Customer Reviews

Weber 9891 Gas Barbecue Rotisserie

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

This basket-style Rotisserie is wonderful - it handles most meats far easier than a spit. You can do whole chickens, split chickens, game hens, flat ribs, and very small roasts. You do not have to worry about balance and counter weights. You can fit the disassembled basket into the dishwasher. I love it.

Except.... The basket is too small for a turkey or a large leg of lamb. A whole turkey would require a spit, and indeed, Weber sells one (the 9890). You would think Weber would package just the spit and clamps without the motor, so that a customer could own a system with two options - a basket and a spit. However, Weber does not package Rotisseries this way and will not sell the spit and attachments without the motor. (I asked, they refused.) You have to buy two motors if you want to use both a basket and a spit.

Weber would do well to take advantage of the great marketing opportunity afforded by packaging a basket and a spit with one motor, instead of blocking customers from acquiring such a desirable combination.

I love it. All the complaints here have some validity but are not serious:

- It's hard to tighten the screws enough for the baskets to hold the chickens in place. But I secure each chicken with one piece of twine as well. This is easy and does the trick. The manual says that as meat cooks and shrinks, you may need to tighten the baskets, but with twine I haven't needed to.

- The shaft sometimes comes loose from the basket which causes it to slip while turning. I now know to tighten the shaft with a wrench and check for slipping when I start cooking. If it does slip, it can be tightened without removing it from the grill.

- Cleaning takes a little effort but you don't need to disassemble it. Just make sure the screws are tight enough that they won't fall out in the dishwasher! I spray mine with water and let it sit wet at least a few minutes, then rub it quickly with an abrasive plastic sponge to remove or at least loosen any baked-on chunks; then I wash it on the heavy-duty cycle. If I remove the handle (easy) I can fit the rest of the assembly diagonally in my dishwasher. (It does barely fit so there is no guarantee it will fit another model of dishwasher.) I'm not sure any of these steps are necessary, but with them, it comes out spotless, and nothing else in the dishwasher gets dirty. This does take a little work to clean, but then again, roasting chickens in the oven leaves a mess too.

- Of course you need to bring the motor in after using it (or at least before it rains). But it easily slips out of the holder (which is screwed onto the grill).

The chickens I've made have been incredible. (With any cooking method, I also recommend brining -- soak 2 birds in 6 quarts water with 1.5 cups kosher salt (or 3/4 cup table salt) and 3/4 cup sugar for 4 hours, then rinse and dry before cooking).

We barbeque often, 12 months per year, using rotisserie 4 to 5 times a month. Despite the Weber name, the accessory rotisserie was obviously an import with a very cheaply designed gear motor. The first one lasted about three months. The first replacement ran for about 15 months before you could hear the bearing rattling and the gears starting to whine before it died. The final replacement has lasted about two years. The instructions on the third one advised that the unit be brought indoors when not in use. We did that with the first two as well, though we weren't informed it would be advisable to do so.

Our final word is that Weber should make quality control a top priority on source out products bearing their name...

Just so everyone knows, this product isn't actually manufactured by Weber. It is made by a company that has been custom designing this cradle rotisserie for commercial kitchens for over 20 years. They also make large catering equipment. They make this rotisserie for other grill companies like Viking, and Ducane. I bought mine directly from the company - EZ-Que, Inc. in Auburn Hills, Michigan. They are very popular where we live because they started marketing here first. I've been using mine at least 10 years - before Weber started carrying them a couple of years ago. The one I have is the exact same product. I give at least 2 or 3 of these a year as gifts - along with other cradle rotisserie products that EZ-Que, Inc. puts out- a campfire version called The Hobo, and a kettle ring rotisserie that fits Weber kettle grills. Mine still looks brand new, and I have NEVER encountered ANY of the problems that people mention in these reviews. I cook with it AT LEAST 2 times a week.

Some important things:

1. The 6" inch cradle is meant for cooking meats like chickens and small roasts. The 8" cradle is meant for cooking items like turkey and leg of lamb. The ones sold directly by EZ-Que come with a brochure that shows how to place different meats in the cradle. I don't think Weber packages this brochure with the product.

2. I have always cleaned mine in the dishwasher, and have never lost a part. If you soak the parts for 15 minutes they come out sparkling clean.

3. I have NEVER had meat fall out of the cradle. If someone is having a problem with that it must be because they have not read the instructions on how to place the meat. I have cooked things as small as . Ribs lie flat. You have to make sure to tighten down the clamps and finger screws.

4. EZ-Que, Inc. has a lifetime gaurantee on the cradle and parts. The motor that comes with the one marketed for Weber is not the motor that the company that manufactures the rotisserie sells with the cradle. The chrome plated motor that comes from EZ- Que is designed for the cradle.

I have done a lot of business with the owner of the company over the years, and I know he takes a great deal of pride in his products. He loves to hear comments about what people think about his products. I just saw him at a barbecue industry show in California where the company took the product of the year award for his design. His name is John, and the company phone number is 248-373-0666.

My reccomendation is to buy it straight from the manufacturer - the company always gives great service, can answer any questions about how to use the rotisserie, offers a life time warranty, and it comes with a much better motor.

First, you need to know that I am a Weber fan from my first kettle to my current Gensis A. I bought this rotisserie because (1) I thought it was a new and improved model and (2) it was the only one carried by Amazon for my model grill when I bought my Genesis. Since I saved so much money on my Genesis, I thought I would treat myself and my guests to some great rotisserie recipes.

My rotisserie arrived the day before I was to host my first barbeque dinner of the spring/summer. I eagerly assembled it, tested it, and heaved a great sigh of relief--it was working. (The Genesis A requires that ALL grills and the warming tray be removed to allow the food to turn--and I did all this.) However, my planned dinner, two whole small fryers, was NOT fitting AND staying inside the half-grill basket. That was the only time I referred to it as a half-grill for it soon became evident that it was a "horse" of a different color! It was now some 45 minutes before my family was to arrive. My chickens had spent more time on the flavor deflectors than in the "basket." One chicken had lost over 50% of it's skin, the bunches of fresh herbs I had inserted into the cavity of each chicken looked like they had been run over by a lawn mower. It was time to swallow my pride: I called the Weber Hot Line.

I spent the next 15 minutes with a very nice person; she was very sympathetic and did her best to help, but we couldn't get those chickens to stay on the rotisserie. So, I disassambled the whole thing, put my grids back in place and finished off my sorry-looking, but great-tasting chickens on top of the grill.

A few days later, when I was calmer, I again called Weber and related my tale of woe. I asked if I could return the rotisserie--no. I asked if I could get a refund or credit--no. You see this rotisserie is NOT manufactured by Weber but by a contract supplier. However, Weber did send me a kit to refurbish (read "replace") my "basket" into the original Chef's rotisserie which made it identical to my old one and more useable.

As I pointed out to Weber, the basket would work if they had created a whole basket; that is, two halves that could be locked together. So good luck to you if this item is on your purchase list. Get a good pair of fire proof gloves because you will have to remove your meat periodically to readjust the locking pins--they are very short pins--as your meat cooks and shrinks, well.... Or you could just let it fall out onto your flavor deflectors; it just will be very crispy!

I may be foolish but I tried to stick some slabs of ribs on this guy and they turned out to be too heavy and the spit wouldn't turn. The total weight was about 9 pounds. I thought it would handle them but no luck. On a more positive note, the construction of this rotisserie is fantastic. Every part is beautifully made and very nicely finished. Pop it into a dishwasher and it cleans up nicely. Spray sonme oil on the baskets to ease cleanup.

I have had many different types of barbecue rotisseries over the years,but none has done the job as well as the Weber 9891 rotisserie.The best thing I like is the basket type of holding device which does not permit the meat to fall of when it shrinks,also you don't have to use a ball of string to tie the meat on. I certainly recommend bying the Weber 9891.
James McCoy

My husband wanted one of these for Christmas, but I almost didn't buy it because of some of the negative reviews. Now I'm so glad I did because we really like it! We have cooked prime rib, leg of lamb, and whole chicken, and we have enjoyed every bit. We haven't tried ribs - got a rib rack for those and it works great and allows you to cook more ribs.

I don't find the rotisserie that hard to clean. It's definitely more work than usual grill cleanup, where you burn off the mess and then brush with a grill brush, but it's not much worse than a messy roasting pan. Get one of those sponges with the rough side for scrubbing, and the main basket cleans right up. I soak the other parts if they need it - they're small so it's no big deal - and then they also clean up with the scrubby sponge. Mine has been used half a dozen times and looks perfectly new.

I haven't had any trouble with securing meat, and haven't even had to readjust during cooking.

This seems like a great idea - the food is held in a basket, so that you don't have to shove a skewer through the meat. However, the little bolts that hold down the clamp onto the rack are meant to be tightened by hand. If you have a sizable chicken, you cannot tighten these enough by hand. I had the chicken fall out of the rack into the flames more than once. Then you have to tighten them with pliers, but the metal is so soft that you can only do this 2 or 3 times, and then the threads are stripped and the whole thing is useless! Again: hand tighten = chicken falls out; tighten with pliers = threads are stripped. Now I have to try to get replacement parts for the rotisserie from Weber. Good luck!

While I love my Weber Grill, Weber should be ashamed of this product!
1. Design requires you remove all grates and warming basket to use. Gee, guess they never thought I might cook chicken / roast AND want to do a hot dog too.
2. Too much work to use - cleaning means disassembling - and you have to use an adjustable wrench - not part of my normal kitchen tool kit. Too many pieces, not well thought out.