I just recently got a rotisserie kit for my Weber 22â€. Never used one before. Wondering what is the best way to configure the coals?
-SnS parallel with the spit?
-Weber baskets on each side?
-Coals directly under the meat?
-Other?
I agree. The baskets on each side and the rotisserie in the middle, drip pan below. I’ve done it that way with a pork loin and a whole chicken, works great.
Lately I have not been using my Weber baskets, and just running a line of lit briquettes parallel to the rod. I’ve been happy with the results and plan to continue that.
I have used both the SnS and the baskets. It's 6 of one and a half dozen of the other. I normally use the baskets so I can move them closer or further away to control the color of the skin, but I have found that it is seldom necessary to move them. If I had the newer SnS, I could do the same thing, but I have the original and it's very difficult to move with coals in it.
John "JR"
Minnesota/ United States of America
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I would bank the coals to one side and rip it that way. You can use your SNS or baskets as well. I usually just bank them though, that usually seems to work just fine.
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No restrictions with me (love meats, cheese, veggies, etc...) however a friend I often cook with has celiac so I avoid gluten in my cooking. (PS. Stone delicious is a gluten reduced beer that he highly recommends )
I have been using the SNS so the coals are higher up for a little more intensity on one side. I also set it up so it spins away from the SNS so the majority of the dripping falls into the drip pan I have underneath instead of potentially dripping onto the coals and causing flare ups. Although, I don't know if it would even do that since I never tested the other way.
Coals in 2 Weber charcoal baskets, parallel to the spit and spread to the sides of the kettle
Coals banked to one side on the charcoal grate
I hate to say it, but I felt like while it worked, the SNS method was least effective. I think this is because with my original SNS, you are banking the coals too far from the center, and the walls of the SNS make the radiant heat more UP rather than towards the chickens I was spinning on the spit in the center.
The charcoal baskets worked ok, but I've never cared for their limited capacity. Probably worked better than the SNS though, as they are lower walled and the radiant heat from the coals has a better line of sight to the meat on the spit.
Finally, for my 19 pound thanksgiving turkey that I did on the rotisserie, I just banked the coals on the charcoal grate, to one side. That worked best in my mind. I laid down abotu a half chimney of unlit, and topped it with a half chimney of lit, and ran with the vents wide open, running around 350 in the dome for my turkey cook. As I recall, the turkey took 2.5 to 3 hours, and I may have tossed a scoop or two of unlit charcoal down in there during the cook. For chickens, they will finish much more quickly and you won't need more coals. It was the best turkey I've ever made.
The only food I've spun so far are chickens (3 to 5 pounds) and a 19 pound turkey.
The key thing to remember is that rotisserie cooking is about radiant heat. You want a line of sight from the radiant heat source - hot charcoal - to the meat on the spit. On higher end gas grills, that is why they put a radiant burner for the rotisserie along the back of the grill. I have a rotisserie for my Genesis II gas grill, which has no rotisserie burner, and it just doesn't work well, and doesn't crisp or brown the skin on chickens well unless you turn on the center burners, and then you risk overcooking. The kettle rotisserie works much better for me.
Last edited by jfmorris; March 10, 2021, 05:06 PM.
I've used all 3 methods. They all work. But I like to place charcoal directly under the meat. You can cook with and without the lid. Kind of like a Santa Maria. It all works.
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