OK, I’m a convert!


 
Tim K said:
Just out of curiosity, I’ve got the faux-tex and have had nothing but compliments on my wings, how is the real thing better? My dog bowls have served me far beyond my expectations, as I have been able to master this cooking method with a very minimal expense. But if the real Vortex is truly better, I do t want to limit myself with the dog bowl faux-tex.
Thanks,
Tim
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Tim, I have both a Walmart medium dog bowl for the jumbo Joe and an Owens medium for the performer. The both do well I really can't detect any major differences between the two. The Owens is a thicker SS than the dog bowl which may or may not keep heat inside the vortex more than the thinner dog bowl. But like I said they both work well.
 
Ok so if cooking for 4-6 the smaller would be better because of more real estate compared to the medium?
Trying to pull the plug just confused on what size.

Tim
 
timothy said:
Ok so if cooking for 4-6 the smaller would be better because of more real estate compared to the medium?
Trying to pull the plug just confused on what size.

Tim
Click to expand...
I can only offer a shot of the small on a 22" kettle. The center of my gourmet system grate stays out to prevent damage.
Some put a piece of wood for smoke over the Vortex, maybe it adds flavor, but with such a short cook time, and high heat, I can't see how it makes much of a difference.

47598980971_5fb8c0704d.jpg
 
Ok, great> I just have a regular grate so is that a problem?
In other words do I also need to upgrade to the Gourmet grate?

Tim
 
Bob Correll said:
Some put a piece of wood for smoke over the Vortex, maybe it adds flavor, but with such a short cook time, and high heat, I can't see how it makes much of a difference.
Click to expand...
It perhaps depends on exactly what it is you're cooking, but I most definitely can taste the smoke from short, hot cooks. I've done a tenderloin pork roast that was done in under an hour and the two small pieces of peach I used were very obvious, smoke ring and all. The Kirkland brats are excellent with indirect heat from the Vortex and a bit of smoke wood. I think I used apple last time. I've smoked these brats on the WSM and didn't really care for the results. On the kettle with a medium fire in the Vortex they were superb. Excellent smoky flavor. I've gotten to where I put smoke wood on for everything but hamburgers. Though I'd likely use smoke wood on those if I was doing a reverse sear.

@Tim, I can get 14 Johnsonville brats on my 22" kettle with the medium Vortex. That's not especially crowded. I think 20 would probably fit without much effort. If you lay them radially around the Vortex the center part is just shy of the edge of the Vortex so you need to keep an eye on that end so it doesn't get overcooked. Anyway, plenty of room for food for six.
 
On a 22" kettle, is there a performance difference with a small vs. medium vortex, or is it simply a matter of charcoal capacity?
 
KE Quist said:
On a 22" kettle, is there a performance difference with a small vs. medium vortex, or is it simply a matter of charcoal capacity?
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I was thinking the same, but I think it's more of what size gives you more room around the perimeter.
I flipped a coin and choose the medium:)

Tim
 
JayHeyl said:
@Tim, I can get 14 Johnsonville brats on my 22" kettle with the medium Vortex. That's not especially crowded. I think 20 would probably fit without much effort. If you lay them radially around the Vortex the center part is just shy of the edge of the Vortex so you need to keep an eye on that end so it doesn't get overcooked. Anyway, plenty of room for food for six.
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I did my first cook yesterday on some brats and followed your advice. ( came out great BTW) :)

First impression is I like it! Second, is now I have a perfect round circle of rust on my stock 22.5" Weber grate, cause I guess it burnt off the nickel plating.
Not a biggie cause that's an old grate and I have more but makes me think I need to upgrade to the Gourmet grate with removable center or spend on a well made SS grate.

Second is if you do the double grate mod the vortex sits up a little higher and causes your cooking grate to not sit fully on the tabs, and it rocks.
Not a big deal cause the grate ain't going anywhere, but I noticed it.

Directions say to rotate the lid/vent orientation 1/4 turn every 15 mins, and that makes sense for direct, but what do you guys do?

I asked about a TVWBB friendly link to order this from amazon and got no response. ( on another thread)
I ordered mine from Owens, but doing some browsing today I found it, and free shipping. https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B01GGDBLF2/tvwb-20
 
timothy said:
I did my first cook yesterday on some brats and followed your advice. ( came out great BTW) :)
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I'm really liking the brats around the outside of the Vortex with a bit of fruit smoke wood. They get pretty evenly brown and take on a wonderful smoke flavor. For some reason I didn't like the way they came out when I smoked them on the WSM, but on the kettle with the Vortex they're excellent.

timothy said:
First impression is I like it! Second, is now I have a perfect round circle of rust on my stock 22.5" Weber grate, cause I guess it burnt off the nickel plating.
Not a biggie cause that's an old grate and I have more but makes me think I need to upgrade to the Gourmet grate with removable center or spend on a well made SS grate.
Click to expand...
I got this porcelain cast iron grate. I've only had it a short time so I can't attest to longevity, but it has stood up to the direct heat of the Vortex without any apparent damage. My only real complaint is it's very heavy and difficult to position back on the kettle when the fire is going. With the lid hanging on the side of the kettle it's almost impossible to get it lined up right holding it with just one hand. I think I'm going to have to start using my silicone mitts. The grease is easy to clean off those.

timothy said:
Directions say to rotate the lid/vent orientation 1/4 turn every 15 mins, and that makes sense for direct, but what do you guys do?
Click to expand...
I've not done this, but the only longer cook I've done was of a single pork roast so it made more sense to leave the lid vent aligned over the roast. (In retrospect, I should have inverted the Vortex and put the roast in the center.) If you are doing a longer cook, like maybe wings, it would make sense to rotate the lid.
 
JayHeyl said:
My only real complaint is it's very heavy and difficult to position back on the kettle when the fire is going. With the lid hanging on the side of the kettle it's almost impossible to get it lined up right holding it with just one hand. I think I'm going to have to start using my silicone mitts.
Click to expand...

From the pic, it looks like my pigtail food turner might work nicely to assist with placing the grate. Or my grill rake.
 
Jay,
I use either my Billy Bar or a garden trowel to manipulate the CI insert, think old time iron wood burning stove “plate lifters”. That has worked well for me with the inserts. They are cheap and really easy to clean. I just stick the end of the Billy Bar in the indirect coals the next time I fire up and it’s just fine!
 
BillSmith said:
Isn’t it just taking the Amazon url and adding &link_code=hom&tag=tvwb-20 to it?
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I don't know if it's as simple as that, and I don't know if that works for every Amazon URL, but that's not how I make links. I'm sure Amazon doesn't want people making their own affiliate links that way, and I can't encourage you to do so, it will get me in trouble with them.
 
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