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Which rotisserie should you buy for your Big Green Egg?

Rotisserie Cooking on the Big Green Egg

Having a rotisserie for your Big Green Egg is ‘The Eighth Wonder’ according to Big Green Egg themselves. We have to agree with them as we’ve been importing and selling a rotisserie for the Big Green Egg since 2020, a full 2.5 years before Big Green Egg released their own. But which rotisserie should you buy for your Big Green Egg?

The rotisserie adds another cooking mode, where your dishes can self baste over a direct heat for beautifully cooked meals. If you’ve ever been to a French market, you’ll know the whole country goes mad for a rotisserie chicken, with all the juices dripping and basting.

So what should you look for?

The Big Green Egg is such a fabulous grill because of its ceramic construction. The design with the sealed lid allows you to control airflow and, therefore, control the temperature of your Egg. So when you look for a rotisserie, you need one that will fit between the base and dome of your Egg and provide a seal, so you can control the temperature.

A rotisserie attachment needs to be a wedge shape to form that seal.

The LetzQ Spit Rotisserie and Big Green Egg’s own rotisserie are identical in terms of their dimensions as a wedge. The only difference between them is the side of the Egg the motor is mounted on, otherwise they could have been made in the same factory.

The Big Green Egg rotisserie has been discontinued in the US.

 

The Eighth Wonder

What to avoid

Kamado Joe Joetisserie

Kamado Joe’s Jotisserie was one of the first rotisseries for a kamado-style grill. It’s designed to work with their grills, and there are many people who use it on a Big Green Egg. However, I would say avoid it. I own one of these so I believe I am qualified to tell you to avoid it.

The design on the wedge doesn’t fit the Big Green Egg’s hinge mechanism. The thickness of the metal at the back of the wedge is too thick, meaning you don’t get a great seal. I also believe it will put undue stress on the hinge and the ceramic of the dome at the back of your Egg.

The last thing I don’t like about the Joetisserie is its lack of handle to remove the spit.

Joetisserie

Onlyfire BRK-6064 BBQ Rotisserie Kit with Pizza Ring

This looked like such a great idea. You can use it as a rotisserie with the door shut and the pizza stone removed, or you can add the pizza stone and have a front-loading pizza oven. I ordered one.

Sadly the quality of the unit is very poor, the steel is very thin and the door horrible to open and close. Then there is the wedge design, again, it’s too thick at the back so your Egg won’t seal on it. The spit is chrome plated, not stainless steel.

The spit has no handle which is awkward, just like the Joetisserie.

I returned the unit I bought it was that bad. Do not buy this. I left a review saying exactly this.

Onlyfire rotisserie

Onlyfire BRK-6066 BBQ Rotisserie Kit

Onlyfire has done away with the wedge design and gone for two brackets that sit on either side of your kamado. It makes the design much cheaper, but there is one design flaw, you can’t shut and seal your Egg. The rotisserie is going to hold it open. Hence, they ship it with an extra gasket to build up your gasket on either side of the spit.

This is less than ideal when you want to do any other type of cook.

I also dislike this design as if you dropped the dome of your Egg shut by mistake, all the force would go onto the area where the brackets are, and would likely break your dome, and I can’t see Big Green Egg covering that under warranty.

Again this design is missing a handle to take the food on and off your Egg, and the brackets meam you are losing a lot of cooking space inside your Egg.

Onlyfire rotisserie

Lets compare the LetzQ and the Big Green Egg rotisserie, the ones to buy

LetzQ Spit, BGE Rotisserie

What are the differences between the LetzQ Spit and the Big Green Egg rotisserie?

It turns out there is very, very little difference indeed, and that’s a good thing, the LetzQ is a superb product and Big Green Egg has now launched something very similar.

  • The main difference is the spits have motors on different sides.
    • The LetzQ Spit has the motor on the left,  meaning you lift the spit on and off the Egg right-handed.
    • The Big Green Egg rotisserie has the motor on the right,  meaning you lift the spit on and off the Egg left-handed.
    • You lose working space to the motor, so if you tend to do your prep on the right of your Egg, the LetzQ may be the better choice. You shouldn’t be using a sharp knife near a rotisserie motor flex.
    • As someone who is right-handed I prep on the right of my Egg and prefer to take the spit on an off right-handed, so the LetzQ Spit is my preferred choice.
  • The motors are both made by the same manufacturer and have identical specifications. The internal motor gearing is the same part so both will be able to turn the same loads. The US version is a different motor due to their voltage being 110V as opposed to our 240V.
    • The Big Green Egg motor is labelled with instructions not to use it in the rain even though it, and the LetzQ motor, are both IPX4 certified. I have used my LetzQ Spit in the rain many times.
  • The rotisserie rings are the same construction, both of powder-coated steel. The dimensions are identical. I wouldn’t be surprised if they are made in the same factory. Obviously, each rotisserie ring is badged with the respective brand.
  • The spits and the spit forks are almost identical; the Big Green Egg’s version has a slightly longer handle that is smooth, the LetzQ has some ridges. Both handles can be removed and the spit used with the LetzQ Spit Holder.
  • The LetzQ Spit is shipped with a spanner to tighten the fork thumb screws, the Big Green Egg isn’t.
  • Big Green Egg only sell the rotisserie for the large and extra-large Eggs, LetzQ have rotisseries for both of these sizes as well as the Medium, and MiniMax Eggs.
  • Pricing of the LetzQ Spit is significanctly cheaper.

What does rotisserie cooking bring to the Big Green Egg?

Spinning a chicken, turkey or porchetta is how most people think of a rotisserie. It’s just one of the ways you can use your rotisserie. It’s a great way to self-baste a cook and get a lovely even cook, and the fat dripping into the coals adds a BBQ flavour.

There are other rotisserie cooks though:

  • With a rotisserie basket you can tumble food. The most obvious here is chicken wings. These crisp up perfectly and really benefit from the rotisserie. We also love to tumble veg. We do an amazing cauliflower taco, tumbling the cauliflower and adding Franks Hot Sauce as it cooks.
    I’ve seen people even roast their own coffee beans using a basket.
  • With a flat basket, you can rotisserie fish and spatchcocked chickens. We love to cook two whole fish this way.
  • You can also add a skewer attachment and cook skewers like souvlaki chicken.

We have a whole section of rotisserie recipes.

In conclusion

Both products are almost identical with the exception of which side the motor is mounted. Both are excellent products and I am happy to recommend both.

Statement

I am the UK’s sole distributor of the LetzQ Product range and have been since 2020. I am also one of the leading Big Green Egg resellers in the UK.

 

 

Rotisseries

LetzQ Product

All of the LetzQ Spit products will work with both rotisserie systems. 

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