I spent some time this weekend installing a rotisserie on the grill. I've been hanging on to the college grill for quite some time. I've replaced the main burner twice. I just cannot see spending gi-normous amounts of cash for an iron box with shelves and a handle. Seriously, some of the rigs I see in Home Depot are outrageous. Mine's a basic Coleman with three cooking levels, a left and right main burner and a side burner. Honestly, I've never given the side-burner much activity. The flame is barely visible, and with it being slightly exposed to the air, I find that it goes out more than I care to futz with. Plus, I usually have something going on the range inside.

Above is the schematic. It's an odd-shaped rig that resembles a rhombus. It's not too big and has three cooking levels. The bottom level is fixed and the upper two work on a hinge. I find that the bottom level is a scorcher, only good for quick veggies and maybe some seared fish. The second is just about right and the third let's you get away from the heat. Not bad for $100.

The rotisserie is an after-market deal. It clamps onto the sides of the grill, as shown. The trick is that the hinges on the inside grates poke through the outside of the grill at just about the same place the brackets have to be located. The other isse is that the height of the brackets have to be high enough to allow whatever you are cooking to rotate over the brickets. If they are too high they will impede the hinges when the grates are used. Since the brackets are not removed when the spit is not in use, they need to find a place that works with the hinges.

I got everything set-up, due to the hinges I was not able to get the spit level. The left-hand bracket is not identical to the motor-side bracket. I have no idea why.

The other issue is with the burners and the spit bar. The bar has a coupler in the middle, which initially, I thought was a good idea. The clamps slide down the bar but will not slide past the coupler, due to its diameter. You cannot just slide the bar through the meat, once the clamps are on. Keep that in mind for a second.

The burners are left and right controlled. My usual set-up for non-direct smoking goes like this:

• Right burner high flame, left burner off.
• Smoke-box right side, filled with damp hickory.
• As the cook progresses I can usually get by with a low flame on the right, with just enough heat to keep the wood smoking.

When cooking with a fixed spit, I have to reverse the item to ensure even heating. As opposed to the front-back burner set-up which would provide even heat, left to right and front to back with the rotation. My left-right set-up means that the side closer to the heat will obviously get done faster.

Today, I did a bird that smoked for about three hours, with a turn after 90 minutes. The bitch is that the coupler interferes with just slipping the bird off the spit, floping it around, and sliding it back on the bar. I had to slide the bird as far down the bar as I could and unthread the coupler before I could spin it around. Then I had to re-join the coupler and re-position all the clamps. Kinda a pain in the ass.

But, smoked meat is always worth it. Next-up is pig, in what ever format fits the spit.