Tips for Rotisserie cooking on older Gen. models 07'-15' E/S 310/320/330


 
MarkSiebel

MarkSiebel

TVWBB Fan
Problem: On older Weber Genesis 2007-2015 (approx.) models E/S 310/320/330 these grills are NOT specifically designed for a rotisserie feature. Yes, they have the 2 motor mount holes on left of grill box w/ spit grooves, BUT, without removing grill grates, there is only about 2.5" of spit to grate circumference clearance. SO, grill grates MUST be removed to allow clearance/rotation factor for any regular sized bird you'll be cooking. With that said, much HEIGHTENED chance of flare ups and box fires. Thus, no other foods can be cooked on grates. If your bird is big, it may then hit the warming rack, so you only can cook your bird. ALSO: the older Gen. DON'T have a rotisserie burner feature making the cook time even longer fyi..

TIPS???
 
The span of years you mentioned covers both the original 300 series grill which had the “E-W” /longways/“sidewinder” burner configuration and the later 300s which had the burners front to back or “N-S”. I will first admit that I am still a wannabe when it comes to rotisserie. I agree with you on the later model, but I think many here would concur that the earlier model makes at least a decent rotisserie grill. I guess I would assume that if I am barbecuing with a rotisserie that is all I am expecting that grill to do right then. So I don’t mind that the grates have to be removed or look to grill something else simultaneously. (Really, that is one of the few lame excuses I can offer my wife for having so many grills!:o) I also don’t really see how removing the grates would have any impact on flare ups.

If you are looking for a much higher hood with better clearance for rotisserie, then the Summit with the rear infrared burner would probably be much more in line with what you are seeking.
 
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You're covering grill years that include both sidewinders (normal good IMO Genesis) and the later models with controls on front (not so good Genesis IMO). The front mount type Genesis is useless for rotisserie because it has no dedicated rotisserie burner. A HUGE failing on Weber's part IMO. The old side mount style does not need a rotisserie burner as the burners go the length of the grill and they do a WONDERFUL job. As good as (if not even better) than a grill with a dedicated rotisserie burner. I have both styles of grill and still to this day prefer the food off he Genesis sidewinder than off my Wolf with dedicated infrared burner. As for heightened chance of flare ups MEH I don't think so as long as you keep the center burner off and only use the front/rear or only one of them.
On all Genesis grills you have to remove at least one grate. Though I have solved some of this by keeping a set of cut down grates allowing me to cook at least a small amount of food on the grill in addition to the food on the spit. Not sure what you're referring to with this "ALSO: the older Gen. DON'T have a rotisserie burner feature making the cook time even longer fyi.." As I said the older style Genesis does not need a rotisserie burner due to the design. The newer version is useless. (2011 and up) for spinning food. So the best tip I can give you as a dedicated "spinner" is only buy OLD Genesis grills (sidewinders) they're the only ones worth having.
Almost as good is any grill (Weber or otherwise) that has a dedicated rear rotisserie burner. I will also say one HUGE advantage my Wolf has over my old Genesis 2000 in this department is it's so huge I can spin a turkey on it AND cook other items as I don't need to remove the grates. And BTW removing grates does NOT cause a flare up
 
Lmich - what is a "sidewinder" and "wolf"? never heard those terms..all good points! Flare ups/fires I have occasionally on my grills from either using a bit of olive oil or built up grease on bottom trays beneath burner tubes. and fyi..Jon, I do have a Summit E-470 and its the bomb for rotisserie! thats why after trying it on a older E-330 I was so disappointed....all good!!!
 
Sidewinder is a generalized term for grills with burners running side to side. Wolf is a brand of premium grill.

I have a 25 year old Genesis 1000 with a rotisserie and yes, you have to remove the grates to use a roto. However on the older Genesis 1000-5000 and earlier grills, there was two rows of flavorizer bars. If you take out the top row which are North/South bars, you basically have a grill with the 5 normal East/West bars over the burners. Taking those top bars out gives you a LOT of room for a rotisserie. I will be doing a 14 lb turkey on mine this week for thanksgiving and I am quite confident that I could do a 25 lb turkey with out a problem as long as the rotisserie could handle that weight. As long as you use a pan in the bottom sitting on top of the flavorizer bars to catch the drippings, you shouldn't have a problem with flare ups. You can also add a touch of water to the pan to lessen the chances even further.

I dont think Weber has ever made a Genesis gas grill that you could use a rotisserie on with the grates installed.

If you want to cook something while using a rotisserie, I suggest you found a good excuse for another Weber on the porch. Even a Q grill would be great for doing some grilling while a bird is spinning on the roto in the Genesis. That way you can grill at a different temp than what the roto grill is at.
 
MarkSiebel said:
Lmich - what is a "sidewinder" and "wolf"? never heard those terms..all good points! Flare ups/fires I have occasionally on my grills from either using a bit of olive oil or built up grease on bottom trays beneath burner tubes. and fyi..Jon, I do have a Summit E-470 and its the bomb for rotisserie! thats why after trying it on a older E-330 I was so disappointed....all good!!!
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If you have a Summit with the specialized burner I fail to see the reason for the post you made. The E330 is not a grill that is useful for rotisserie cooking and most likely why you found it troublesome to use.
Bruce explained the term sidewinder it is basically a Genesis the way God and George Stephens intended them to be made. Everything else is an imposter IMO. Not a real Genesis just a wannabe something else.
The original Genesis design is as good as it gets for a rotisserie machine IMO. IMO they are even better than the Summit x70 series and even my Wolf. (something else Bruce explained). I find I use the rotisserie burner more on my Wolf grill for making pizza than actually spinning food :D When used properly and with a very slight judicious amount of wood smoke the Wolf can mimic doing a pizza in a wood fired oven so well you would not know unless I told you after chowing down on one. Bottom line if a Genesis has controls in the front it may work fine for "grilling" but it's useless for rotisserie. Even Summit grills without a rear burner are pretty useless for that function as well. I found that out when I tried my rotisserie on my Summit 450 (the first generation of Summit grills). Horrible disappointment compared to the old style Genesis
 
Agreed. A plain jane 20 year old Genesis 1000 is probably as good a rotisserie grill as you will find for under $1000 bucks. Buy yourself a Genesis 1000 for $50, spend a little time and money to fix it up and put a roto on it. For about $150 and some time, you can have a great rotisserie grill. Then you can do your burgers, steaks, chicken breasts and sweet corn on the Geneses E3xx while the roast or the turkey is spinning on the 1000.
 
The 2007+ Genesis with the east-west running burners are not different than the pre 2007 Genesis Silver/Gold. This setup is actually great for using the rotisserie. Yes you have to remove the grates. But I never had any problems with flare ups or grease fires. I use the rotisserie quite a lot and when using it I only use the front and rear burners. I remove the middle three flavorizer bars if I need more room and cover the center burner with aluminum foil to prevent getting it to greasy by dripping grease. So far I even cooked larger turkeys on my grill.
If whatever you have on the rotisserie is not too long you could move that to one side and use a grate on the other side.
And once done I clean the firebox and grease pan to make sure all that grease is out before I fire it up the next time.
 
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