Rolf Jacobsen
TVWBB Emerald Member
Background – I have never cooked anything on a rotisserie before. At 65 years of age, this is embarrassing. Truth be told, I have only been into BBQ for the last seven years. Currently I cook with a seven year old Performer, (My workhorse at least three days a week all year. If it holds still, I’ll cook it on the Performer), 22” OTG and an 18” WSM. I mention this because it explains why I chose the Cajon Bandit/Weber Kettle option for the rotisserie. I don’t need the adaptor to fit the 22” WSM. I chose the Cajun Bandit unit over the Weber because I like the idea of stainless steel, a battery powered motor and the fact I can use it on the Performer if needed. First of all Chris Perres at Cajon Bandit is the real deal. He answers your questions promptly and addresses any issue immediately and in the right way. The unit fits both the Performer and kettle. The base appears to have the same dimensions at the stock Weber lid. As a result, it sits on top of the kettle/Performer, so there is no issue with it interfering with the bolts holding the lid retainer on the Performer. I tried it on both the Performer and 22” OTG and it works on both.
Working through it –. The first cook was on the OTG. This OTG is dead stock with the exception of a thermometer and vent insulator mounted on the lid. Leaks were never an issue. Our first cook was two chickens. Actually that’s why I bought it. My wife LOVES rotisserie chicken. It just took me seven years to realize it. Duh! Obviously there is a learning curve with this kind of cooking and hopefully even someone like me will pick up on it. Prior to this I didn’t know the difference between trussing and painting a Subaru. One chicken was treated to a rub, the other a marinade. This post however is about the hardware and this type of cooking. Once you have wrapped, (trussing), the birds, we placed them on the spit. I tried to place them opposite, (legs up on one, legs down on the other), in order to help balance them out. I suspended the spit with the birds across the sink and adjusted the counter weight, (included in the kit), to help offset the weight difference. I lit the coals with a chimney and used a pan half filled with water. When you place the spit on the grill, it’s necessary to secure a small adaptor with a screwdriver. I believe this is to prevent the spit from migrating away from the motor and allows the spit/rod something to rest on while it’s rotating. This is a good thing! Once started, I sat next to the grill and patiently monitored any sounds, changes and temps, (375 to 400 on lid). Yuengling helps when doing this. The motor made noises and the spit did too. So did I after the Yuengling! Bottom line, it worked!
Things you don’t think about –
After the rub/marinade is on, once they are on the spit, how do you move them outside without dripping everything everywhere?
Have a screwdriver handy to tighten the adaptor that prevents the spit from migrating.
What do you do when they are done? How do you handle the spit? Be sure to drain any juices from the cavities before you bring them inside.
Bottom Line –
Pros –
The adaptor/ring is well made and fits to tolerances equal or better when compared to a Weber lid. I cleaned it with Windex when received and got nothing! They do their homework with this. It’s right.
The motor handled two chickens without complaint.
The forks have different lengths. As I mentioned, I’m new at this so they may all have this feature. Just the same, I appreciate it. It certainly can be useful down the road.
Cons –
The forks have grooves/pits. The forks are placed into the groove and then crimped in place. These make them much more difficult to clean. I play in the Pharma industry and I’m sensitive to these things. This should be changed.
Double edged sword. I really like the idea of a battery powered motor. On the other hand, the motor casing got up to about 160 degrees. This can’t be good for battery life.
I would buy it again. Saying that, this is after one cook but I can’t see it changing.
As Always…. Thanks,
Rolf
Working through it –. The first cook was on the OTG. This OTG is dead stock with the exception of a thermometer and vent insulator mounted on the lid. Leaks were never an issue. Our first cook was two chickens. Actually that’s why I bought it. My wife LOVES rotisserie chicken. It just took me seven years to realize it. Duh! Obviously there is a learning curve with this kind of cooking and hopefully even someone like me will pick up on it. Prior to this I didn’t know the difference between trussing and painting a Subaru. One chicken was treated to a rub, the other a marinade. This post however is about the hardware and this type of cooking. Once you have wrapped, (trussing), the birds, we placed them on the spit. I tried to place them opposite, (legs up on one, legs down on the other), in order to help balance them out. I suspended the spit with the birds across the sink and adjusted the counter weight, (included in the kit), to help offset the weight difference. I lit the coals with a chimney and used a pan half filled with water. When you place the spit on the grill, it’s necessary to secure a small adaptor with a screwdriver. I believe this is to prevent the spit from migrating away from the motor and allows the spit/rod something to rest on while it’s rotating. This is a good thing! Once started, I sat next to the grill and patiently monitored any sounds, changes and temps, (375 to 400 on lid). Yuengling helps when doing this. The motor made noises and the spit did too. So did I after the Yuengling! Bottom line, it worked!
Things you don’t think about –
After the rub/marinade is on, once they are on the spit, how do you move them outside without dripping everything everywhere?
Have a screwdriver handy to tighten the adaptor that prevents the spit from migrating.
What do you do when they are done? How do you handle the spit? Be sure to drain any juices from the cavities before you bring them inside.
Bottom Line –
Pros –
The adaptor/ring is well made and fits to tolerances equal or better when compared to a Weber lid. I cleaned it with Windex when received and got nothing! They do their homework with this. It’s right.
The motor handled two chickens without complaint.
The forks have different lengths. As I mentioned, I’m new at this so they may all have this feature. Just the same, I appreciate it. It certainly can be useful down the road.
Cons –
The forks have grooves/pits. The forks are placed into the groove and then crimped in place. These make them much more difficult to clean. I play in the Pharma industry and I’m sensitive to these things. This should be changed.
Double edged sword. I really like the idea of a battery powered motor. On the other hand, the motor casing got up to about 160 degrees. This can’t be good for battery life.
I would buy it again. Saying that, this is after one cook but I can’t see it changing.
As Always…. Thanks,
Rolf
