big river site were very good, most complaints were about the 'fit', the reviews on the meat coming off were mostly positive, isn't the final product what its all about? Another common comment in their reviews was the 'wow' factor when guests show up and you've got the bird turning.

Just trying to get the opinion of other people that have used rotisseries. I cook most of my chickens and turkeys 'whole', I feel that they stay more moist, but it does get to be a pain to keep turning them, especially on bigger 12-15 pound birds. I could also see putting a ham or a pork loin on the spit. We will see. I'll report back at the end of the summer.

It's absolutely " to each his own" on something like this. If you like that sort of thing I say go for it. I was just trying to say that for most of my cooking I find a rotisserie unnecessary. For moist chicken I prefer to put the whole bird on a beer but rack and cook on off-set charcoals. To me I find that method hard to beat and I'm not concerned with the "wow" factor, I just like to eat!

[Jim Almquist]

I have been using the Weber rotisserie for years and would not part with it. My Thanksgiving turkey is always cooked using this method. I have the trays that hold the charcoal and I keep them off to the side. In the center I have a 9 X 12 pan that I add a couple of cans or a box of Swanson's chicken broth. This is my dripping for the best tasting gravy. I made a counter weight for mine so I can cook bigger birds. Usually a 22 pound bird ( I love leftovers ). I always add hickory chunks that I put in with the charcoal.

If my bird is not done within 4 hours due to it being a little too cold outside I will bring it in and finish it in the oven.

This year I made a few homemade pot pies with the leftover turkey. The best tasting pot pies I have ever had in my life. I will be doing this again next fall just for the pot pies.

[DARK30]

oooooh! Pot Pies! Yum!

I was wondering if you have to add coals/lump to get the job done? I can see how you would need to finish in the oven.

[delcecchi]

oooooh! Pot Pies! Yum!

I was wondering if you have to add coals/lump to get the job done? I can see how you would need to finish in the oven.

Turkey on a weber is one of the best things I ever ate. I still remember the first time I had it. We were trying to fish the bullheads out of some ponds belonging to a buddy's dad south of St Charles.

Not sure we had much impact on the bullheads but the turkey was great.

[Jim Almquist]

For me its the smokey turkey gravy that keeps me wanting to make it no matter what the temps. Its to the point I could careless if I ever have oven baked turkey. Put that gravy in a pot pie and it is super tasty.

[BLACKJACK]

Thanks for the positive feedback on using the rotisserie!!! My grill and rotisserie should arrive this week, thinking about going out and buying a couple of turkeys before the price goes up due to all the bird flu deaths. Probably won't start with a 22 pounder but I could see a 12 pounder going on next weekend!!!

My grill is supposed to have the briquet trays, was wondering if they'll hold enough briquets for a 3-4 hour cook without adding more??

Interesting about the pan with broth and drippings. I know in the past when I have done turkeys I would put a water pan in but invariably a charcoal briquet or two would end up in the water when I added briquets.

If you're going to brag about your turkey pot pie you really should post the recipe!!!

[gunner55]

Yes....recipe please

[Jim Almquist]

All I did was use pie crust on the bottom and sides. You will have to do some cutting but it is easy. I used the canned potatoes just because it was easy. Toss in a few, add some mixed vegies, gravy and small chunks of turkey. Mix it up a bit and add the pie crust for the top. I used Pyrex bowls because I like big pot pies. Bake at 350 for about an hour. I froze mine and then vac-u-sealed them so I thaw in the frig before cooking. Simply but tasty.