The Best Charcoal Grill Rotisseries

We tested three rotisserie kits for 22.5-inch kettle-style charcoal grills. Each kit was composed of a simple ring, a spit, and a motor that fit atop our winning and Best Buy charcoal kettle-style grills, both made by Weber. Our favorite kit, the Weber 2290 22-inch Charcoal Kettle Rotisserie, was the most reliable, easiest to use, and most powerful model we tested. It produced crispy-skinned, perfectly moist chicken as well as well-browned, juicy lamb. 

What You Need to Know

Converting your charcoal grill into a rotisserie for spit-roasting meats is simple with a charcoal grill rotisserie kit. A metal ring (about 6 inches tall) that supports the spit sits on the rim of your kettle-style grill, while a small motor (which you plug into an electrical outlet) turns the spit continuously. You put the grill’s lid on top of the ring, forming an oven-like chamber, and your meat cooks. As the meat turns, juices and seasonings stay mostly inside it and on it, rather than dripping away, so the result is extra-juicy, crisp, well browned, slightly smoky, and flavorful.

We tested three models that are designed to fit kettle-style models with diameters of 22 to 22.5 inches, including our winning and Best Buy charcoal grills, the Weber Performer Deluxe Charcoal Grill and Weber Original Kettle Premium Charcoal Grill, 22-Inch. One kit was made by Weber; the others were designed to fit any kettle-style model of 22 to 22.5 inches in diameter. While all three looked similar, we discovered that our winner has key engineering details that made it stand out. 

What to Look For

• Powerful Motor: Our winner had a 9-watt motor; the others had just 4 watts, and the difference was apparent, especially when roasting heavier foods such as bone-in leg of lamb. One of the weaker motors soon began struggling to turn food, wobbling, hesitating, and jerking until the spit detached from the motor and stopped turning. While the spit was stopped, the meat scorched slightly on one side, and juices dripped out, hissing on the fire. The winner never hesitated, turning smoothly for upwards of 2 hours even with a large, irregularly shaped 7-pound bone-in leg of lamb. 
• Fewer Pieces: Two models had tubelike pieces called bushings designed to make the spit rotate smoothly and stay in place, but they didn't help. On one model a piece of the bushing stuck up so far that it bumped and jiggled the grill lid as the spit turned. We had to stop cooking and make adjustments on the fly. Our winner’s spit simply had two deep grooves etched into it on either end, where it rested on the ring. This design not only worked perfectly but also gave us fewer parts to adjust, cle...
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