Newbie ? re Rotisserie Cooking

[BBQ-Dad]

G'day crew, as posted in a separate thread, we've just purchased a new 6 burner BBQ.

It came standard with a rotisserie. Having never use one our old BBQ, mates and family have them over charcoal cookers, we're keen to try it on our new BBQ.

But.

How should we set up the hotplate and grills? Better with hot plate under the meat? Or use grills under the meat?

What about the burners? All on low? Or only the ones away from the meat?

Appreciate any tips.

[BBQ-Dad]

Only one way to learn, right? Ask, and then dive right in!

Went to our butcher today and grabbed an awesome piece of rolled pork. They cut it and tied it up for me and even scored the skin.

Hmmm. Crackling.

Onto the rotisserie tomorrow!

I did buy some snags too, just in case

[Davo]

Sorry that I can't advise you about using a rotisserie....never used one.

[Michael_Dunn]

https://www.weber.com/US/en/blog/tips-t ... 30481.html

[BBQ-Dad]

https://www.weber.com/US/en/blog/tips-t ... 30481.html

Cheers Michael.

We found this too: https://www.barbequesgalore.com.au/bbq- ... ling-pork/

[BBQ-Dad]

Cooking update: it start so well.

We followed the instructions and had a tray under the meat, BBQ hot, and up to 250*C with the rear 'infra red' burner on.... 5 mins in, we checked it, it looked amazing with some golden blisters starting ... mouths were watering.

2mins later, as I went to grab a beer, just after texting a pic to family and friends ... I saw flames coming from the BBQ hood. Yes, FLAMES.

Oh, sh... sugar ... firetruck, firetruck, firetruck.

Turned the gas off, both at burners and bottle. Unplugged the power from the rotisserie. Grabbed the BBQ gloves, and fire blanket. Opened the lid to see a black sooty flame filled mess on the meat and tray under the meat. Not happy Jan.

Crackling has been charred. We've scrapped it and have it back spinning in the hope we 'might' get something edible.

Snags are looking a good option at this stage.

[Brownie]

Firetruck indeed!

My only experience with the rotisserie was to try and cook two very fat chickens that the poor motor couldn't physically turn over. Lol.

[Davo]

Crikey BBQ DAD.....250C sounds a bit high with the lid down.....

As I said, I've really had no exp. with rotisserie but I thought it was supposed to be at a lower temp...

On saying that, the fat that is trapped under crackling skin is highly flammable (don't ask how I know this )

When dealing with fatty pork skin, ensure theres no way it can come in contact with flames.

Many BBQs are not designed to cook at high grilling temps with lid down due to the way they are ventilated, the lid down is more for roasting rather than grilling temps. On saying that I've never seen the Euro-grill in the flesh and don't know what the manufacturers recomend when using rotiserie.

Don't be disheartened, it's a learning curve, you're not only getting used to the BBQ style of cooking but an entirely new Machine to boot, takes a few times to get the feel of it...just like a new car. If you seen the mistakes (mostly edible though) I made in my BBQing, even now I still make them, i guarantee you won't feel so bad lol...I've made some bewdies in my days....

Davo

[12x7]

Have a look at this which shows you when oils and fats start to smoke.



https://www.thespruceeats.com/smoking-p ... ls-1328753

You have got to watch your Q closely at 250C for fat fires as it can ignite. Especially if some fat falls on the burners.

If your cooking outside you have to watch for things like the wind blowing and the affect it has blowing stuff under the hood.

[BBQ-Dad]

We'll, FWIW, and in the interest of knowledge sharing, the cause, culprits, were found by forensic analysis.

Yep, on cutting it open I discovered my darling wife had put three bamboo skewers into the meat to hold a few loose pieces down. She was oblivious to the fact that even well soaked bamboo skewers WILL catch on fire under the BBQ hood.

What's happened I suspect is the top of the skewers caught alight (there was no tops left upon forensic analysis) fuelled off the rendering pork fat and ignited a fire on the meat and then a drip or few has landed in the tray underneath and bam, a nice little fireball.

In other news, cleaning the soot and other BBQ gunk off was completed including a high pressure shower for the new girl whilst having a few beers. I don't recall ever cleaning a BBQ so thoroughly or promptly after use. Must be honeymoon phase with the new girl.

[BBQ-Dad]

....250C sounds a bit high with the lid down.....

We were following the instructions at that BBQs galore link I posted above.

I think it's correct, right... The crackling WAS looking awesome.

I have no doubt at that temp the bamboo skewers stood no chance, and would have been red embers in that short time.

PS: Wife is getting stainless steel meat skewers for her birthday, which is in a few weeks. Might also wrap up a new fire extinguisher too.

[BBQ-Dad]

Firetruck indeed!

My only experience with the rotisserie was to try and cook two very fat chickens that the poor motor couldn't physically turn over. Lol.

Did you have it "balanced" with counterweight(s)?

[Davo]

....250C sounds a bit high with the lid down.....

We were following the instructions at that BBQs galore link I posted above.

I think it's correct, right... The crackling WAS looking awesome.

I have no doubt at that temp the bamboo skewers stood no chance, and would have been red embers in that short time.

PS: Wife is getting stainless steel meat skewers for her birthday, which is in a few weeks. Might also wrap up a new fire extinguisher too.

yeah the crackling looked awesome however the fat under the crackling appeared to be the issue....fat = lard has a smoking point of only 188c according to the chart that 12 x 7 put up in this thread so whilst you had 250c going, the lard under the crackling lit up when fats must've dripped or splashed the flames.
thats a great chart 12x 7..thankyou for placing it up here...first time i seen it.

Davo

[12x7]

I noticed the recipe is using a Ziggy 3 burner.

Method
Pre-heat BBQ with all burners on to 250 degrees
Place the pork in a large dish and pour boiling water from a kettle directly onto the scored skin
Transfer the pork to your baking dish and pat dry with a paper towel
Drizzle with olive oil and rub into the score marks
Sprinkle with salt flakes and rub into the score marks
Once the BBQ is pre-heated, place the baking dish in the middle of the grill. Cook at 250 degrees for 10 minutes. The high heat will help the skin start to crackle
After 10 minutes, reduce the heat to 190 degress and cook for approx. 1 hour per kilo
For the final 10 minutes, turn the burners back up to 250 degrees to finish off the crackling. This will ensure the crackling is crunchy.

Note how long the temp they recommend is 250C for 10 min then reduce to 190C.

Note they also use a baking dish to capture any falling fat so it doesn't go on the burners.

The grill size in a Ziggy 3 burner is a lot smaller than a normal 6 burner so I suspect the baking dish protects the burners below.

Using a charcoal roti you place the lit charcoal offset to the meat so the falling fat doesn't fall on the hot coals to ignite.

[12x7]

Here's a video of someone using a 6 burner and roti to cook pork for some ideas.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZ435RPSxaI