The Weber 2290 kettle rotisserie is one of the best investments I have made in the kitchen (ok, outdoor-bbq.)
No joke.
Yes it’s a bit pricey, but if you love perfectly cooked chicken, with brown crisp skin, a hint of smoke, and juicy flesh it is mandatory. I bought mine from Amazon, 2 years ago, and the fast shipping and easy site navigation added to an already sweet purchase.
If you came to this page directly, you can go to the rotisserie grill chicken page for more back story. Also, the Weber 2290 kettle rotisserie attachment obviously can be used for other items: rotisserie boneless leg of lamb is divine, and you have not lived until you cook rotisserie prime rib.
To my mind if it’s not for you, it is the perfect gift for the bbq enthusiast! Did I mention most of the fat drips away? Well, I digress.
So, on to the bird. Once you have the rotisserie, it is really really simple.
Step 1. Brine the birdy. Brine overnight.
Step 2. Remove the bird from the brine, pat dry with paper towels, and refrigerate to dry the skin.
Step 3. Fire your charcoal and wood if possible. I use 1 large chimney’s worth, specifically this one:Weber 7416 Rapidfire Chimney Starter or about 6 # of charcoal. It is a lot of charcoal, so to save $, I often make 2 birds at once.
Step 4. Truss your chicken, or not.
This is a very simple trussing technique whereby you wrap the string around the drums, cross it over, bring it up the sides of the bird, under the tucked-under wings and tie. Normally, I insert a whole lemon inside for added flavor.
Step 5. Put the trussed bird on the rotisserie rod. Normally I let the included counter-weight hang in the sink as you can see on the right. The counter-weight is a really nice addition that allows for less stress on the rotisserie motor for large items.
Step 6. When the coals are hot and dusted with ash, put the bird on.
Step 7. Put on the lid. Wait about 55 minutes. No need to do anything, not even open the lid! Apologies for the not-so-clean, but well-loved grill. The included motor is on the right. I just run an extension cord to an outside outlet or through a window.
Step 8. Gasp.
Step 9. Gorge. I simply can’t say enough about this grill addition: Weber 2290 22-1/2-Inch Charcoal Kettle Rotisserie