SLOW SPIN
Q My mate and I recently built a rather large barbeque for spit
roasting. We have one small problem - the motor we bought from
Barbeques Galore will barely turn a chicken. Can you advise on a
place to buy bigger motors?
Adam
Panania
New South Wales
A Adam, I'm sorry but I really don't get the fascination with spit roasting.
You can usually get a much better result through indirect cooking in a
Weber kettle - the meat is surrounded evenly by heat and moisture is
not lost from the constant twirling around. And you can pick them up from
about $50
second-hand.
I believe that the only spits that really work are those big electric units they
have in supermarkets and chicken take away shops. They each hold dozens
of chooks and, as they revolve, the leaking juices and fat fall on to the chickens
below and this bastes them.
When you try this at home with just one stupid chook or chunk of meat
spinning around, the juices fall onto the coals or the sides of the barby.
You might get some nice sizzling noises but you'll also get dry chook unless
you baste it ALL THE TIME (and if you're the single spit operator Adam you
might need to wear
your colostomy bag).
If you're on a mission and want to salvage something from your work to date,
then you'll need to look at a proper motor with a geared drive.
Your best bet would be to examine the entrails of a large washing machine or
to trawl through ebay.
They have a barbecues section within in Home/lifestyle and I'm told that geared spit
motors sometimes come up for sale there.
BBQ Blue