I'm pondering the purchase of a Rotisserie grill (George Foreman or
otherwise), but I want to hear people's experiences on them.

Are they really slow cookers that will eventually make your chicken
all nice and crispy, and still seal in the juices? What is a good price to
pay for one? I think I've seen combo Rotisserie grills & toaster ovens.

--
Hilary Duff is America's Sweetheart & an international HeartBreaker.

"FAILING = Finding An Important Lesson, Inviting Needed Growth" -- Gary
Busey

Ablang > wrote in
:

> I'm pondering the purchase of a Rotisserie grill (George
> Foreman or
> otherwise), but I want to hear people's experiences on them.
>
> Are they really slow cookers that will eventually make your
> chicken
> all nice and crispy, and still seal in the juices? What is a good
> price to pay for one? I think I've seen combo Rotisserie grills &
> toaster ovens.
>

I never purchased anything advertised on infomercials until I bought a
ShowTime Rotisserie. I've had it for more than a year and have been
continually amazed at how good a product it is. It is sturdy, well-
designed, easy to clean, and the food (chicken, etc.) turns out great.
The chicken isn't crispy, since the juices that do come out drip all over
the skin, but it is always very moist.

This particular brand of rotisserie comes in various sizes, so the price
you pay would depend on the size.

Debbie

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Ablang wrote:

> I'm pondering the purchase of a Rotisserie grill (George Foreman or
> otherwise), but I want to hear people's experiences on them.
>
> Are they really slow cookers that will eventually make your chicken
> all nice and crispy, and still seal in the juices?

They're a way of cooking that alternately heats and cools the surface.
As the bird turns, the side facing the heat elements get a blast of
radiant heat. The side that just passed it has a moment to cool
slightly before coming back to the heat. It's a good roasting
technique if your heat source is very hot.

Additionally, any rendered liquids trickle around the turning bird and
baste it. The rendered fats will help to crisp the surface by frying
it. Makes for a very tasty result.

*Nothing* seals in the juices.

Pastorio

What is a good price to
> pay for one? I think I've seen combo Rotisserie grills & toaster ovens.
>

Ablang wrote:

> I'm pondering the purchase of a Rotisserie grill (George Foreman
> or otherwise), but I want to hear people's experiences on them.

I have both a George Foreman and a Ronco Jr.rotisserie.
Both machines cost the same -- $99.95 plus tax at a discount
store.

Physically, they are both about the same size. The Ronco Jr.
has a door that swings out, so it requires extra space in front
of the unit. The George Foreman is shaped like a horizontal
cylinder, with a curved door that slides up like a roll-top desk,
so it doesn't require extra space for the door.

The George Foreman is a nicer-looking unit. The Ronco Jr.
is very functional-looking, like it was designed by an
engineer.

The Ronco Jr. rotates at about 8 RPM, as compared to the
George Foreman at 4 RPM. The Ronco Jr. always rotates
in the same direction, while the George Foreman seems to
randomly pick a direction of rotation. You can turn the unit
off and on to get the direction of rotation you want, which
doesn't matter for most purposes but does matter for mine.
(More about this later.)

Both units come with a flat basket. The Ronco Jr. basket
is about 8 x 8 x 1.5 inches. The George Foreman basket
is about 7 x 8 x 2 inches. Because I mainly do chicken
drumsticks in the Ronco Jr, and they fit well within 1.5 inches,
the Ronco Jr. is better in this regard. I usually have more
trouble fitting the chicken within the plane of the basket
rather than its thickness.

VERY IMPORTANT -- the Ronco Jr. has a non-stick
coating on the basket, spit rods, and drip pan cover.
The George Foreman doesn't have a non-stick coating
on any surfaces. Although the George Foreman has a
drip pan, it does not have a cover for the drip pan.

VERY IMPORTANT -- the George Foreman also comes
with a cylindrical basket for baking vegetables and french
fries. This is why I bought the George Foreman -- I thought
it could be used to roast nuts. It does this VERY WELL.
In about 15 minutes, it will roast a pound of almonds,
pecans, or hazelnuts very evenly. I am very pleased with
the machine for this reason. Unless it breaks down in the
near future, I consider it an excellent purchase just for this
purpose. I had been looking for a nut roaster, and all the
alternatives seemed to be much more expensive.

I was considering the Alpenro$t coffee bean roaster, but
its high price (minimum, $259, not including shipping) and
low capacity (max. 8 ounces) made it seem a poor choice
for my purpose. I think the George Foreman probably
could be used to roast coffee beans, but I'm not going to
try it because I don't want to deposit volatile oils from the
coffee beans in my machine.

Note that there is also a Baby George rotisserie which I saw
at $59.95. That is a much smaller unit, and does not appear
to come with a cylindrical basket.

The Ronco has both a no-heat rotation mode and a heat-only,
no-rotation mode. The George Foreman only has heat+rotation.
I have no use for heat without rotation, but I use rotation
without heat all the time, to allow my chicken or ribs to cool down
and rest after cooking.

Also, for what it's worth, the Ronco is made in Korea, and the
George Foreman is made in China.

The George Foreman has a heat reflector behind the heating
element which can be removed for cleaning. The Ronco
doesn't have anything behind the heating element, except
the back wall of the cooking chamber. In either case,
if you're cooking meat, it's probably hopeless to try to keep
the machine clean. I look at the Ronco commercials and
laugh -- they're using brand new, unseasoned machines,
totally unrealistic.

Although some Ronco machines come with kebab skewers,
my $99.95 (retail) unit did not. The George Foreman comes
with skewers and a big tong-like tool for removing the
spit rod or basket from the machine while it's still hot.

The spit rod device for the George Foreman is secured
by a setscrew, while the Ronco spit rods fit into holes on
the opposing plate. The Ronco device is much simpler,
and works fine, even after "seasoning" (i.e. after developing
a coat of brown crud).

The axis of the spit rod device for the Ronco rotates in
two depressions pressed into the sheet metal in the sides
of the cooking chamber. These areas must be lubricated
occasionally with fat, otherwise the machine makes a
groaning sound as the device rotates. The George Foreman
has two strips of metal bolted to the sides of the cooking
chamber to hold the rotating food holder, and seems to
require no lubrication at all. In this respect, the George
Foreman machine is a superior design. It can be annoying
when the Ronco starts groaning during the middle of
cooking something, when everything is too hot to remove
from the machine just so you can lubricate it.

BOTTOM LINE: for cooking meat the Ronco Jr. is
clearly the best. The heavier construction and no heat
rotation mode make it the winner. For roasting nuts,
only the George Foreman will do, because it is the
only one with a cylindrical basket. Internal paddles
in the basket redistribute the nuts as it rotates, for
even roasting. I think it would work for coffee, but
have not tried it.

Mark Thorson > wrote in news:3FCB5ADF.BCE59DE1
@sonic.net:

> The George Foreman has a heat reflector behind the heating
> element which can be removed for cleaning. The Ronco
> doesn't have anything behind the heating element, except
> the back wall of the cooking chamber. In either case,
> if you're cooking meat, it's probably hopeless to try to keep
> the machine clean. I look at the Ronco commercials and
> laugh -- they're using brand new, unseasoned machines,
> totally unrealistic.

Perhaps we have different models of the Ronco rotisseries. Mine is the
big one. It has a curved removable plate that goes behind the heating
elements. It catches the splatters nicely. It is not non-stick. I give
mine a good scrubbing (easily done) every time I use it. While it
doesn't look like new any more, it certainly is quite clean, as is the
rest of the machine.

Debbie

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Debbie Deutsch wrote:

> Perhaps we have different models of the Ronco rotisseries. Mine is the
> big one. It has a curved removable plate that goes behind the heating
> elements. It catches the splatters nicely. It is not non-stick.

Yup, that must be a difference between the big Ronco and the
little Ronco.

> I give mine a good scrubbing (easily done) every time I use it.
> While it doesn't look like new any more, it certainly is quite clean,
> as is the rest of the machine.

You must be one of those neat-freaks. I'll bet you clean
your toilet bowl at least once a month, if not more often.

Mark Thorson > wrote in news:3FCBF67C.13F37A73
@sonic.net:

>
> You must be one of those neat-freaks. I'll bet you clean
> your toilet bowl at least once a month, if not more often.
>

Haha. No, actually I am a terrible housekeeper. But when it comes to
cookware, I don't want bugs to take up residence in my home or to get
food poisoning, so I do make a good effort to keep my dishes and cooking
equipment nice and clean.

Debbie


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and when it is found by spammers.

Mark Thorson > wrote:

> I was considering the Alpenro$t coffee bean roaster, but
> its high price (minimum, $259, not including shipping) and
> low capacity (max. 8 ounces) made it seem a poor choice
> for my purpose. I think the George Foreman probably
> could be used to roast coffee beans, but I'm not going to
> try it because I don't want to deposit volatile oils from the
> coffee beans in my machine.

I use a hot-air popcorn popper. I paid $5 for it at a consignment shop.
It's been doing the job for 5 years now. :-)

Mark Thorson wrote in message >...
>Ablang wrote:
>snip
>BOTTOM LINE: for cooking meat the Ronco Jr. is
>clearly the best. The heavier construction and no heat
>rotation mode make it the winner. For roasting nuts,
>only the George Foreman will do, because it is the
>only one with a cylindrical basket. Internal paddles
>in the basket redistribute the nuts as it rotates, for
>even roasting. I think it would work for coffee, but
>have not tried it.

Excellent write-up and information. Thanks for taking the time to put it
together.
Dan

Mark Thorson wrote:
>
> The axis of the spit rod device for the Ronco rotates in
> two depressions pressed into the sheet metal in the sides
> of the cooking chamber. These areas must be lubricated
> occasionally with fat, otherwise the machine makes a
> groaning sound as the device rotates. The George Foreman
> has two strips of metal bolted to the sides of the cooking
> chamber to hold the rotating food holder, and seems to
> require no lubrication at all. In this respect, the George
> Foreman machine is a superior design. It can be annoying
> when the Ronco starts groaning during the middle of
> cooking something, when everything is too hot to remove
> from the machine just so you can lubricate it.
>

I had this problem too, but found a technique/remedy that that has
worked very well for me...

I use one of those (extra purchase) kebab skewers and dip the end in
olive oil. With it, I can easily reach into the hot oven and drip the
oil onto the offending (and whiney) surfaces without burning myself -
successfully silencing that awful (somewhat bone-jarring) noise.

Other than that one complaint, though, I've found my Ronco unit to be
useful and well-built, and worth every penny I paid for it. I use it
regularly.

You did a wonderful break-down and comparison, too. Bravo and thanks for
sharing!

--
Kael, the Quirky Lady
-- take out "the dog" to reply...!

"Ablang" > wrote in message
...
> I'm pondering the purchase of a Rotisserie grill (George Foreman or
> otherwise), but I want to hear people's experiences on them.
>
> Are they really slow cookers that will eventually make your chicken
> all nice and crispy, and still seal in the juices? What is a good price
to
> pay for one? I think I've seen combo Rotisserie grills & toaster ovens.
>

I have a Bravetti - it's a very large "toaster oven," but I use it as a
regular oven (mine broke). It's quite good. The model I have has a
convection setting which is good for certain things. It has a rotisserie -
the chickens and pork roasts I've done on it have been excellent.

I had a smaller one by Bravetti that lacked the convection setting. It made
it through about five or six years of heavy use. When it gave up the ghost,
as we like to say here, I got this one.

For me, it's much better than the Ronco and the like...it does more. I do a
couple of loaves of bread each week, cookies/pie/cake about once a week,
baked potatoes, broiled salmon, baked beans...it's my favorite toy.

Here it is:

http://tinyurl.com/x8ey

The only flaw? It doesn't have a basket for the rotisserie. But I don't
worry about that.

R'gards,

Paula

"Ablang" > wrote in message
...
> I'm pondering the purchase of a Rotisserie grill (George Foreman or
> otherwise), but I want to hear people's experiences on them.
>

Mark has a very good review of the difference of different models. We have
the large Ronco. Does a very good job, not just for chicken , but for rib
eye roast, pork roast, even hot dogs are better off the rotisseries. We use
ours at least once a week.
Ed

I have the baby George Forman and love it! It's easy to clean as it comes apart
easily.It's hard to get the back sheild totally clean though, and the white
plastic does turn brown in the back in spots from the heat. It makes a 3.5 lb.
chicken in about 55-65 minutes. It comes out very juicy and brown, but not
with crisp skin. I love the fact that once it's set up, you don't have to do
anything else while it cooks. Haven't made anything but chickens in it as yet.

The Showtime will crisp the skin. In fact mine are always crunchy on
the outside and pefect on the inside.

On 02 Dec 2003 20:57:45 GMT, (Sheellah) wrote:

>I have the baby George Forman and love it! It's easy to clean as it comes apart
>easily.It's hard to get the back sheild totally clean though, and the white
>plastic does turn brown in the back in spots from the heat. It makes a 3.5 lb.
>chicken in about 55-65 minutes. It comes out very juicy and brown, but not
>with crisp skin. I love the fact that once it's set up, you don't have to do
>anything else while it cooks. Haven't made anything but chickens in it as yet.

Showtime Rotisserie. Best machine ever. Made hundreds of chickens.
Works every time. Buy it.


On 1 Dec 2003 12:01:39 +0800, Ablang >
wrote:

> I'm pondering the purchase of a Rotisserie grill (George Foreman or
>otherwise), but I want to hear people's experiences on them.
>
> Are they really slow cookers that will eventually make your chicken
>all nice and crispy, and still seal in the juices? What is a good price to
>pay for one? I think I've seen combo Rotisserie grills & toaster ovens.

Will second that - I am cooking a duck in mine as we speak. Have cooked
turkeys (small), capons, and chickens to perfection every time. Easy to
clean and easy to use.

About the sealing in of juices, that is a myth. Like searing a steak to
seal in the juices...

--
Michael Harp
http://CopperPans.com


On 12/2/03 16:05, in article ,
"shipwreck" > wrote:

> Showtime Rotisserie. Best machine ever. Made hundreds of chickens.
> Works every time. Buy it.
>
>
> On 1 Dec 2003 12:01:39 +0800, Ablang >
> wrote:
>
>> I'm pondering the purchase of a Rotisserie grill (George Foreman or
>> otherwise), but I want to hear people's experiences on them.
>>
>> Are they really slow cookers that will eventually make your chicken
>> all nice and crispy, and still seal in the juices? What is a good price to
>> pay for one? I think I've seen combo Rotisserie grills & toaster ovens.
>

The Farberware is an excellent product. We've cooked Chickens, Duck,
Goose, and Turkey[up to about 13-14lb]. Everything stays moist. The skin
doesn't get crispy, though the duck and goose skin does somewhat related
to the fat content near the skin surface.
Yea!
Kent

Ablang wrote:
>
> I'm pondering the purchase of a Rotisserie grill (George Foreman or
> otherwise), but I want to hear people's experiences on them.
>
> Are they really slow cookers that will eventually make your chicken
> all nice and crispy, and still seal in the juices? What is a good price to
> pay for one? I think I've seen combo Rotisserie grills & toaster ovens.
>
> --
> Hilary Duff is America's Sweetheart & an international HeartBreaker.
>
> "FAILING = Finding An Important Lesson, Inviting Needed Growth" -- Gary
> Busey