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Thread Number: 88808
/ Tag: Small Appliances
Rotisserie - Is it REALLY needed? |
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Post# 1133654 , Reply# 1 11/16/2021 at 05:11 (892 days old) by chachp  (North Little Rock, AR) |
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Farberware rotisserie
I had one of those that I carted around for maybe forty years or so. It was always on the top shelf in the pantry. In all those years I used it once. I made a chicken on it. The chicken was excellent but took a few hours to cook. It just wasn't all that practical for me. I then bought the rotisserie attachment for my Jenn Air cooktop and used that once. Same experience. Great chicken took a long time to cook. I had the kabob attachment and I think I used that once too.
I scrapped it all when we moved to this house. I left the Jenn Air attachments with the house and gave the Farberware to Goodwill. My vote, don't bother. I am not one of those people who plans meals at the beginning of the week and then follows it all week. If I were I might allow the extra two hours or so for something like that too cook. I am more of a "what do you want for dinner tonight" cook. | ||
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Post# 1133658 , Reply# 2 11/16/2021 at 07:16 (892 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md) |
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A real Rotisserie Is Great | ||
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Post# 1133660 , Reply# 3 11/16/2021 at 08:33 (892 days old) by Joeekaitis (Rialto, California, USA) |
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And then there’s convection roasting. | ||
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Post# 1133663 , Reply# 4 11/16/2021 at 09:48 (892 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md) |
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A real Horizontal Rotisserie Is Great Because it self-bastes the meat as it turns,
Convection is good for roasting meat, But the rotisserie is far more even and does not make a mess in the oven like roasting in a pan that pops and splashes all over the oven.
Real oven rotisserie cooking is done with top heat from the broiler with the oven door closed with the broiler pan below to catch any drips.
When we roasted a 5 pound pork roast in the GE oven a year ago there was only one spot the size of a quarter in the pan below, as it cooked the juices just clung to the roast as it revolved and made for a very juicy moist roast.
John L. | ||
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Post# 1133674 , Reply# 5 11/16/2021 at 10:58 (892 days old) by bradfordwhite (central U.S.) |
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If you're set on it, get an affordable dedicated appliance you can set outside when you use it. That way all the heat, humidity, weird smells and mess just floats away.
And yes, an air fry/convection oven is awesome. I also use that only outside for the same reasons.
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Post# 1133676 , Reply# 6 11/16/2021 at 11:17 (892 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md) |
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I have a Sunbeam Vertical Rotisserie | ||
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Post# 1133685 , Reply# 7 11/16/2021 at 13:56 (892 days old) by WhiteWhiskers (Silicon Valley, California) |
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Rotisserie is a novelty
I got a rotisserie accessory with my first Weber gas genesis grill. Over the years I've cooked chickens, turkeys, and beef roasts. Truth be told, the results were EXCELLENT! But it's a lot of work, especially with the larger meats. The birds and roasts have to be evenly balanced on the spit, otherwise the motor strains.
One of the advantages of using a rotisserie on an outdoor grill is you can postpone the cleanup. Just leave all the mess outside and deal with it another day. I just don't do rotisserie any more because it's easier to just roast meat the conventional way in an indoor oven. If you want the most excellent Thanksgiving turkey, cook it on an outdoor rotisserie. Do it once. Only you can decide if it's something you want to do on a regular basis with other meats.
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| Post# 1133686 , Reply# 8 11/16/2021 at 14:02 (892 days old) by Elginkid (Cincinnati, OH) | ||
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| Post# 1133709 , Reply# 9 11/16/2021 at 16:27 (892 days old) by twintubdexter (Palm Springs) | ||
Please don't call me crazy... Many years ago I gave my parents one of those Farberware open hearth rotisseries as a Christmas gift. It did an OK job but was a power-hungry appliance. Several years later it eventually ended up at my house. Rather than donate it to a thrift shop I decided to "modify" it. I put a few briquets in the bottom ( outside the house of course and after removing the electric element) and sprinkled a little charcoal lighter fluid around. It actually worked quite well and nothing melted. I just added a few briquettes as needed. It cooked a little faster than using it with electricity and the turkey looked much more appetizing. I did this a few times and then trashed the entire thing when the new house came with a built-in barbecue and a back-mounted rotisserie burner. I'm sure Mr. Farber would have had a fit. | ||
| Post# 1133838 , Reply# 10 11/17/2021 at 21:15 (891 days old) by cadman (Cedar Falls, IA) | ||
When the weather starts to turn cold, there's nothing like rotisserie chicken from the Roto-Broil 400. These are horizontal rotisseries that were marketed under several different brand names in the 50's and 60's. The bird itself is quite inexpensive and cleanup is easy as the drippings collect in a pan below. Bonus is the aroma that fills the house while the bird cooks.
Leftovers are never a problem as you can shred the meat for chicken salad later in the week. More info here: www.automaticwasher.org/c... | ||
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Post# 1133884 , Reply# 11 11/18/2021 at 12:47 (890 days old) by RP2813 (Sannazay) |
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 I love rotisserie chicken but as was mentioned above, the biggest PITA in prepping one is trussing and balancing on the spit. I think today's chickens are bred to have larger breasts and as a result balancing is difficult. Fortunately, the vintage GE rotisserie/broiler I found several years ago on craigslist has a beefy motor and can deal with a bird that's not perfectly balanced.
I had our family's original 1955 Roto-Broil Custom 400 for many years. It did a great job, on chicken, lamb and pork, but clean-up was dreadful. The GE, which is several years newer with all stainless steel interior, has a gap between the top of the glass front door and the top of the housing, and this seems to reduce spattering to a minimum. Clean-up is a breeze compared to the Roto-Broil and the motor's RPM is faster, more like a big time professional rotisserie, which may also contribute to less spattering. It will also handle a larger bird, up to 14 lb. I sold the less capable Roto-Broil when we moved a few years ago.
Fast forward to the present, and the ridiculously complicated and ill-designed Gaggenau built-in oven in my kitchen. It has rotisserie capability, but it's an optional accessory. I'm sure it would cost me well over ten times what I paid for the GE, if it's even still available. Much as I'd like the convenience, I can't justify the expense for the number of times I choose to use a rotisserie, although I'd likely use it more often since it would be much easier than hauling the GE up from the basement -- and the Gaggenau self-cleans!
Bottom line: if space is an issue and your oven offers a rotisserie option, that is the most sensible way to go. If you don't get excited by proteins cooked on a rotisserie, then yeah, don't bother with one.
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Post# 1133886 , Reply# 12 11/18/2021 at 13:39 (890 days old) by bradfordwhite (central U.S.) |
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Could try an air fryer oven with rotisserie option. Would cook a lot faster and would taste better.
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Post# 1134292 , Reply# 13 11/23/2021 at 09:56 (885 days old) by SudsMaster (SF Bay Area, California) |
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I have had a rotisserie covered grill on the outer patio here for at least 15 years. It's great for chicken, and in fact I have a 14 lb turkey I'm planning on doing up this thursday. It's an all stainless rig called "The Classic", that I got at Costco. I've seen it since with other brand names, but essentially the same thing. It has a side burner that I've never used. Fortunately there's a hinged cover over it so mostly I use that area to set down stuff waiting to be grilled.
The grill runs off a five gallon propane tank. For a turkey that big, I'll probably have to remove the grill grids underneat so it doen't scrape the drip pan I put underneath. Doing chickens on it is a cinch. The turkey will require more care/attention, though. But then turkeys generally do. Usually I find I have to tie the legs together (some turkeys like that), and often I'll fix the wings so they stick out away from the breast area. I've found McCormick's Rotisserie spice mix works pretty well. For grilling steaks and chicken parts, I use a 12x12 cast iron griddle with raised bars. Works quite well, also. | ||
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Post# 1134349 , Reply# 14 11/23/2021 at 19:23 (885 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md) |
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Inferred Outdoor Gas Rotisserie Hi Rich, that type of set-up cooks really well, have you ever considered converting your grill to natural gas, with Propane you are paying 4-8 times as much to operate and propane is less convenient and more dangerous as well.
I have converted several Propane Grills to NG it is easy and then you can use a quick disconnect gas hose kit that is available from Lowes etc.
John L. | ||
| Post# 1134361 , Reply# 15 11/23/2021 at 22:14 (885 days old) by 2packs4sure (houston) | ||
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Faberware Open Rotisserie Those Farberware Open Hearth Rotisseries are slow, power hungry, and will heat a large room up. Beautifully made piece of equipment and cooks a chicken well but not worth the trouble or practical. That's why they're so easy to find in mint condition. | ||
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Post# 1134384 , Reply# 16 11/24/2021 at 06:05 (884 days old) by SudsMaster (SF Bay Area, California) |
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Propane -> Natural Gas
John L,
Yes, I've thought of doing the conversion. In fact I even have the kit to do it. The big holdup for me right now is extending the house gas to that location. I haven't quite decided how I want to do that. Plus, natural gas prices here in California are probably a higher than they are in the rest of the USA average price per therm: $1.302, for Sept 2021. Price per therm on my bill for 9/21: $1.88139. Plus here the rates go up as one goes from a "lifeline" usage, or Tier 1, to Tier 2 usage, to which a rotisserie well might push the bill into. It's difficult to estimate what my next gas bill will be, however, according to the BLS website, the October 2021 average cost of piped natural gas came out to $2.166/therm. And since PG&E is trying to sock it to rate payers for their mistakes leading to the disastrous Dixie, Campfire, and Paradise fires over the past few years, who knows how much higher future NG rates will be for residents. www.bls.gov/regions/west/... | ||
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Post# 1134387 , Reply# 17 11/24/2021 at 07:05 (884 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md) |
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Propane Costs Hi Rich, what are you paying for a 20# cylinder of propane, if you figure $22 for a refilled tank you are still paying over $5 a therm, the cost of NG would never get close.
If you have propane delivered it is about twice as much, or if you ever make a special trip in the car the cost is much higher.
Jon L. | ||
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Post# 1134395 , Reply# 19 11/24/2021 at 12:05 (884 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md) |
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Post# 1134484 , Reply# 21 11/25/2021 at 01:58 (883 days old) by SudsMaster (SF Bay Area, California) |
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OK, Jon, I had to do some googling to figure out how many therms in a 20 lb propane tank (typical size for BBQ's).
First had to convert 20 lbs to gallons. Comes out to 4.5 gallons. Each gallon propane has .91647 therms. As I recall it cost me about $44 to fill up two 20 lb tanks. Thus, $22/tank. Or, 4.1241 therms/tank; at $22/tank that comes out to about 5.33/therm. Yes, much more than the $2.20 natural gas would cost going forward. More than twice. However... have to factor in the cost of extending the gas line to the nearest location under the house to service the rotisserie grill. I *may* have had that done about 15 years ago, but frankly I cannot remember now, so I'll have to dive under the house (crawl space) to find out; something I do not look forward to. If it's not extended as yet, I'll have to hire someone to do it (so it can be inspected/certified). So there is that cost. Then even if it was extended, will need to open up the piping to attach a fitting for the grill line. More expense. It's all doable, but so far this past year I may have spent $22 for one tank propane. And that's partly because I forgot to turn off grill last time I turned it on to dry out the cast iron griddle I had washed, so it ran wide open (one grill burner) for up to 2 hours. When I got to it, propane gone. Well, it was on its last legs anyway. LOL. Happens. Anyway good point about relative cost of propane vs. natural gas. It's just not big issue for me at this time. | ||
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Post# 1134560 , Reply# 22 11/25/2021 at 21:08 (883 days old) by bradfordwhite (central U.S.) |
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Thomas | ||
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Post# 1134571 , Reply# 23 11/25/2021 at 22:06 (883 days old) by bradfordwhite (central U.S.) |
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If one were going to spend the money it would be better to buy a solar system with in home battery. Something that can be used daily, is renewable, and safe.
For real estate resale purposes, natural gas lines will most likely become the new buried leaking oil tank/lead paint/popcorn ceiling/asbestos insulation/rail road tie as landscaping and buyers requesting them removed. Consider yourself lucky to be limited to a simple 5 lb propane tank. I've learned to check U.S. maps of where the largest oil lines are buried so I can plan accordingly. I would never consider buying a home that's within 1/2 a mile of a major pipeline or a celphone tower. Nor would I want to be too close to electric power lines. When I lived in the Gainesville FL area, I was shocked to find a major (18" in diam. or larger) pipeline snaked right through a relatively new shopping area that I had been using. The line even went right down the center of a new apartment project that was being built. Big AVOID. Don't know if a patio rotisserie and BBQ is worth the risk. I won't ever have gas lines in my home or even near it again. CLICK HERE TO GO TO bradfordwhite's LINK | ||
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Post# 1134579 , Reply# 26 11/25/2021 at 22:50 (883 days old) by bradfordwhite (central U.S.) |
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"When it happened, there was no warning at all " Nope, there certainly isn't. Unlike storms and rain you can't predict when the earths plates will shift.
When I lived in Northern Calif. from mid 2012 to mid 2015 there were several smaller quakes that happened. I was living in a tiny home/RV the whole time I was there fortunately. Having the rubber tires to cushion ones home really makes a difference. These houses that are built slab-on-grade are just asking for problems.
There was a quake one evening. I got up from the desk and on my way to the kitchen I felt like I was losing my balance but it was a quake. I checked the quake center and sure enough it was 45 miles away. An hour later I heard what sounded like a freight train crashing not far away and the entire home gently bounced. lol. I was sitting down for that and it was kind of fun. No damages as it was a slow bounce. The only way I would ever live in an earthquake prone area is with the home on rubber shocks or tires.
Rubber cushioning devices is what they're trying to implement in Calif. but it's costly. Mainly focusing on heritage buildings so far. I pray Calif. gets it's rain and can recover from drought. I left Calif about 6 weeks before a big fire hit in the area in Aug. 2015.
L.A.'s got to divert the LA river instead of allowing all that fresh water to be wisked out the ocean. It's such a waste. For the couple of months it does rain during the rainy season all that water is enough to feed LA for an entire year. But that's another issue. | ||
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Post# 1134580 , Reply# 27 11/26/2021 at 02:50 (882 days old) by SudsMaster (SF Bay Area, California) |
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1) Natural gas lines now have automatic shutoff devices in case of quake, to prevent uncontrolled release of flammable gas.
2) Many older homes have had seismic retrofits, which lower earthquake insurance premiums. I did my own such retrofit on this home, built in 1941, about 15 years ago. It consisted of installing bolts through the framing sill plates into the concrete foundation about every four feet, and then installing 1/2" plywood panels at the building corners and spaced along the foundation. I had it all inspected and it did appreciably lower my earthquake coverage rates. The bolts are there to help prevent the entire structure from sliding off its foundation in a major shake. 3) Electricity for heating is not necessarily safer than natural gas. The devasting fires in the eastern part of the state in the past decade were mostly started along high power electric lines strung from east to west. PT&E's faiure to manage the forest growth around these lines resulted in trees falling into the lines, sparking, catching fire, and then setting entire communities like Paradise ablaze. There is a push to relocate such lines underground. But, guess what? Most gas transmission lines are already underground, and it is rare one hears them of setting off blazes. | ||
| Post# 1134725 , Reply# 28 11/27/2021 at 15:22 (881 days old) by cadman (Cedar Falls, IA) | ||
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Just throwing this out there as not everyone is in the know, but back around 2008 when petroleum prices were quite high, major propane retailers reduced their fill from 20 pounds to 15, rather than hike prices. Unfortunately, they never adjusted this after the fact, and never widely publicized it, so check the fine print the next time you do a cylinder exchange. You may be paying (a premium) for a 3/4 fill.
Since I happen to like (and want to keep) the newish pair of cylinders I bought for our travel trailer, I make it a point to have them filled up by an actual LP service, but many hardware stores and filling stations offer this service as well. I usually pay <$15 for a full 20 pounds. If you have a Costco nearby, they'll do it for $9. | ||
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Post# 1134757 , Reply# 29 11/28/2021 at 02:27 (880 days old) by SudsMaster (SF Bay Area, California) |
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I wasn't aware Costco filled propane tanks.
Recently I filled up two 20 lb tanks at the local gas station for $22 ea. So I'll be checking Costco next time. Also just checked my existing tanks. They are all exprired. So it sound like it's exchange time! On the plus side, the two I got at Costco have led a sheltered existence: kept out of the rain, under cover, and refilled maybe once every couple of years. I have a third one I picked up from the curb that refilled ok and is now installed in the BBQ. As soon as it runs down I'll check the date on that one too. I've read it can be cheaper just to replace than recertify anyway. And a lot of recertification apparently is just a visual inspection. We'll see! The last guy to refill these a couple of months ago didn't say a word about them being expired, so go figure. This post was last edited 11/28/2021 at 05:09 | ||
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