Weber Kettle Club Forums

I made some really tasty wings vortex wings tonight. Second time I've done them this way but first time I was able to document with pictures.

Coals getting started. I used some leftover lump and fresh Stubbs along with 2 fire cubes in the vortex. It worked fine but took longer than just using the chimney, so I would do that next time.

(http://i569.photobucket.com/albums/ss131/austingaydos/Chicken%20wings/image.jpg1_zpst8jyr2rw.jpg) (http://s569.photobucket.com/user/austingaydos/media/Chicken%20wings/image.jpg1_zpst8jyr2rw.jpg.html)

2 pounds of wings and drums tossed with salt and pepper

(http://i569.photobucket.com/albums/ss131/austingaydos/Chicken%20wings/image.jpg2_zpsdiqpcsvi.jpg) (http://s569.photobucket.com/user/austingaydos/media/Chicken%20wings/image.jpg2_zpsdiqpcsvi.jpg.html)

Each wing gets a light dredging of flour, it really helps crisp up the skin

(http://i569.photobucket.com/albums/ss131/austingaydos/Chicken%20wings/image.jpg5_zpsjl445tfi.jpg) (http://s569.photobucket.com/user/austingaydos/media/Chicken%20wings/image.jpg5_zpsjl445tfi.jpg.html)

Coals ready and grill preheated

(http://i569.photobucket.com/albums/ss131/austingaydos/Chicken%20wings/image.jpg4_zpsoyjc8o9b.jpg) (http://s569.photobucket.com/user/austingaydos/media/Chicken%20wings/image.jpg4_zpsoyjc8o9b.jpg.html)

Wings on with a big chunk of pecan

(http://i569.photobucket.com/albums/ss131/austingaydos/Chicken%20wings/image.jpg6_zpso7lvyxnl.jpg) (http://s569.photobucket.com/user/austingaydos/media/Chicken%20wings/image.jpg6_zpso7lvyxnl.jpg.html)

25 minutes later (grill temp about 550-600 degrees)

(http://i569.photobucket.com/albums/ss131/austingaydos/Chicken%20wings/image.jpg7_zps1rrmj2mh.jpg) (http://s569.photobucket.com/user/austingaydos/media/Chicken%20wings/image.jpg7_zps1rrmj2mh.jpg.html)

(http://i569.photobucket.com/albums/ss131/austingaydos/Chicken%20wings/image.jpg8_zpsw2kcwxe3.jpg) (http://s569.photobucket.com/user/austingaydos/media/Chicken%20wings/image.jpg8_zpsw2kcwxe3.jpg.html)

(http://i569.photobucket.com/albums/ss131/austingaydos/Chicken%20wings/image.jpg9_zps94zvbemn.jpg) (http://s569.photobucket.com/user/austingaydos/media/Chicken%20wings/image.jpg9_zps94zvbemn.jpg.html)

A lot of the color that developed is from the smoke, they turn out lighter like fried wings if you skip the wood chunk. Really nice and crsipy, even the last ones that were sitting in the bottom of the sauce bowl for a while.

Tossed with Frank's RedHot mixed with melted butter and a little juice from some homemade picketed jalapeños. We made a salad out of the veggies served on the side with buffalo wings... Celery, carrot, green onion, with lettuce and tossed with blue cheese dressing.

Ya, that looks real good!  I need to try that flour dredge method next time.  Thanks for sharing.

Just salt and pepper?  So ridiculously simple and those look amazing.  I'm doing this for my sons b-day party this weekend with a ghetto-fabbed vortex.  25 minutes?  Any flipping or re-arranging?

cheers!

Quote from: blksabbath on August 25, 2015, 06:07:33 AM
Just salt and pepper?  So ridiculously simple and those look amazing.

They really do look amazing and great tip on the flour austin87 - cheers 8)

those look really great, nice work

I've done these this way about 4 times now . Thanks austin87
I put the soaked chunk of wood in the vortex. Very pleased with results

Wow - perfect!  That is exactly the recipe/technique I have been looking for.  The flour dredge is brilliant!  I imagine you can throw some of your favorite rub in with the flour to tweak the flavor profile. 

Did you rotate the pieces so they brown evenly?

Have you ever tried this with full size drumsticks?

Winz

I'm sure any rub or combo of spices in addition to salt and pepper would work really well (except sugar, I think it would burn).

@Winz @blksabbath  I rotated the lid about 90 degrees 3-4 times and that seemed to work well keeping the heat even. I didn't flip them. The tops were a little crispier than the bottoms but it wasn't much. By the time the tops were sufficiently crispy I was hungry and the wings were cooked through. I didn't want to overcook them but 5 minutes on the other side wouldn't have been a bad idea.

I've done kettle fried chicken with thighs and legs but that was more of a batter than a dredge. I think they would work well but I might go a little cooler, maybe 400-450 so the outside isn't overdone before the inside of the bigger piece gets cooked through.

Can't believe I forgot the plated pic

(http://i569.photobucket.com/albums/ss131/austingaydos/Chicken%20wings/image.jpg10_zpsw7cv82ho.jpg) (http://s569.photobucket.com/user/austingaydos/media/Chicken%20wings/image.jpg10_zpsw7cv82ho.jpg.html)

Awesome....Looks nailed

Awesome! Thanks for the tip about flour, I'm gonna try this soon!

Thanks for the flour tip.

Tried it on some legs and a cut up breast. Came out very good...

(http://i1289.photobucket.com/albums/b505/dazzo16/posts/random/20150825_191513_zpsngzv8bcv.jpg)

How hot did your lid temp get? Last time I filled my vortex like that I burnt my beard off leaning in to smell the smoke :) love the flour method @MrHoss you seeing this?

@AcrossFromHoss my dome term pegged while preheating then after adding the wings it stayed right about 550 for the remainder of the cook. I would estimate I used about 3/4 chimney of Stubbs. Have used K Comp before and that I think is a little hotter.

And yes I have had a good swath of arm air immediately incinerated while getting a little too close to the vortex the with my tongs  :o

The wings look great, but where is this blue cheese salad? ;D

I have to tell you thanks for the how to on the wings.  Me and the wife have made them a lot of times since I read this post.  They turn out delicious, crispy and cant stop eating them good. 

We make two different batches every time we cook them.  One being with Franks red hot and the other a thrown together garlic parmesan version and both are awesome!  I also save one of each batch and eat them before being seasoned up and I have not found a bad way of doing them. 


Thanks again @austin87

@austin87 - Which size vortex is this?  Want to order one this week but a little unsure of what size to get for my performer.

I've been doing this flour method with great success this past month. I find I like to sauce my wings as I'm eating to avoid losing that crispy breading I worked so hard to get. Though they never last too long anyway. 

@MikeRocksTheRed I have a small and a medium. The medium is too big for my 18" but I haven't used the small on my 22" yet. I think a small vortex filled to the brim should create the same high heat as a 1/2-3/4 filled medium but I'm not sure.

If you have an 18" and want to have a vortex that will fit that and a performer, go small. Otherwise a medium works great for a 22" and will definitely also work in a 26".

@apt323 and @AcrossFromHoss I'm glad it works for you! There might be other ways but so far I think it is the best method outside of a true deep fry, AND I actually like that they have the great crisp while being less greasy than a fried wing.

Quote from: austin87 on October 07, 2015, 01:14:34 PM
@MikeRocksTheRed I have a small and a medium. The medium is too big for my 18" but I haven't used the small on my 22" yet. I think a small vortex filled to the brim should create the same high heat as a 1/2-3/4 filled medium but I'm not sure.

If you have an 18" and want to have a vortex that will fit that and a performer, go small. Otherwise a medium works great for a 22" and will definitely also work in a 26".

Thanks for the info @austin87!  I just ordered a medium one.  I've been putting it off for a while now, but after seeing your wings it can't get here fast enough!!!!

Yup. I gotta say thanks too @austin87 as I was pretty much about to give up on my Vortex. The breading trick works beauty. Prior to doing this I was getting soggy wings and got better results cooking traditional off-set....especially on an 18.

My wings finish in about a half hour:

(http://i62.tinypic.com/aw6sk.jpg)

(http://i57.tinypic.com/2q8c5qq.jpg)

Could they stand some improvement....yes. Would I get rid of my Vortex....no. Do I see myself using the Vortex for anything but wings....no.

Got too tired of waiting for my vortex to arrive.  Used my baskets tonight with a chunk of pecan on the cooking grate.  Overfilled chimney and the best wings I've ever had.  Who knew you could coat grilled food with flour!

Yup folks, these are grilled wings, not fried!

BEST WINGS EVER!!!!(http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/10/09/f241d96f52f8b64fc3306cc0d85487cf.jpg)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have never heard of braaing with flour. Can't wait to try this.
Small tips like these make the forum so valuable.

@Bruce_Frost  - Was planning on smoking several racks of ribs today.  After trying the flour coated wings last night, I may be totally redoing my plans for today.  They were ridiculous!

Wow, those look great coming off the grill.

Close up of chicken looks so crispy, almost fried. I will certainly be dredging my chicken in flour in the future. It's always nice to keep the spice simple. Salt and pepper can go a very long way