A couple ? / Vortex

[one eyed jack]

Got a vortex cone and gave it a first run last Sunday.

Just a hand full of wings.

Followed a recipe I found on you tube video by "How to BBQ right".



I expected the wings to take about 40 minutes. (May have misunderstood the video).

At any rate; I didn't bother checking the IT till 30 minutes in, at which point the wings were 203* to 205*. They were still the most successful wings I have made. Moist, fall off the bone, and the skin was crispy enough, though I felt that there was room for improvement in that regard.

I wound up with a couple questions. Do you all run your top and bottom drafts and vents wide open?

I turned the wings at 15 minutes and 30 minutes. Didn't check IT at the first turning. Almost didn't think it was time to check IT at second turning, but glad that I did, as they were over done.

Got to wondering if I could get by with a "small" size cone? (22 inch Kettle)

Here are a couple pictures. The recipe I followed mentioned using corn starch as a coating to help crisp up the skin. The guy in the video claims to grill a lot of wings and feels like the corn starch did improve skin crispiness. Anyone have experience and thought's on that?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Misplaced Nebraskan]

First off, great cook! The vortex is an amazing accessory. I run all vents wide open. I'll rotate the lid every 10-15 minutes to move the top vent around. As long as you're not directly over the coals with the vortex, temps should be good. Not sure what they are as I have not checked before but I always roll with it that way.

As for crispy skin, try baking powder next time. I use about a tablespoon per dozen. Toss them in that first and then set aside in fridge for a bit. Then season and cook as normal. It changes the pH of the skin and dries it out. Crispiest when's I've ever done. I touched on it here:

Tater Bombs and Wings

Wife and I were craving some wings so I thawed a bag and got them in a brine last night. I used a basic poultry brine; Water, White Vinegar, Salt, Sugar, Garlic Powder. Heated to combine and iced to cool. Put the wings in to soak it up til tonight. Spent the day trying to come up with a...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

As for the size, you could've got away with the smaller one technically. Or you can get the 26" kettle and it matches great!


Overall though, you're more than on the right track. All about fine tuning to your liking now. You could close back intake a bit and slow it a little but they cook fast in that environment. Quicker to the plate anyway.

I usually wind up higher internal temp on mine too. They still have great moisture and extra crunch to em. Especially brined first.

My 2 pennies anyway.

 

[gmc2003]

Like Zach Misplaced Nebraskan said, I run with the vents wide open. However I don't add powder or starch to the wings to crisp up the skin(honestly never really felt the need to). One thing I do-do is place the wings to the very outside edge of the grate(without touching the kettle wall) with the meaty section of the wing facing towards the Vortex.

Your wings look real good to me!!!

Point for sure
Chris

 

[one eyed jack]

First off, great cook! The vortex is an amazing accessory. I run all vents wide open. I'll rotate the lid every 10-15 minutes to move the top vent around. As long as you're not directly over the coals with the vortex, temps should be good. Not sure what they are as I have not checked before but I always roll with it that way.

As for crispy skin, try baking powder next time. I use about a tablespoon per dozen. Toss them in that first and then set aside in fridge for a bit. Then season and cook as normal. It changes the pH of the skin and dries it out. Crispiest when's I've ever done. I touched on it here:

Tater Bombs and Wings

Wife and I were craving some wings so I thawed a bag and got them in a brine last night. I used a basic poultry brine; Water, White Vinegar, Salt, Sugar, Garlic Powder. Heated to combine and iced to cool. Put the wings in to soak it up til tonight. Spent the day trying to come up with a...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

As for the size, you could've got away with the smaller one technically. Or you can get the 26" kettle and it matches great!


Overall though, you're more than on the right track. All about fine tuning to your liking now. You could close back intake a bit and slow it a little but they cook fast in that environment. Quicker to the plate anyway.

I usually wind up higher internal temp on mine too. They still have great moisture and extra crunch to em. Especially brined first.

My 2 pennies anyway.

Thanks a lot for your input Zach. I checked out your Wings and tater bomb post and remember seeing it, back when you posted it. Those tater bites look dangerously good, to me.

I'll try your baking powder method, next time I cook wings, and I'll adjust my thoughts on cooking time.

I've been thinking about the 26 " kettle for a couple years. Could be time to take the plunge.

Thanks for the point.

Like Zach Misplaced Nebraskan said, I run with the vents wide open. However I don't add powder or starch to the wings to crisp up the skin(honestly never really felt the need to). One thing I do-do is place the wings to the very outside edge of the grate(without touching the kettle wall) with the meaty section of the wing facing towards the Vortex.

Your wings look real good to me!!!

Point for sure
Chris

Thanks for your thoughts Chris. I will add your thoughts into my approach to using the vortex.

It's sure nice to know that there are folks here willing to help when questions come up.

Thanks for the point Chris.

 

[chopsaw]

As already mentioned , it's baking powder that changes the PH of the skin to help crisp it up .
I do use it for wings , but like Chris mentioned not really needed if cooking at higher temps .

Good looking wings you did there .

 

[MNholla]

I have seen some videos online lately where people pour boiling water over their chicken prior to grilling it to crisp up the skin. Has anyone tried this? To me it seems like a bad idea - but then again I have never achieved crispy chicken skin on the grill...

 

[Misplaced Nebraskan]

However I don't add powder or starch to the wings to crisp up the skin(honestly never really felt the need to).

Also this. I didn't use the Powder for the longest time. set up like Chris describes yields great results.

 

[one eyed jack]

As already mentioned , it's baking powder that changes the PH of the skin to help crisp it up .
I do use it for wings , but like Chris mentioned not really needed if cooking at higher temps .

Good looking wings you did there .

Thanks for the compliment Chop. I am happy with the wings but was surprised at how fast they got done.

Next time I'll try Chris' method and not use any powder.

Also this. I didn't use the Powder for the longest time. set up like Chris describes yields great results.

Thanks again Zach. I'm hoping to find wings in the grocery store, this weekend. Ready to try Chris' method, next time. I'm curious about just how hot the keetle runs with the vortex. I was worried that it might be too hot for the probe, first time. Might dtick my instant read in the vent next time.

 

[Misplaced Nebraskan]

Thanks for the compliment Chop. I am happy with the wings but was surprised at how fast they got done.

Next time I'll try Chris' method and not use any powder.




Thanks again Zach. I'm hoping to find wings in the grocery store, this weekend. Ready to try Chris' method, next time. I'm curious about just how hot the keetle runs with the vortex. I was worried that it might be too hot for the probe, first time. Might dtick my instant read in the vent next time.

I did some chicken breasts tonight with a half full vortex. All vents open and dome temp gauge over the hotter side. It was registering 450 ish. I had grill grates over the vortex to sear. I'm sure those were off the charts hot. Next wing trip I'll have to temp probe and see though. Curiosity!

 

[one eyed jack]

I did some chicken breasts tonight with a half full vortex. All vents open and dome temp gauge over the hotter side. It was registering 450 ish. I had grill grates over the vortex to sear. I'm sure those were off the charts hot. Next wing trip I'll have to temp probe and see though. Curiosity!

Thanks for the information about the temperature Zach. I've been curious.

Sounds like it should be safe to run an air temp probe, next time. I'll keep an eye on it and pull the probe if it looks like it's going too high.

Those grill grates would do an awesome job on a steak, huh?

Were your chicken breast's skinless/boneless?

 

[Misplaced Nebraskan]

Thanks for the information about the temperature Zach. I've been curious.

Sounds like it should be safe to run an air temp probe, next time. I'll keep an eye on it and pull the probe if it looks like it's going too high.

Those grill grates would do an awesome job on a steak, huh?

Were your chicken breast's skinless/boneless?

Boneless skinless yeah. Works great on steak too.

As long as the probe isn't directly over the coals I think it'll be more than fine. I need a temp gun to check the grate surface now

 

[one eyed jack]

View attachment 444294

Boneless skinless yeah. Works great on steak too.

As long as the probe isn't directly over the coals I think it'll be more than fine. I need a temp gun to check the grate surface now

Good point about not getting the probe directly over the coals.

I can see where the grate directly over the vortex would do a first class job of searing.