Dayum - lighting up the Vortex for the first time

[austin87]

Just threw 3/4 chimney of K Comp into the medium vortex on a 22.5" with the narrow end up. Pegged the therm in about 5 seconds, the needle ran up like the tachometer on a race car!

Shutting back the vents to cool it off a bit, but I think it will be perfect for crispy kettle fish and chips! More to come...

[austin87]

@Troy your call whether to move this to Cooks and Recipes...

First thoughts, I really liked the vortex. It was set to the side of the kettle rather than the middle, but as advertised it created a very high, indirect heat. I wanted to make sweet potato fries but my girlfriend really wanted sweet potato done indirect (we actually do yams indirect on the kettle and eat the skin and all, they turn out great - essentially a baked yam).

IF you want to do fries, you need sweet potato, not yams. Yams don't get crispy like sweet potatoes do...

Anyways, I digress. I mixed flour with salt, pepper, cayenne, paprika. Got some wild fresh cod from Whole Foods for $7/lb and one pound feeds us as we try to slim down a few pounds for the summer. After flour, the fish gets dipped in egg then covered in Panko.



Cooked high heat indirect for about 8 minutes per side, with high/indirect heat.



I got some malt vinegar from the store but forgot tartar sauce so my girlfriend mixed up a great substitute with mayo, sweet mustard, and hot sauce.

The fish was crispy, tasty, and I would definitely do it again.

First vortex rating is 7/10... I really like it and know it will be an awesome addition to the arsenal, but I need to play with it more. As I get more used to it I can only imagine I'll like it more and more.

[argentflame]

Great looking cook. The Vortex really heats up very quickly.

[WNC]

The fish looks great!

[THUNDERDOME]

Awesome cook!

[Fishawn]

Looks perfect!
Don't loan your Vortex out for a friend to try..... (Just an observation)..... I never got mine back

[swamprb]

Anybody willing to try the vortex in a 22" WSM for some Hot n' Fast Turbo cooking?

I don't have a problem getting high temps, but I see an awful lot of people on the WSM FB page that struggle with getting the big bullet hot. My homemade vortex is smaller diameter than the thunderdome, but man that thing gets nuclear fast!

[austin87]

Anybody willing to try the vortex in a 22" WSM for some Hot n' Fast Turbo cooking?

I don't have a problem getting high temps, but I see an awful lot of people on the WSM FB page that struggle with getting the big bullet hot. My homemade vortex is smaller diameter than the thunderdome, but man that thing gets nuclear fast!

I don't have a WSM or I'd give it a shot.

[TexasOnion]

@swamprb  what did you make your vortex out of ?   any pis`s ?

[toolhead]

No problem getting wsm up to 350+.  What high temp are you reading is hard to hit on wsm?

The 14.5 wsm takes off like a rocket ship if you dont start her slow. She will hit 400 and stay there is you dont baby the initial light

[swamprb]

@swamprb  what did you make your vortex out of ?   any pis`s ?

Ask and ye shall receive! 

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.807036462710837.1073741844.116187658462391&type=3

[swamprb]

No problem getting wsm up to 350+.  What high temp are you reading is hard to hit on wsm?

The 14.5 wsm takes off like a rocket ship if you dont start her slow. She will hit 400 and stay there is you dont baby the initial light

I said I don't have a problem getting high temps with an 18" or 22" WSM but it pains me to see some people struggle with it. By the time I chime in, they are already crying!

Be realistic, unless your name is Harry Soo, what heavy meats are you going to Turbo cook on a 14" wsm?

[TexasOnion]

thanks @swamprb