Rotisserie Crispy Skin


 
My silly comments are more about how complicated everything has become, and how specific we get. I'm late 40s, but still remember getting things that were "good enough" and my wife and I do NOT go grocery shopping together, nor do we harass each other about stuff that's too specific. One week she shops, the next I do. This way, she gets the things she likes, and I do too. What with the phones and the passwords, my little commentary included me fantasizing about being in the middle of a brilliant stand up comedy set, where everybody was cracking up. I guess I have a twisted mind, but it's more fun than a straight line!

EDIT: And I meant no offense to anyone, I was just inside my own head being a little silly / stupid. I know that when this kind of stuff starts hitting the finances it's not funny anymore.
 
Man this thread has made me quite hungry for some rotisserie chicken! Out of curiosity - are you guys all using Weber branded rotisseries or aftermarket ones?
 
JohnS FL said:
Man this thread has made me quite hungry for some rotisserie chicken! Out of curiosity - are you guys all using Weber branded rotisseries or aftermarket ones?
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Both of mine are Weber units, one is pushing five years old and gets a fair bit of use (kettle) and the gasser has only seen half a dozen uses. I just grew up using the kettle and am more comfortable with it. I might have to do a twirly bird for New Year’s Eve!
 
Weber #9890. It is the one that was designed by Weber to use on the Silver B's and 1000 grills. You can find them on FB MP and CL for $40 or less quite often and usually in new or like new condition.
 
I use the OneGrill 110v as it is rated for a higher weight (30 lbs unbalanced, 50 lbs balanced) than the others. It has a 13 watt motor as opposed to the Weber 9 watts. They do make battery ones as well. Spit rod is 3/8 as opposed to the 5/16 on the Weber and everything is 304 stainless steel. I have two Webers and a no name brand battery one and the OneGrill gets used the most. Their customer service is said to be great too but I have never had to use it.
 
I started with the Weber-branded roti for the kettle 25+ years ago but lost the motor because I left it outside. I bought a generic replacement motor from eBay and I've been using that ever since. I bought the OnlyFire (oops!) OneGrill battery-powered rig for the gasser but the spit rod didn't have the right "groove" (turned-down area) for the kettle. I bought a Joetisserie rig for the BGE but the motor slots are not spaced correctly for the gasser/kettle (as I remember). I picked up another Weber roti setup (with an aftermarket spit/basket setup) on a $40 donor that I bought for the tables. I turned down the OnlyFire (oops again!) OneGrill 3/8" spit rod so it works on the kettle. Out of all of them the Weber roti motor I got with the $40 donor is the quietest, although I don't like the spit rod/basket arrangement because it is so hard to clean. It seems to me that you need to verify that whatever you buy will fit your application as from my experience there is no one-size-fits-all solution.

The 3/8" stainless steel spit rod is ok but softer than the 5/16" plated steel spit rod that comes with the Weber. I have used the plated steel spit rod extensively and it doesn't bear the marks from the screws on the forks that the SS spit rod has. I got pictures if you wanna see 'em, don't wanna start a fight over SS...you people up north have a lot to deal with so SS is probably the right choice for you overall.

EDIT: The Weber spit rod for the 22" kettle is too short to fit a Genesis gasser. It figures.
 
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Ed, you are correct on the 3/8 rod leaving marks where the screws for the forks contact it but it does not bother me and it does not rust. I cannot comment on the Weber rod as mine is a model 9891 which does not have traditional forks and I have only used it once. The rod I use with the Weber motor is a generic plated one ( Wal-Mart I think) and the plating is coming off where the forks screw on and it will rust now if I don’t keep it oiled and dry but I do store it outside in the gazebo. Ed, sounds like you have not had this issue with the Weber so that is good to know.

When I get my 3000 finished in the spring I want to spin as big a turkey as I can fit on it and wanted the heavier motor of the OneGrill. The Weber is more than adequate for most people. My coworker has a Napoleon and it will not even spin a 12 lb turkey so check the wattage on the motor on whatever you buy. And if you buy an older used Weber one, open it and check that the grease is not dried out and hard. If it is, clean it out and add new grease and you will be good to go.
 
Richard in NS said:
Ed, you are correct on the 3/8 rod leaving marks where the screws for the forks contact it but it does not bother me and it does not rust. I cannot comment on the Weber rod as mine is a model 9891 which does not have traditional forks and I have only used it once. The rod I use with the Weber motor is a generic plated one ( Wal-Mart I think) and the plating is coming off where the forks screw on and it will rust now if I don’t keep it oiled and dry but I do store it outside in the gazebo. Ed, sounds like you have not had this issue with the Weber so that is good to know.

When I get my 3000 finished in the spring I want to spin as big a turkey as I can fit on it and wanted the heavier motor of the OneGrill. The Weber is more than adequate for most people. My coworker has a Napoleon and it will not even spin a 12 lb turkey so check the wattage on the motor on whatever you buy. And if you buy an older used Weber one, open it and check that the grease is not dried out and hard. If it is, clean it out and add new grease and you will be good to go.
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Richard, I have never had a problem with any motor not having enough torque, but in all honesty and being conservative the largest load I have ever tried to spin is maybe 18lbs or thereabouts. These split-phase motors are inherently weak in starting torque and have very large gear ratios to make up for it, and as you say something like dried out grease or even cold weather can be enough to keep them from working. I always try to balance the load without a counterweight because I have never been able to counterbalance properly and you are working against yourself by adding weight, and I have had problems with the Weber kettle counterweight clamping system holding the counterweight tight enough to prevent slipping throughout a cook. The problems I have had in the past have been that the motor refuses to turn from the get-go, without the spit rod or the load.

I have not used the battery operated motor other than to try it to make sure it worked when I first bought it. It is very noisy compared to my other motors. My go-to motor is a SS-enclosed DAI JIA Industrial Co., LTD, Model DJ302, 60Hz 115V 15W, CSA NO. 222994, bought a very long time ago on eBay. I have taken it apart at least once that I remember, but now I have a couple of alternatives if it refuses to start. Maybe the grease and cold weather combine to create an issue up north? I have never had a problem during a cook, only at the start.

My go-to:

IMG_20211229_215251920.jpg

The never-used OneGrill battery powered motor, the noisy one, claiming to be 25# capacity:

IMG_20211229_220952780.jpg

Note the plastic battery cover:

IMG_20211229_221038613.jpg

And the Weber, quietest of the bunch, also never-used (by me), picked up with a donor grill:

IMG_20211229_220936562.jpg

The JoeTisserie motor has gone missing but probably outside with the BGE and of little interest in this discussion.
 
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OK, another chicken is on. I've been having less than crispy skin lately, and I think it's the brine time. This one was a true 24 hour brine, and I'm shooting for 400 to 450 still climbing. I'll let you know the verdict on the brine's impact on the skin crisp in a couple hours!

Peruvian, with an onion, a full fist of garlic and the squeezed out lime rinds on the interior.
 
OK, that last chicken wasn't so crispy. Looking at the cook graph, I keep wussing out and keeping the temps too low. Tonight I have one spinning and I will not let the temp get below 450. I had it for a second there, but I lost it! At least the rubs and interior aromatics make them taste incredible, but this is a moon shot!
 
I’m kind of Glad that I don’t get so concerned about that kind of thing, light the fire, put the food on then just have a cocktail and wait for things to get done. My loving wife got me a Meater for my birthday a couple of years back and I’ve never even used it! Shame on me, I know. I’ll go to the corner now.
 
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