Barrel or Rotissarie

[jfmorris]

I’ve got the Weber rotisserie and used it on my Performer just last week. The chicken is good done with the Vortex or SNS but is somehow different spun on a spit with radiant line of sight heat versus indirect. I keep thinking I need to spin something other than chicken and turkey, but have yet to do so.

I can’t compare it to a barrel cooker really, since I don’t have one of those, but think it will be different. It’s kind of an indirect/direct method, but the dripping is mostly in the middle of the kettle and not on the coals, which are to either side. I use a foil drip pan, sometimes with veggies, under the chickens.

[Dan Deter]

I make rotisserie chicken on my Summit regularly. Well, well worth doing, and since I can spin 2 birds at a time, that gives us left overs to use in all sorts of other dishes.

Honestly, when I lucked out and got the grill 10 yeaars ago I didn't think I'd ever use the rotisserie. Now I'll never be without one.

[Mosca]

I like my rotisserie, but I never use it. Maybe once a year on average? But that would be like 3x the first year, 1x the next, and then not at all for the last 3 years. It’s just easier to put the chicken on the grate and not bother with cleaning the roti. I’ve used it a couple times with rib roasts: they’ve been fantastic, but so have rib roasts put right on the grate, and I don’t have to clean the roti.

[Alan Brice]

Something more to clean then store. Love spatchcocked bigbird n yardbird, hung in the PBC. On the grill and quartered as well. I do not have a vortex, I hear that way is awesome too.

[Murdy]

I had one on a gas grill once and we used it a fair amount for chickens and pork roasts. But, we replaced that grill many years ago and never got a new rotisserie. I don't miss it that much, but when I think about them, I want one. (I know, pretty wishy-washy)

[hoovarmin]

I always thought the rotisserie was a gimmick, until I got one for my Kamado Joe. Holy wow, I stand corrected. It's my preferred method for chicken now and I also have a PBC. I think you should definitely get one. There's a bit of romance to the endeavor as well that gets your dinner guests fired up and ready to eat.

[jfmorris]

Yeah - I really should use mine more, and will any time I am doing whole birds. For some reason it is different than cooked on the grate on the same grill, isn't it? And there is a mystery as to when the chicken will be done! I just go by how the skin looks, and then start checking with my Thermopen every 5 or 10 minutes once it looks good, stopping the motor for each check. Kinda like how I smoked whole birds back before I had a leave in thermometer!

[hoovarmin]

jfmorris I have found that I can leave my Meater + in the breast with the tip shielded by the bird without any problem. I probably don't get an accurate ambient temp read but I don't have to open the lid and stop the motor and it works great. Never got a warning from the Meater that it was exposed to too much heat.

[jfmorris]

hoovarmin I need a wireless thermometer, but not high on my priority list at the moment. For the half dozen times a year I dig out the rotisserie anyway. If I use it more and more, I'll need to think about it.

[JeffJ]

I have a rotisserie for my kettle and it produces excellent results.

[jfmorris]

Bogy I think the consensus is that you will enjoy a rotisserie for your Performer! I hang the ring on a hook on my garage wall when not in use, and hang the spit on a hook as well. The motor and forks go into a small plastic bin on a shelf in the garage.

While mine is a Weber brand, a gift from a former Pitmaster club member who seems to have lapsed, if I were looking for one for the Performer, I think this one is worth considering:

https://www.amazon.com/onlyfire-Multi-Purpose-Stainless-Rotisserie-Grills/dp/B07XHFLXB6

It doubles as a pizza oven rig for the kettle! And has clips to hold the cooking grate up at the top of the ring if so desired, to let you grill with 2 levels and 2 grates, or just move the cooking grate higher than normal (think "Santa Maria").

I find when using the rotisserie ring from Weber, that the kettle is pretty leaky due to the air gaps around the spit, as well as the fact the ring, even from Weber, just doesn't seal all that well to the kettle. So even if that cover that goes over the pizza door isn't air tight, I doubt it will matter much. You control the heat by banking the coals to one side or the other (or both sides), and let the bird or roast spin past that radiant heat. I've used my SNS and the Weber baskets when doing chicken. When doing an 18-20 pound turkey, I just bank the coals on one side of the charcoal grate, up the side of the kettle. I usually need to add briquettes during a turkey cook, due to the 3-4 hour time involved.

Looks like that onlyFire one only includes two rotisserie forks - I think you want to buy a couple extra, as I use 4 when doing 2 chickens. I don't like the ones Weber provides, as they only have 2 prongs, versus 4.

One last tip - when using the ring, I can't store my lid in the lid bail on the side of the Performer, as my old style (2007) Performer holds the lid tipped at enough of an angle that it hits the ring. The newer Performers and kettles seem to have a wider loop to the bail, and stow the lid in a more vertical position. No big deal - just means I set the lid down on the patio or on a patio table while messing with the grill.

[Grillin Dad]

To piggy-back off this, I have a new-ish Performer (2018?) and the Weber rotisserie to go with it. Even with the ring attached, the lid still slides into the bale. It's a little awkward, but no real problem. The ring also slides just under the lower shelf, making for easy storage.

[Bogy]

Thanks for all the comments and the recommendations. The Only Fire was mentioned at least twice, and that's the one that's been on my Amazon Wish List for some time. Right now both the unit with the pizza option and the one without are in my shopping cart, but only one will be there when I actually pull the trigger. Thanks for the encouragement. I can always count on you guys to help me spend money.

[smokenoob]

Good encouragement! I have an 8 year old never used rotisserie for my Napoleon, I need to get off my butt and spin a bird! Maybe me & Bogy can post our first spins soon!

[jfmorris]

Another thing I want to try spinning is a pork loin or beef roast of some sort. Maybe even shwarma horizontal instead of vertical?

Heck it just dawned on me that I saw Steven Raichlen on one of his shows a while back rotisserie cook a Boston butt! I think that is something to try on a charcoal grill though - you don't want to burn through your entire propane tank on the Napoleon...

[Panhead John]

smokenoob The best bird I’ve ever cooked was done on a gas grill rotisserie with a rear infrared burner….give it a shot!

[hoovarmin]

Do it!

[radiodome21]

I just celebrated my 1 year anniversary of my SNS a purchase this past weekend. I have a vortex and the SNS rotisserie. For a whole bird nothing beat the rotisserie is my mind. My family loves it too. They like smoked chicken but they love chicken done on the rotisserie. Only used it thrice though, because the other times I wanted to use it we had last minute dinner changes. But I love it.