Vortex whole chicken

[gmc2003]

Well, it was very windy here in the Northeast today, but at least it was sunny and pleasantly warm. The wife was babysitting our grandson, so I decided to fire up the kettle and make some chow. I hadn't done a whole chicken in quite some time, and the local grocer had some that looked pretty appealing. After outlaying about $8.00 for a 6.25/lb bird. I was off to the races.

Here she is all seasoned up and resting like Al Bundy at the beach:

I just had to make a trip to the beer pole for some refreshments:

After a short spell. I gave the bird a looksie: Starting to take form.

...and she's done.

Sliced up for din-din. My carving skills on a whole bird need some improving, but it was juicy, moist and tasty non-the-less.

All in all, it was a good cook. The skin wasn't crispy, but I didn't want to dry out the meat. On this bird there was no additional brining or injections. Just straight from the packaging to the kettle.

Thanks for looking.

Chris

 

[BandCollector]

And out of the Vortex comes a beautifully roasted chicken. . .You lucky dog you! Looks great Chris,

John

 

[yankee2bbq]

Looks good Chris! I’ll take me a slice!

 

[chopsaw]

Great color on that bird Chris . Get that high heat to seal the outside , you don't need to brine .
Skin looks perfect to me . Nice work bud .

 

[gmc2003]

And out of the Vortex comes a beautifully roasted chicken. . .You lucky dog you! Looks great Chris,

John

Appreciate it John, the vortex comes in so handy. It's kind of like the Swiss Army knife of kettle cooking.

Looks good Chris! I’ll take me a slice!

Thank you kindly Justin. Toss your plate over and I'll fill'er up.

Chris

 

[gmc2003]

Great color on that bird Chris . Get that high heat to seal the outside , you don't need to brine .
Skin looks perfect to me . Nice work bud .

Thanks Rich, I was going to toss a couple of chunks of lump in there, but I got cold feet at the last minute. Like I said it had been a while since I've done a whole bird, and I decided to play it safe this time around. The next one I'll be more aggressive with the heat.

Chris

 

[chopsaw]

. The next one I'll be more aggressive with the heat.

Looked to me like you had the heat perfect .

 

[sawhorseray]

That's one fine looking bird there Chris! The Vortex has become about the most valuable tool in the box, I use it for a number of different cooks, way more than the SnS. How'd you get that bird to sit up straight? RAY

 

[clifish]

looks great Chris

 

[gmc2003]

Looked to me like you had the heat perfect .

A full chimney of lit coals, plus an single row of unlit around the kettle wall. Two smallish chunks of apple wood. I'm not sure how hot the grill was. I couldn't figure out where to place a therm. I know it was on the hot side as I made the mistake of grabbing the Vortex with my bare hand right after dumping the lit coals around it. I think I lost my finger prints.

That's one fine looking bird there Chris! The Vortex has become about the most valuable tool in the box, I use it for a number of different cooks, way more than the SnS. How'd you get that bird to sit up straight? RAY

Couldn't agree more Ray. However I do use the SnS in the 26" kettle more then the Vortex. It's a can holder on keeping the chicken sitting upright. Similar to this one.

I have a 16oz beer can about 3/4s full of water sitting in the can holder. Then an disposable pie tin molded to fit inside the Vortex to keep the dripping from messing up the bottom of the kettle. A splash of water is in the tin to keep the dripping from burning and giving the chicken an off taste.

Chris

 

[gmc2003]

looks great Chris

Thanks a lot Cliff. It tasted better then I originally expected.

Chris

 

[gmc2003]

@SecondHandSmoker @Winterrider @jaxgatorz Thanks for the likes.

Chris

 

[SecondHandSmoker]

Nice looking yardbird, Chris.
Definitely toss some chunks of lump in there the next time. You'll know when they catch.

Stu

 

[gmc2003]

Nice looking yardbird, Chris.
Definitely toss some chunks of lump in there the next time. You'll know when they catch.

Stu

Thanks Stu appreciate the advice. Next time I think I'm gonna put a few pieces of lump in the chimney and back off on some of the briquettes.

Chris

 

[SecondHandSmoker]

Thanks Stu appreciate the advice. Next time I think I'm gonna put a few pieces of lump in the chimney and back off on some of the briquettes.

Chris

That'll work too.

 

[gmc2003]

That'll work too.

I'll find out in a few weeks.

Chris

 

[gmc2003]

@rc4u Thanks for the like

Chris

 

[pc farmer]

Looks great. Well done

 

[Sven Svensson]

Great looking yardbird and I’ve been waiting to see the beer pole in action again.

 

[civilsmoker]

That is some nice chicken there! Congrats!