VORTEX (IN) DIRECT HEAT for Charcoal Grills, Medium Size - Fits Weber Kettle 22 26.75 WSM Smokey Mountain XL Kamado XL Big Green Egg

Product Information

After trimming, I scored them and then patted them dry before sprinkling them with sea salt. I placed them on a plate and put them in the fridge overnight to try to dry them out. Next. we want to start a half chimney full of hot coals and once hot, we will place them inside the vortex. What you will have is a hot coal volcano that will make the temp of your grill extremely high (mine went to over 550 degrees).

This setting is the most efficient, useful way to cook with the Vortex. It provides even, consistent heat to whatever you throw around it. It just outclasses every method and accessory available for a kettle or Kamado grill.

Recipe Card

The BBQ Fuel Dome (Vortex) is a BBQ accessory that claims to enable you to cook on your BBQ in a variety of different ways: If you’re into low and slow cooking, you probably know how hard it’s to arrange the fire every time before cooking. You might be using methods like the snake or the minion method to arrange the briquettes so that they self-ignite over time strategically. The method for the coating was spot on, so a huge thank you to Ted. This will be the method I will follow in the future with this type of cook and also with other foods where you want a crispy coating. The best way to grill wings: With the BBQ Vortex BBQ Vortext Method Two: High Heat Indirect – The Ring of Wings

Here’s where a Kamado Grill addon, such as the BBQ Vortex, comes in. There are a plethora of kettle and kamado grill accessories promising to solve the same problem, that is, a hassle-free cooking experience on a kettle or kamado. And the BBQ Vortex is one of them. The Vortex may be overpromising a bit with their 4 techniques, but the Ring of Wings technique alone makes this device a must have. My family has always loved wings, but there weren’t on the menu often because turning out big batches just wasn’t easy enough. With the Vortex, I can cook two days worth of wings in 1.5 hours including prep time and sides. Wings are on the menu every other week now and the Vortex has a semi-permanent home in one of my grills. Is the BBQ Vortex worth it? Yeah, it’s totally worth it. With this method, the BBQ Vortex is used upside down – with the large opening facing up. The hot coals are placed around it instead of inside it, and the food stays on the grate directly above. The Vortex deflects the radiant heat and allows the food to cook indirect. I don’t know Zach personally, but the man is a genius. First thing you will notice is the bottle. It is a spray bottle! I am not sure why nobody else is doing this, but it is great as it gives you complete control to season a couple of wings with a simple spray.

The BBQ Vortex is a simple stainless steel cone for the Kettle and Kamado-style grills, such as the Weber Kettle and the Big Green Egg. The manufacturer of VORTEX (IN)DIRECT HEAT promises four uses of the accessory in direct and indirect cooking. However, you can use it in more than just four ways. What’s Weber Vortex for?

I used thighs, which I prefer over breasts, as I think it is easier to cook and not dry out. It is the same when I do kebabs, but on occasion, I will do a mix of thigh and breast. The Dome can redirect the flow of heat up and around the meat which turns your kettle into an indirect 'smoker'. Rotate the Kettle lid every 5-8 minutes.” This is to avoid cold spots because of the offset exhaust damper. The makers of the Vortex list several BBQ stores that sell the vortex. A few of those stores have owners who are active here in our Weber Forum, so they’ll get the nod here. Owens BBQ, Mad Hunky Meats, and Big Poppa Smokers. This method is Volcano style, with the small opening on top. It creates a super high heat zone directly above the Vortex. When I first tested this method, the temps above the BBQ Vortex were only marginally higher than two full Weber baskets. I used a steel plate and an infrared thermometer to compare. Both the Vortex and the baskets brought the steel up into the 800 degree range using Coshell. This was very disappointing at first, but when I ran the test again using Kingsford, the results were very different. The sear zone over the vortex was once again crazy hot, right around 650-700 degrees, while the baskets barely hit 500. The BBQ Vortex DEFINITELY created a super hot sear spot.This method is the exact configuration as the previous. The difference is in the food placement. Radiant heat is channeled straight up. The area around the Vortex is shielded from much of the radiant heat, but still remains a high heat cooking zone via convection. The temp around the ring will hit 450-500 while using Coshell, slightly less with Kingsford.

Smoking on a Kamado isn’t any lesser pain in the butt than low and slow cooking. Creating a 2-zone fire, however, is a bit easier–you just need to ignite and bank the briquettes off to one side. These methods are not 100% fail-safe and/or efficient. Besides, they require a lot of effort, time, and a steep learning curve to master. If you’re not that meticulous, you might be throwing the coals in haphazardly with varying degrees of results. Overall, I think the BBQ Vortex is a great accessory. A really simple concept and design but definitely one that works. Verdict on Indirect method? Not worth it. Banking or baskets is just too easy. There’s not enough, if any, benefit of using this method. For regular searing, cook both sides of the steaks over direct heat and then shift them to the sides to let them reach the desired temperature. For reverse searing, flip the tradition on its head–first, let the steaks come to the temperature and then cook them over the Vortex for a nice brown finish and crispy texture.While we have discussed only four methods, you can use the Vortex accessory in many ways. You can set the Vortex with the wide side up or down, put charcoal inside or around it, and place food around it on the bottom grate or top grate or directly over it on the top grate.