Weber 9891 Gas Barbecue Rotisserie

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.


Best chicken I've ever made   October 14, 2002
Bruce (Seattle, WA, USA)
46 out of 46 found this review helpful

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).


Redundant Failures   June 15, 2002
Robert Grossman (Palo Alto, CA USA)
31 out of 35 found this review helpful

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 not worth it.   July 5, 2002
Christina J. Michaud (Boston, MA)
27 out of 37 found this review helpful

1) The design _is_ a little weird. It's nice to try something different, but it was _very_ hard to get two racks of pork ribs on here--they just kept sliding off! It took about 20 minutes of struggling over a hot grill to get them on without falling off.

2) A nightmare to clean. What's with the people below who said they can "disassemble it" and "pop it into the dishwasher"? You need pliers to disassemble it _each_ time, and then you have to make sure you don't lose these tiny, slippery, sticky parts. Okay, then you put them in the dishwasher (not easily, mind you--the basket just _barely_ fits diagonally in my dishwasher), and run it. Too bad! Nothing gets clean at _all_, and now all your other dishes have a sticky residue from the rotisserie parts. I had to take the parts out and scrub them w/Brillo in the kitchen sink, and since the basket doesn't fit in my kitchen sink, this was a messy process as well as very, very long.

I'm returning mine--better just to cook the ribs or whatever on slow hear over the grill.


Wish I'd Read the Negative Reviews More Closely   May 21, 2003
Brian Horgan (Pine Bush, NY)
26 out of 30 found this review helpful

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.