My Vortex wings are coming out dry

[Ron Cross]

Hey everyone, please know I did a thorough search of the board before posting yet another vortex thread. But my wings are coming out too dry for my taste. And without much taste. It could be that I'm just cooking them too long, but the time they're on has been right in line with what most people are saying it should take, somewhere between 40 minutes to an hour. Here's what I do:

1. Dump a full chimney full of lit charcoals into the Vortex and add a piece of wood over the middle (medium vortex, 22 in. weber kettle.).
2. Set the lower vent to a quarter open, top vent wide open.
3. Coat my wings with a dry rub (last cook was lemon pepper)
4. Put the wings on around the perimeter and let them go, rotating the lid every 15 minutes.

This last time I left them on about and hour. I checked one a bit before that and while the wing was tender and juicy, the skin wasn't "crispy". So I left it on a bit longer.
When I took them off the skin was crispy but the meat seemed dried out to me. Not only that but the seasoning just didn't have much taste, like it was "cooked away" or something. I thought the same thing even when I checked them the first time.  They definitely didn't taste like Lemon Pepper.

This is my 3rd or 4th try, and so far I haven't produced dry-rib wings near as good as what I produce on my Weber Spirit, believe it or not. Wings done on the gas grill are super flavorful, moist and delicious; but not quite as crispy as wings with this vortex. And, of course, no smoke flavor.
I keep trying because I want to have all the flavor and  get from the gas grill wings plus some nice smoke flavor and crispier skin. If you guys see anything I might need to change in my process let me know. Otherwise I'm leaning toward going back to the good old-fashioned banked coals method to smoke them and then crisping them up on the gas grill (or over the banked coals).

[kettlebb]

I would add a step before putting the rub on to completely dry the wings (as best as you can). Dry skin should yield crispy results.


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[JEBIV]

I air dry in the fridge for up to 24 hours on a rack with a sheet pan under then add rub and cook, should result in crispy skin before wings dry out

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[joewhodatt]

Same setup but I cook at 400 degrees for 30 minutes and then open vents and flip wings one time for 15 minutes. So 45 minutes total cook time. 


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[HoosierKettle]

They taste better and juicier on the gas grill because they are cooked over direct heat. Direct heat on a kettle will also be good.

Indirect vortex wings are baked wings and will be good but have a different texture and flavor from what your after.

Try a two zone set up. Bank coals over half the grill and throw a chunk of wood in. Place wings opposite and cook for 20 minutes at 350-400. Then start working them in grilling direct until desired color is reached. You will get smoke flavor and have the benefits of direct grilling. Just my two cents. Vortex wings can be great but they are a different thing.


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[HoosierKettle]

The vortex works very good for grill fried chicken. Give it a try


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[Red_5_Wrangler]

I used the stok cone last night which is basiclly the vortex upside down. It brings the temp down a bit but not much. It's still 400 in the kettle and keeps the center temp down protecting my crimson performer. Full disclosure I put the center section in at the end and leave the wings over the fire for about 30 sec.

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[jmike314]

The vortex works very good for grill fried chicken. Give it a try

Yes. Yes it does. Worth it.


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[pbe gummi bear]

It sounds like your lower vent is too closed and or you don't have enough charcoal. Dry wings + non crispy skin = cooked too long at too low heat.

[Ron Cross]

They taste better and juicier on the gas grill because they are cooked over direct heat. Direct heat on a kettle will also be good.

Indirect vortex wings are baked wings and will be good but have a different texture and flavor from what your after.

Try a two zone set up. Bank coals over half the grill and throw a chunk of wood in. Place wings opposite and cook for 20 minutes at 350-400. Then start working them in grilling direct until desired color is reached. You will get smoke flavor and have the benefits of direct grilling. Just my two cents. Vortex wings can be great but they are a different thing.


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That makes a lot of sense Hoosier! I hadn't considered the fact that I'm cooking over the flames when I cook on the gas grill. This past weekend on the Kettle I did just what you suggested here; banked coals with a stick of Cherry over them, chicken on the other side. I tried the Lemon Pepper again to see if there would be a difference.

The wings came out tender and juicy, not dry at all. The skin wasn't "crispy" but the bite-through was fine. Nowhere near rubbery or unpleasant in any way. The flavor though? Meh. I could taste the lemon pepper a little better but nothing like when I do dry rub wings on the Spirit.

Based on your information here I see now that when I want the classic super-flavorful dry-rub wings I need to forget about the smoke and go with the gas grill. When I want smoke I think I'll just do bbq or some other wet flavor. Very helpful man! Thanks.

[Ron Cross]

It sounds like your lower vent is too closed and or you don't have enough charcoal. Dry wings + non crispy skin = cooked too long at too low heat.

That could very well be man. The first couple of times I used the Vortex I had both vents wide open. They were almost burnt in 20, 15 minutes. So I did some more research and found out people were closing the lower vent down quite a bit. I think the quarter is ok, I probably just left them on longer than I needed to.

[Ron Cross]

The vortex works very good for grill fried chicken. Give it a try


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I've seen a couple of people do that Hoosier. I'm going to try that next time, maybe with some drum sticks. That would be a great way to get fried chicken without all the grease. Thanks for the tip!

[FTTH]

Open wide the intake and exhaust vents. Place wings around vortex, rotate exhaust every 10 minutes or so and flip halfway through. I'm usually done in 35-40 minutes. I may place over direct for a second before taking off. Add a little baking power to rub.



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[View to a Grill]

Have you tried a traditional wet salt brine overnight... helps Tremendously


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