New Weber Kettle Master Touch and vortex

[masssmoke]

So for the "tax free" weekend they have in MA I bought a Weber Kettle Master Touch. Then I bought a vortex on line.
Did the burn in on it to see about temp control etc. and then threw a few burgers on it during the week. All good.
Last night I tried the vortex and did some wings. I had heard so much about the vortex and wings but I guess I need to keep working on it because they were only ok. The vortex brought a ton of heat with the grill temp reading 450-550 the whole time. I get that is just in the area over the vortex but thought it would really crisp up the skin with the hot circulating air to the sides of the grill where the wings were set up. But after 35 mins I took them off and the skin was not crispy as I hoped. I did put a few of them directly over the vortex for a minute or two but that only helped a bit and they get charred quick (obviously). The wings were decent, very juicy just not crispy enough. Next time I am just going to keep them on longer, more like an hour and see what happens.
Also excited to try the indirect set up for ribs next.
Just gotta keep trying to get it dialled it.

 

[JLeonard]

What I have found to work....bottom and top vents wide open....Cook wings an hour....rotating lid 45 degrees even 15 min...then check wings....Mine turn out pretty good that way...of course your mileage may vary.
Jim

 

[masssmoke]

What I have found to work....bottom and top vents wide open....Cook wings an hour....rotating lid 45 degrees even 15 min...then check wings....Mine turn out pretty good that way...of course your mileage may vary.
Jim

Thanks Jim, I will give that a try. I never thought to rotate the lid. I did have the vents wide open

 

[Brokenhandle]

Congrats on the new kettle! You'll get it figured out. Did you place wings on a wire rack in fridge for a couple hours to help dry the skin? And yes, rotating the lid helps. Here's some chicken we did recently on my cheap kettle.

Half was sauced, other half wasn't.

Ryan

 

[masssmoke]

Congrats on the new kettle! You'll get it figured out. Did you place wings on a wire rack in fridge for a couple hours to help dry the skin? And yes, rotating the lid helps. Here's some chicken we did recently on my cheap kettle.

View attachment 641394

Half was sauced, other half wasn't.

Ryan

I aired them for a bit, maybe an hour. I will do that step for a longer period next time... thanks for the advice.

 

[sawhorseray]

Keep at it, a Weber kettle is the most versatile tool in the box. I do legs rather than wings, more meat, less money. I go with a chunk of hickory or oak over the Vortex, rotate the lid every 12 minutes or so a third at a time. At around 35 minutes I toss the legs in SBR or teriyaki and place them back on for five minutes, so 40 minutes total. Juicy meat with crispy skin every time, try it, you'll like it. RAY

 

[JLeonard]

Dang sawhorseray you gonna make me hit the grocery store for my off day tuesday! Great legs you got there buddy!
Jim

 

[SecondHandSmoker]

sawhorseray , legs and thighs all the way!
Another beautiful cook on the kettle.

Stu

 

[tbern]

congrats on your new toys, kettle and vortex are good tools! all those chicken on the grill pics look so darn good, wow!!

 

[chopsaw]

Looks like somebody got their bucket to close to the grill .

I don't use the gadgets , but respect the opinions of the guys that do .
I control everything with direct / indirect setup , and the amount of charcoal .

 

[millerbuilds]

So for the "tax free" weekend they have in MA I bought a Weber Kettle Master Touch. Then I bought a vortex on line.
Did the burn in on it to see about temp control etc. and then threw a few burgers on it during the week. All good.
Last night I tried the vortex and did some wings. I had heard so much about the vortex and wings but I guess I need to keep working on it because they were only ok. The vortex brought a ton of heat with the grill temp reading 450-550 the whole time. I get that is just in the area over the vortex but thought it would really crisp up the skin with the hot circulating air to the sides of the grill where the wings were set up. But after 35 mins I took them off and the skin was not crispy as I hoped. I did put a few of them directly over the vortex for a minute or two but that only helped a bit and they get charred quick (obviously). The wings were decent, very juicy just not crispy enough. Next time I am just going to keep them on longer, more like an hour and see what happens.
Also excited to try the indirect set up for ribs next.
Just gotta keep trying to get it dialled it.

It is a great combo and I regret not adding the Vortex to my Kettle years ago.

I agree with what Ryan said above, I dry my wings with paper towels then put them on a wire rack in the fridge for a few hours. I also mix some baking powder into my rub to help with crisping up the skin. I toss them in sauce for people that like wet wings just before serving. I started doing this when I did wings on the gasser and when I switched recently to using a Vortex I did not change my prep process, not sure if it helps or not, but they come out crispy so I don't plan on changing my process. I follow the directions from Vortex to rotate the lid as the cook goes on and run it with both the lower and upper vent wide open.

- Jason

- Jason

 

[masssmoke]

It is a great combo and I regret not adding the Vortex to my Kettle years ago.

I agree with what Ryan said above, I dry my wings with paper towels then put them on a wire rack in the fridge for a few hours. I also mix some baking powder into my rub to help with crisping up the skin. I toss them in sauce for people that like wet wings just before serving. I started doing this when I did wings on the gasser and when I switched recently to using a Vortex I did not change my prep process, not sure if it helps or not, but they come out crispy so I don't plan on changing my process. I follow the directions from Vortex to rotate the lid as the cook goes on and run it with both the lower and upper vent wide open.

- Jason

- Jason

thanks I will be trying those tips. Thanks to all who replied