Hunsaker Vortex Basket - Low and Slow?


 
Josh - CT

Josh - CT

TVWBB Member
Just got the vortex basket for my 22 WSM to experiment with. I am looking for some tips on how to use this to cook ribs low and slow as opposed to hot and fast. Anyone care to share what works for them?
 
Hi Josh, I don't have the vortex basket but have used a fire dial a few times which works in a similar fashion. The best advice I can give is not to light too much charcoal to begin with. As long as it's reasonably warm outside where you are, I fill the charcoal ring, and take about a half a regular chimney size out of the center and light it up, then dump it right back in the middle and set all the bottom vents to about 1/3 open and the top to about one half and see what happens next. If you have an ATC, I'd probably light it off the same way. I'm sure others will chime in here eventually, but this is the best advice I can offer.

If you light off too quick and need to get it under control, I'd put a aluminum pan on the bottom rack and fill it with cold water.
 
I use a FireDial like John. For low/slow, I agree that you need to be careful to limit the amount of lit you start with. And you probably will need to dial back your vent settings as compared with what you do with a full water pan.

You lose a lot of the "heat brake" by taking the water out of the smoker, so you have to adjust more carefully. The benefit, though, is that I get a much longer and stabler burn once I get the vent settings right.

While the water is a very effective heat regulator, it consumes a lot of fuel and BTUs doing that. And the water effect varies throughout the cook as the water heats up/evaporates/gets replenished/heats up again/evaporates again etc. etc. etc.

And without the water inside the cooker, you might want to increase your spritzing.
 
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