Why use a Vortex?

Weber charcoal basket wings no sauce.
O8gJOs0h.jpg



Homemade medium Vortex wings no sauce. The size and dimension is almost identical to genuine Vortex
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Weber charcoal basket chicken thigh no sauce
K8ZmchAh.jpg


I'm not saying Vortex doesn't work. It works very well. But so does Weber charcoal basket. I get pretty much the same results with either one. For the price of Vortex, you can buy 3 sets of Weber charcoal baskets. I have 2 sets of Weber basket and 1 homemade medium Vortex. I built the medium Vortex because I was curious and wanted to find out for myself if the Vortex really was better. I've concluded it's not and most of the time I just use the Weber baskets. I encourage others to try for themselves and draw their own conclusions.
 
Your homemade vortex might have the same dimensions, but the shape is different. I used a SS mixing bowl for a bootleg vortex and it worked fine too. Not saying that your homemade job is incredibly different, but commenting as if you own the actual product when you do not can seem misleading.
 
ulc said:
I've done tests too with the basket and Vortex and the cooking result is pretty much the same. Vortex is about 1.5 inches taller but baskets can hold slightly more charcoal as it's wider. Both will direct heat up but you can place more wings on the cooking grate with the Vortex as it takes up less footprint than the baskets. That's really the only advantage I see with the Vortex. But it's not enough advantage for me as I find charcoal baskets easier to use, move, and light with the roofing torch. You don't have to move or flip the wings with the charcoal basket. It cooks exactly the same as the Vortex. I don't move or flip the wings when I use the basket or Vortex. And since the baskets have a bottom, I find it easier to reuse the charcoal after each cook. I can simply pickup the baskets, give it a shake to empty the ash, and keep the old charcoal to reuse. With the Vortex, I can't pick it up to shake it and smaller charcoal pieces simply fall through the charcoal grate since it doesn't have a bottom.
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You should sell your Vortex. There are folks here who would love to buy one at a good price, assuming yours is an original. :-D
 
tom b said:
I love my vortex for all the reasons stated above but it sound like we need a side by side cause I never tried using the basket method
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I'm not going to lie, I was on the Vortex bandwagon (mine came as a gift with the 26 from a fellow brethren). It's rad. Best wings ever!

I still use mine. But when I was practicing comp wings at my in-laws, I did charcoal baskets in their 22 Performer. Same rub/sauce and they turned out...damn near the same? :twitch:

I almost feel that the baskets actually ran hotter because the heat wasn't focused directly up. Wings still had crispy skin. They finished in about the same amount of time.

It wasn't scientific by any means...but doing the same recipe, with the same amount of charcoal a dozen times, and have it finish roughly the same...lets just say...I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see it.
 
ulc said:
Weber charcoal basket wings no sauce.
O8gJOs0h.jpg



Homemade medium Vortex wings no sauce. The size and dimension is almost identical to genuine Vortex
qUF5myKh.jpg



Weber charcoal basket chicken thigh no sauce
K8ZmchAh.jpg


I'm not saying Vortex doesn't work. It works very well. But so does Weber charcoal basket. I get pretty much the same results with either one. For the price of Vortex, you can buy 3 sets of Weber charcoal baskets. I have 2 sets of Weber basket and 1 homemade medium Vortex. I built the medium Vortex because I was curious and wanted to find out for myself if the Vortex really was better. I've concluded it's not and most of the time I just use the Weber baskets. I encourage others to try for themselves and draw their own conclusions.
Click to expand...


Exhibit A. I have concluded the same. I have both and use both...but the results are, for all intents and purposes...the same.
 
  • Thanks
Reactions: ulc
Springram said:
You should sell your Vortex. There are folks here who would love to buy one at a good price, assuming yours is an original. :-D
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I'm not trying to sell anything. I'm just sharing my experience just like everyone in this thread. I seriously doubt I would get different result if I used original Vortex over my homemade one but if someone is willing to donate original Vortex, I would be happy to test it out and admit if I'm wrong! :grin:
 
No takers on explaining the difference between the Vortex and Slow 'N Sear gadgets?
 
food4thot said:
No takers on explaining the difference between the Vortex and Slow 'N Sear gadgets?
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I don't have a slow n sear, but have heavily researched them. You can get similar results from the slow n sear as the vortex, by using a full chimney of hot coals in the slow n sear, and the bottom grate is blocked. You don't have to do that with the vortex. The main advantage of the slow n sear is to be able to go low n slow, but it's really nothing more than the minion method. I opted for the vortex because it was cheaper, and I really don't go low n slow on the kettle. Again, I don't feel either of them are necessary, but they just make your job easier. Everyone has decide how they want to cook for themselves. What is right for one guy, might not be right for the other.
 
food4thot said:
No takers on explaining the difference between the Vortex and Slow 'N Sear gadgets?
Click to expand...


I have both. I like the Slow N Sear, but I love the Vortex. I have the original Slow N Sear with the open bottom. It is well made and heavier metal than the vortex. I never really figured I'd use it as a smoker in the kettle as I have several smokers. but, I did try it once and was like Meh, it works. I thought I could use it for reverse sear steaks. Maybe it's me, but it just doesn't seem to get as hot as the vortex and I've never used an infrared thermo to check. Also, wife prefers traditional steaks versus reverse seared. So it sits unused. I use the medium in the 26 all the time. Perfect wings, brats and ABT's. Never tried it on thighs or legs.



Guess I should try the Slow N Sear on the 26 sometime as I've only used it on my performer.



Just one man's opinion. Results may vary.


Robert
 
Hmm... so you get temps of 800 through your whole cooker? I wonder if that is too hot for my PK.
 
I flip my Vortex upside down and use it to cook steaks. I push it to one side of the kettle and fill it with charcoal. Once it is lit, I place my full Grill Grates set in the kettle. I use the end without the vortex under it to reverse sear the steak then move it over the end with the vortex to actually sear the steak. Works great.
 
I have a theory, and its just purely a speculative theory, that the vortex does more for air flow and thus convection in the Kettle, than it does temp.

I think covering the charcoal grate with foil, then cutting out the section inside of the vortex, brings more air up through the vortex, where it then redirects by the curvature of the Kettle lid.

And convection cooks better than direct radiant heat.

I've measured temps in my Kettle when using the vortex, on the outside of the grill grate. And I don't find that the vortex increases those temps. But I do like my wings using the vortex and I think air flow may have more to do with that

But again, just a theory.
 
food4thot said:
No takers on explaining the difference between the Vortex and Slow 'N Sear gadgets?
Click to expand...

I have both and I use the Vortex a lot more. I will use the Slow 'n Sear today with Lump and some Wood chunks. Build a small fire and let it slow-smoke some 2.5 pound prime ribeyes before I reverse sear. It's nice for things like that, and I also like it for long cooks stacking briquettes like dominos and lighting one end. Because of the shape you can stack high which leaves a lot of room for meat on the rest of my 26". I've only filled the water reservoir on it once to do a Turkey. Large SNS weighs about eight pounds so I imagine it helps with heat retention.

The other thing the SNS good for is leaving it in the kettle to create a cool zone when I need a big fire. Just leave it empty and it gives you some room to work if things get too hot.

Both fun toys to play with, but if I could only get one it would be the Vortex.
 
Joshw said:
Convenience. All you have to have is fire, after that it boils down to convenience. You could also ask, Why use charcoal baskets? You could always just stack up the charcoal. For that matter, Why use charcoal? You could always burn wood to make coals.

Bottom line is the Vortex makes cooking chicken pieces on the kettle a breeze. You can get the same results without it, but the Vortex makes it effortless. I have done a comparison of the baskets vs Vortex, and the big difference is the Vortex is taller. It comes up to the bottom of the cooking grate, so the heat is funneled up, and then comes back down from the dome. This makes for very even cooking, and you don't even have to flip them. The baskets are shorter, so more heat travels out under the food, giving you an opportunity for hot spots. This means you have to watch the cook, and move and flip to get an even cook. With the Vortex, you put the wings on, come back in 45 minutes to get them.
Click to expand...

This exactly. The Vortex is the only reason I still even use my Weber Kettle.
 
Hmmmm. Father's Day is coming up . . .

Won't be long before my wife will be saying the kids are wondering what you want for Father's Day.
 
I will say that the Vortex is only limited by your imagination...It makes killer wings, indeed...But if that's all you use it for then you're missing out...
 
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