MadMedik Posted May 30, 2011 Report Share Posted May 30, 2011 Hello All, First, Happy Memorial Day Weekend ! God Bless our service men and women...past, current, and future ! Well, I finally had the chance to do my first Rotisserie Chicken cook. All in all, it went well. I tried two different rubs/marinades. On the left is Big Bob Gibson "white sauce," which I did not like at all...I won't do that again. The chicken on right is a "good ol boy" rub from a local bbq store....can't recall the name now. But, it was very good and I most definitely will use it again. The right chicken was more "done," due to fact the charcoal lit more on the right side of the KK and more heat then on right side....left chicken, less heat, not as done. I did the cook at 350 degrees, no heat stone and no drip pan. This is the 8" Rotisserie basket. I do not have the 6" basket. My father does and I will try that someday, but for these 5+ pound chickens, this basket was perfect. Cook time was projected at 1 1/2 hours based on feedback from forum, but the birds were 5 3/4 pounds each, and I thought I may need more cook time. I took them off at 1 hour, 50minutes. Probably could have gone less, but still good, moist and tasty. Only thing to do different would be no White Sauce on the one chicken, and try to get more even heat distribution so both chickens look like the one on the right. Keep in mind too, the rub on right was dark with lots of paprika, so it got darker because of the type of rub. Anyone with any thoughts on how to get even fire/heat distribution? I don't want to use heat stone...want the dark, crisp skin. For first Rotisserie cook, I am very pleased. n68183 here is close up, just one half: n68184 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tucker Posted May 30, 2011 Report Share Posted May 30, 2011 Re: First Rotisserie Cook: Very nice I can't find my old post, but here are the pics again. I used an old cookie sheet, cut it in 1/2 and put little bolts on the ends to hold together. Foiled it and set it directly on the fire box handles. No heat stone. It deflected the heat enough and caught all the drippings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LATrapp Posted May 30, 2011 Report Share Posted May 30, 2011 Re: First Rotisserie Cook: Very nice Looks great!! I just picked up some Weber Char-basket Charcoal holders: I've used them once on a single chicken and they worked great. Don't know how evenly they would cook on 2 chickens but I think they would be fine. They fit right into the fuel basket, leave enough of a gap so the fat does not hit the coals. Direct heat! I place a cast iron skillet on the floor of the KK filled with liquid to catch falling coal bits and the drippings. You will need to place an unused piece of coal under each of the baskets to prop them up and and keep them level but other than that they are very easy to set up. I'm guessing that something similar can easily be made, but for 15 bucks from amazon it was a worthwhile purchase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loquitur Posted May 31, 2011 Report Share Posted May 31, 2011 Re: First Rotisserie Cook: Very nice [ I just picked up some Weber Char-basket Charcoal holders: .......... for 15 bucks from amazon it was a worthwhile purchase. I love these baskets and use them all the time. They solved my problem of going through lots of charcoal for small cooks since I'm mostly only cooking for two. I sit them on a brick to support them and raise them closer to the grill surface. If I'm only doing a couple of wursts or chicken breasts, I only use one of them and if I want more heat for burgers or steaks I use them both. My bag of charcoal lasts much, much longer now than it used to. I'm anxious to use them for the rotisserie, too, but my basket doesn't fit and I'm waiting for the adjustable pins to arrive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syzygies Posted May 31, 2011 Report Share Posted May 31, 2011 Fire bricks n66873 In my pre-ceramic days I experimented with bricks, e.g. the above attempt at an Ozark pizza oven. Just in case (you didn't say), fire bricks can withstand higher temperatures before they explode. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slu Posted May 31, 2011 Report Share Posted May 31, 2011 Re: First Rotisserie Cook: Very nice I can't find my old post, but here are the pics again. I used an old cookie sheet, cut it in 1/2 and put little bolts on the ends to hold together. Foiled it and set it directly on the fire box handles. No heat stone. It deflected the heat enough and caught all the drippings. What are the finished dimensions of the modified pan? I was thinking of using a stainless steel sheet rock mud pan as a drip pan. They come in various lengths. http://www.tapetechtools.com/classic-24 ... d-pan.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firemonkey Posted May 31, 2011 Report Share Posted May 31, 2011 Re: First Rotisserie Cook: Very nice Anyone with any thoughts on how to get even fire/heat distribution? I don't want to use heat stone...want the dark, crisp skin. The newer charcoal baskets are very deep, with nearly vertical sides and a wide, flat bottom. previous builds had a more bowl shaped basket, with a smaller flat portion, which is what Loquitur likely has since she mentions propping the bottom of the baskets to get them level. I have found that the KKs definitely have a burn pattern to them. If you light one spot then the airflow tends to burn all the fuel in one place first, and then migrates. Personally, for higher temps like grilling, I think the older baskets had some big advantages. They were not as deep, so the fire was up closer to the top of the basket, and you didn't need as much lump to fill them. If you fill the deep basket, then you are doing two things - igniting more fuel to get an even burn going, and if you don't get the whole basket burning, then you are restricting the airflow with extra lump Try loading only a little more lump than you expect to use, and then get it all lit, by stirring it around once in the middle of the grill heat soaking and again just before you put the food on. I know why Dennis went with the bigger basket, to allow for more fuel capacity andmake it virtually impossible to run out of fuel on a low/slow cook, but I sure do miss the old basket! I think an adjustable grate added to the new basket might offer the flexibility of both designs. I was thinking about something like a disk shaped grate (maybe slightly bowled), a inch or so smaller than the existing bottom, that had a couple of 1 inch rods across from each other. Then you could tilt it in place, by inserting one side between the horizontal rods in the existing basket, lowering the other side in place and centering it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mguerra Posted May 31, 2011 Report Share Posted May 31, 2011 Re: First Rotisserie Cook: Very nice Use a grilling wok as a small charcoal basket. Just set it on top of a basket full of lump, or on the charcoal basket handles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mguerra Posted May 31, 2011 Report Share Posted May 31, 2011 Re: First Rotisserie Cook: Very nice Like this thing: http://www.amazon.com/Charcoal-Companio ... 484&sr=1-2 There are a number of variants of this, stainless, round etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syzygies Posted May 31, 2011 Report Share Posted May 31, 2011 Re: First Rotisserie Cook: Very nice Like this thing Great idea, but nonstick? Anything placed that close to a fire has to be known to be safe at fire temperatures. I've thrown out $100 nonstick pans that overheated once. (The smell convinced me where reason stepped aside and my wallet objected...) Along these lines, galvanized metals release toxins when heated to fire temperatures. I prefer stainless steel over any alternative given the choice. (After watching Tod Browning's Freaks in an altered state long ago, I have this obsession about not wanting to poison my friends. Perhaps I'm being over-cautious here, but it's an issue to consider.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firemonkey Posted May 31, 2011 Report Share Posted May 31, 2011 Re: First Rotisserie Cook: Very nice I have a couple of those, but I also have these handy little things: That is a original version charcoal basket, and the ring that you can use if you only want a small fire, like what Susan uses the Weber baskets for. Problem is, I need to have the basket modified to use it in my new KK because the outside diameter is just small enough to fall into the middle of the 2 piece firebox, and I dont want expansion putting outward strain on my KK: Here is a picture of the baskets together just for size comparison: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mguerra Posted May 31, 2011 Report Share Posted May 31, 2011 Re: First Rotisserie Cook: Very nice I did not specify non-stick, I was merely indicating the general concept of using that type of contraption as a small fire basket. The one I use for smaller fires is stainless. I do have some non-stick ones I use for grilling shrimp, veggies and the like, but they hold the food, not the fire! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tnt Posted May 31, 2011 Report Share Posted May 31, 2011 Re: First Rotisserie Cook: Very nice Firemonkey, I like your plan, I remember I used the charcoal holders in my Weber and put a small drip pan in the middle to catch the grease. Your plan would allow the same thing with coals around the outside. Now if we can only make one.. Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadMedik Posted June 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2011 Re: First Rotisserie Cook: Very nice I have found that the KKs definitely have a burn pattern to them. If you light one spot then the airflow tends to burn all the fuel in one place first, and then migrates. Try loading only a little more lump than you expect to use, and then get it all lit, by stirring it around once in the middle of the grill heat soaking and again just before you put the food on. t. Exactly.....they have a burn pattern to them once they get lit. My problem was that the burn pattern went to the right side of basket, 3 , 4, and 5 oclock position, with just a small amount around the 7 oclock...hence my chicken on right was more cooked/browned. Both were absolutely done, only the the skin was more crisp on right side I think for the higher temps, like the 350 for my cook, lighting then stirring around abit a few times before adding food sounds like the solution. I will try that. i like the concept of the "other" baskets or "wok" contraptions... To use the Weber Char Baskets and light 2 of them...sounds interesting, but the KK only wants so much fuel burning based on the air flow we allow, so what is to say one side or the other won't burn out completely...while the other basket is sufficient to do the desired temp....the key would be to get both sides to burn evenly in their own little basket...that could be problematic. The forum here is great. I appreciate EVERYONES thoughts and suggestions and ideas. This is really COOL! Perhaps going higher than 350 temp, cooking longer, and using heat deflector would do the trick?????? MadMedik Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mguerra Posted June 1, 2011 Report Share Posted June 1, 2011 Re: First Rotisserie Cook: Very nice If you just pour your lump in the basket, the various shapes and sizes of the pieces do result in a patterned burn. For an indirect low and slow this is fine. For even high temp grilling it is not. I load my charcoal basket full, then take a charcoal chimney and fill it about 2/3 full with equal sized pieces of lump. Start the chimney and then dump out these even sized pieces on top of the basket. Arrange these even sized pieces equally over the top of the unlit to get an even distribution of fire. Or use briquets for even grilling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tucker Posted June 2, 2011 Report Share Posted June 2, 2011 Re: First Rotisserie Cook: Very nice Slu, I started with a 10.5" x 16" old cookie sheet, split in length-wise in half with tin snips, and slid the two halves together. I guess it ended up around 5.5"-6" wide overall, considering the lips, etc.. I covered it with foil to keep the grease from running out. I have not had it overflow with grease, in fact, the grease usually smokes off after it drips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slu Posted June 3, 2011 Report Share Posted June 3, 2011 Re: First Rotisserie Cook: Very nice Thanks. I think I'll try one of these stainless steel mud pans. http://www.tapetechtools.com/classic-16 ... d-pan.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tnt Posted June 4, 2011 Report Share Posted June 4, 2011 Re: First Rotisserie Cook: Very nice That looks like an interesting idea... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mguerra Posted June 4, 2011 Report Share Posted June 4, 2011 Re: First Rotisserie Cook: Very nice I was a sheetrocker all through college, had my own drywall company. I don't ever want to see another sheetrock implement of any kind! Probably still have a couple pounds of gypsum dust in my lungs. It was hard work, paid well, and we took it seriously with pride in our work. If we don't repeal Obamacare, I may have to go back to it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
