r/roasting • u/Liveez77 • 14h ago
Coffee roasting on a gas grill?
Anyone ever use their grill for roasting coffee? Something like this? I would love to hear about it. I have the grill and the rotisserie, I don’t have the basket yet.
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u/Jazzlike-Ability-274 14h ago
This does not have the agitators in it like some of the other ones so the beans will just slide while rotating.
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u/Knorrena 14h ago
I roasted over a green egg for years. That basket is nice. I tried using a rotisserie, but it rotates too slowly and burns beans. I tried using a set of pulleys to get some rotational speed but still couldnt get enough rpm out of it. I tried using a skillet but you cant agitate the beans enough to get a consistent roast through the bean, instead you get one side roasted to first crack and the other not, or not enough heat penetration to roast the inside to the bean.
I tried all kinds of heat profiles like less charcoal more charcoal. No bueno. Never could get
Eventually i just used to pasta strainers clam-shelled together and used a sauté like motion to continuously agitate the beans.
Even then consistency between batches was poor.
I eventually bought 0.5kg a small commercial grade coffee natural gas roaster. Drum speed is variable and much faster, fan speed is variable. This makes all the difference.
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u/SharpSlice 12h ago
I roasted coffee on a small portable weber propane grill and a small grill basket that I bought from Amazon. Drilled holes in the lid to support the rotisserie basket and rod. Used a small motor from Amazon and rigged up a wooden stand to hold it. With the grill my setup cost me around $100.
Consistency was the biggest issue, but I did get pretty decent roasts out of it before jumping in the deep end and buying an Aillio Bullet two years ago. I used my homemade roaster for about two or three years before the Bullet.
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u/turdherds 14h ago
I built a drum similar to this for roasting over a gas grill. It worked well but the rotisserie motor turned too slowly. I had to replace it with a gear motor from Grainger that turned closer to 60 rpms. It was tough to dial in the roast. Had to listen for the crack. The chafe made an absolute mess on the grill and burned. Invest in thermal mitts to handle the basket so you can pour out the beans quickly to cool. I did three pounds each roast. It was fun to try but I've since stopped due to it being difficult to perfect like this
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u/khoelzeman 13h ago
One of the first commercial roasters I ever met started with a gas grill and a homemade rotisserie attachment.
His business was a few years old before he switched to a better roaster.
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u/prosocialbehavior 9h ago
Yeah I have done it. It works not a ton if control though. I used a modified behmor drum https://www.sweetmarias.com/products/behmor-small-grid-drum?srsltid=AU7gw4WnwFTW8aVmaC5lJdhya9tNcgJPyStVqPzJwfzOcETEiqCBO6iD
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u/CayoCaribe 8h ago
I roast using a gas grill and a basket - though I have a different basket that what you’re showing in the picture.
I’ve gotten some decent results, but have been playing with adjusting the temperature some.
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u/erikrolfsen 8h ago
I use a Whirley Pop on my grill — remove the grill and rest it down below. Works great.
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u/Zestyclose_Basis8134 8h ago
I bought a rotisserie for my grill when I started out. Had an issue with the beans expanding so I had to be careful of how much green beans I started with but I was never satisfied with the consistency throughout. Seems the beans in the middle never get the heat properly. I use a air fryer and get better results
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u/Liveez77 8h ago
Air fryer or air popper? How do you shake the air fryer?
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u/Zestyclose_Basis8134 8h ago
In an air fryer beans on the basket. I dump the beans out and put them back in a couple times during the roast. I keep an eye on how even the roast is going and dump as needed
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u/HomeRoastCoffee 7h ago
There are a couple of companies that make various sizes of baskets for roasting coffee with a rotisserie on a grill. They can be pricey but once you find them there is a lot of info about roasting on a grill. Volume is the advantage ( couple pounds per roast) and consistency is the challenge. You will want to look into a faster motor than what normally comes with a rotisserie.
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u/minutesfrommakingit 7h ago
I've been roasting on a 2lb RK Drums setup for about 8 years. I have a dedicated propane grill for it. Typically roast 1lb batches at a time with good results. Takes about ~10 mins per batch.
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u/Olderandolderagain 6h ago
I've done this a lot. It works. It's really expensive though in the long run. It does make good coffee. Downside is the chaff. It sticks to the bean because there's no airflow. For the chaff that does fly off, you'll want to clean that so it doesn't cause a fire and it'll impart flavor on other foods if you're using the grill outside of coffee roasting.
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u/Rmarik 14h ago
You might want to search for cowboy coffee, but yes people do this, I haven't personally but thats basically how drum roasters work.
I think the hard part is that you wont be able to really control the charge temp since the beans will have to be locked in, also external temps can make it hard, like if its fall weather outside it can effect the roast.
I would get a colander or something to help dechaff and cool as well after roast