Help with Vortex wings

[Loonysup]

Greetings all,

I just finished my second batch of Vortex wings.   They came out much better than my first attempt.   After much reading on the forum, I dusted this batch with flour this morning and let them sit uncovered in the fridge all day.   Came out as crispy as fried wings.   

Here's the question....I don't seem to get the "sear your face off heat" that everyone seems to describe on here.   With a full basket of briquettes, it seems to max out at 450 at the lid.   Are you guys hitting those high temps with lump or briquettes?   Anything else I might be missing. 

Drums were classic buffalo and flappers are sweet chili garlic.   






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[Harleysmoker]

Wings look good, but back to your question. I don't have a Vortex and I don't think it is all its cracked up to be. I did a rotisserie chicken last night with the weber charcoal holders and the temp was 450 F,,,,and that was with Kingsford Charcoal. I don't believe that exspensive item is going to make my wingas better

Some people fall victim to sales pitches and believe it,,,,,,,I for one say its not needed

[Harleysmoker]

if the Vortex people and the Slow and Sear people want to send me a Free one, I will gladly give an honest in depth review of each one. Right now my opinion is no,,,it don't make grilling any easier, no better results, no better tasting food!

[Geezer]

Well, I do own a Vortex and it will get temps higher than you can get by not using it.  My avatar shows when I was playing with it one day. 
You didn't say what fuel you were using or your vent positions.  Stubbs seems to not get as high of temp as KBB.   I use a full Vortex and get the charcoal in the chimney fully lit before I dump it in the Vortex.  Then I put the lid on and preheat the grill for about 10 minutes.   I normally cook my wings at 450-500 and they turn out great.
And, you're wings look awesome.  It looks like you have it figured out.

[Loonysup]

The first time was KBB and this last time was Royal Oak briquettes.  I dumped the fully lit chimney into the Vortex as you described. 

The second go around was hands down the best batch of wings I've cooked so far.  What had me questioning my technique is that they took longer to cook than most people seem to be doing with the Vortex. 


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[HoosierKettle]

What size vortex, what size kettle, and what type of chimney?  All critical factors.

I peg the therm using kbb in my 22 with one full weber chimney and weber charcoal baskets. No vortex needed for those high temps


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[HoosierKettle]

If I do the same thing in my 26 kettle I only hit 450


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[kettlebb]

What size vortex, what size kettle, and what type of chimney?  All critical factors.

I peg the therm using kbb in my 22 with one full weber chimney and weber charcoal baskets. No vortex needed for those high temps


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If I light a full chimney of Stubbs I can almost get the lid temp to 500. When I made chops the other night with the Kingsford apple briquettes it was noticeably hotter. Maybe fuel and vents has more to do with this than the baskets, vortex, or other accessories.


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[HoosierKettle]

What size vortex, what size kettle, and what type of chimney?  All critical factors.

I peg the therm using kbb in my 22 with one full weber chimney and weber charcoal baskets. No vortex needed for those high temps


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If I light a full chimney of Stubbs I can almost get the lid temp to 500. When I made chops the other night with the Kingsford apple briquettes it was noticeably hotter. Maybe fuel and vents has more to do with this than the baskets, vortex, or other accessories.


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I still haven't tried lump yet and from pictures and testimonies on here, it sounds like it burns hotter. I'll give that a shot this weekend if I get a chance.

Also, I overfill my baskets to where the coals are touching the grate to give an idea on the amount of coal I use.

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[Travis]

If you're ever in a pinch for more heat just crack the lid. Sometimes when outside factors come into play I'll crack the lid to dial it up.
Charcoal selection I agree with everyone is important, but I would say as long as your using good charcoal all of it works fine. I had a bag of Walmart brand and it was terrible.
I don't know about the vortex though. Can't speak about it.


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[jswilson]

I competed in a BBQ wing competition with a 22" kettle, a medium vortex and KBB.  Came in 2nd, and people thought i literally fried the wings in oil, then grilled them.

My process: Night before, per 3lbs wings, coat in 1TBSP baking powder, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp cayenne.  Let sit uncovered on a rack in the fridge over night. 
Day of: dust them with seasoned flour.  Get a full chimney of briquettes lit and dump in the vortex...leave the grill uncovered for a bit to get maximum air flow through the vortex, then throw the wings on for about 30 minutes or so.  Can't be beat.

[Wahoo95]

Fuel choice makes an difference.  I've gotten the best results using Kingsford Professional/Competition which easily pushes well over 500 deg grate temp.


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[MikeRocksTheRed]

How much coals were you using?  I usually get a chimney full of KBB fully lit, then top off the vortex with unlit and let that go with the lid off until all of the coals are fully lit.  Then I put the lid on to let the lid and grill get hot, usually 15-20 minutes, then I put the wings on.  As long as it sounds like the wings are frying when they are cooking you should be good to go.

[captjoe06]

What size vortex, what size kettle, and what type of chimney?  All critical factors.

I peg the therm using kbb in my 22 with one full weber chimney and weber charcoal baskets. No vortex needed for those high temps


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My experience as well.

[Geezer]

For the record, I use a 22 inch kettle and a small Vortex.  Vortex full of KBB charcoal, leave the lid off for a few minutes and put the lid on to preheat.  I then put the wings on for about an hour.  Every time I do wings, they are better than the time before.