The Baby Has Arrived

[sudsmaster]

The Baby George, that is.

Yup, the mini countertop rotisserie appliance that's just perfectly sized for the typical supermarket chicken.

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I put in an offer for it a couple of weeks ago on eBay, offered up by a Goodwill in Chatanooga. They wanted $45 plus $15 shipping. I offered $15. They countered with $30. SOLD! At $45, about what I paid for my first one (still have it) at Costco around 2001.

Why two? Why not? Well, after Ralph got me interested in the Baby G again, I pulled it out of storage, and since I couldn't locate the original manual, found a bunch of them online, but all for a slightly updated model. The only difference seems to be in the accessories, that is the spit assembly and the basket assembly. IMHO, these are improved over the original. The original stuff works, but the newer stuff is more stable.

The other reason, which is a bit loopy, but I really want to get both of these going at once, each with a fryer chicken in it. They use 950 watts each, and the patio kitchen outlet is on a 30 amp outlet, so it should be fine to run both at once. You see, Costco sells their wonderful Foster Farms chickens two to a bag. Usually I wind up cooking one and freezing the other, and the frozen one works its way down in the chest freezer until it's a bit past its prime. This way I can cook both at once, section one and freeze the parts, for later, and enjoy the other one. Not necessarily in that order.

Yeah, I know, a bit much, but just think of the video of the two Baby Georges side by side on the vintage formica countertop each spinning its own chicken!

BTW, the Goodwill one is basically in new condition. They listed it as "Very Good Used", but it shows no sign of ever having cooked anything. A little smudge on the outer cabinet, which should clean up just fine.

Now, I'm wondering if each Baby George will need its own stroller for when it's not spinning a chicken on the countertop, or if a double stroller would do.

Just kiddng! They'll be living in cardboard boxes somewhere when not in use.

Stay tuned for the video. Maybe this weekend!

Go, Babies, Go!

PS-George Foreman has something like six sons and they are all named George.

 

[frigilux]

Congratulations! Don't know that I've ever seen a Baby George before. Looking forward to video of them at work. I see the drip tray, but how do you clean the interior?

 

[sudsmaster]

Easy to clean: in addition to the drip tray, there's a polished stainless heat shield/reflector that slides in back of the heating element. Also, the roll back lid is designed to be easily removed without any tools, so it can be handwashed in the sink. The drip tray, the heat reflector, and the accessories (spit/skewer, and flat basket) are all dishwasher friendly. It's a clever and efficient design.

 

[sudsmaster]

Picked up a couple of 5 lb fryers last night. I'll be marinating them overnight per the instructions in the owner's manual, and then spinning them tomorrow.

In the meantime, I decided it was time to clean up the cabinets and countertop in the patio kitchen where the rotisserie demonstration will take place. I had to remove the cabinet handles to clean behind them, and in the process discovered that I thought were black painted handles were in fact heavy copper plated steel (or some other magnetic material). The black goo that covered them was probably an artificial verdigris type of treatment. I tried polishing it off with Brasso, but eventually had to resort to a chemical dip (normally used for cleaning carburettors) to get down to the copper in most places. The final effect is a bit interesting - the copper has a dull glow that will probably show up better at night.

Later.

 

[sudsmaster]

And here are before and after photos of the cabinet handles before and after removing the 50 year old fake verdigris...

 

[sudsmaster]

Stereo Babies

OK, here ya go.

Just started them.

The one on the left is a 4-3/4 lb bird. It went into the older Baby George, which can handle larger (longer on spit) items. The one on the right is a 3-2/3 lb bird in the new Baby George, with the improved spit but a little less room from tail to head.

post was last edited: 4/30/2017-20:14]

 

[frigilux]

Cool! The spit on the new one does look quite different. Rotisserie chicken is so good. Enjoy your Stereo Babies.

 

[sudsmaster]

Still photo of same...

 

[sudsmaster]

Glad you like it Eugene.

The aroma in the patio kitchen is already mouth-watering after 30 minutes. I had to close the door between it and the house to avoid midnight hunger pangs, LOL.

The spit on the new unit is different, and like I said, more suited to smaller birds. Unfortunately it's not interchangeable with the older unit - its mounting bosses are too small in diameter. Although... I could probably turn some brass adapters so it would fit either oven. When I get one of those round toits... And the older design, while more awkward to set up, has the advantage of allowing a longer bird to mount without crowding. It's not a big difference, maybe an inch, but still, not gonna toss the old one.

It's always a crap shoot at Costco determining the actual size of each of the two chickens in the bag... although I didn't bother to check this time. Next time I'll try to get them closer in size, mainly because while the small one might take 1.5 hrs, the bigger one will probably take 2 hours or longer. Nicer to have everyone finish at the same time, no?

Already have a big batch of brown rice (cooked in the Power Pressure Cooker XL earlier in the day) as a side, and will be stir frying up a bunch of mexican zucchini, peppers, and whatever else is handy to go along with it.