Wings and Poppers with the Vortex


 
R

Robert McGee

TVWBB Gold Member
We have had absolutely lousy grilling weather. This spring has been crazy. We have had winds of sixty miles an hour, rain storms dropping 4-5" of rain in a couple of hours, widely varying temperatures, etc. We have even had some tornados in the area.

It was supposed to storm yesterday, but it turned out to be a pretty dern nice day. My wife, Marilyn, thawed some Costco Chicken wings from the freezer and got them ready for the grill. She perforated the skin, brined, then patted dry, applied a light coat of EVOO and used Weber's Kick n' Chicken rub. She made up some ABT's, too. I used the Vortex with my old Performer with a piece of Apple Wood on the grate over the Vortex. After the wings were grilled, we used our favorite homemade Apricot Preserves, Honey, and Chipotle in Adobo Sauce while the wings were hot off the grill.

Wings and Poppers ready to flip:


After the Flip:


Close-up of the wings:


The poppers ready to come off:


Sauced and ready to serve:


These peppers were larger than we normally serve but MAN! were they good:


Marilyn made coleslaw and baked beans as sides and we had apple pie for dessert.
It was a GOOD start to the Memorial Day weekend!

Please raise a glass to our Veterans for this weekend.

Former SFC Robert D. McGee, Ohio National Guard and U.S. Army
Keep on smokin'
Dale53:wsm:
 
We've had the same kind of lousy weather here also. Those look great Robert, especially the poppers. What temp were you running the kettle at? Also do you flip your wings when you use the Vortex? I'd love that sauce recipe.
 
I don't know that I've seen better looking poppers/abts on this board, def not in person - wow! Wings look great too- I made them twice yesterday - once cooked naked then tossed in red hot, the next batch heavily salted & peppered & then tossed in teriyaki.
 
JR;

I fill the Vortex (medium) with Kingsford Original (often with part "used" coals) and light it with my Performer's gas ignition (just as if the Vortex was a chimney). I run the gas three minutes by the clock. I leave the lid open for fifteen minutes. Then, I close the lid for five minutes, let it heat up, then clean and oil the grates. I then apply the food and close up. I run the vents wide open. It runs over 400 degrees (measured at 437 degrees with my laser thermometer). I rotate the lid once or twice during the cook. I flip the wings and poppers at 20 minutes (one time).

The Apricot, Honey and Chipotle in Adobo Sauce recipe:
1/2 cup of apricot preserves
1/4 cup of honey
1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
1 tablespoon of rice vinegar
1 tablespoon of finely chopped chipotle chiles in adobo

I put everything in a small saucepan and on low heat, blend everything together.
If you wish a bit more heat, just increase the chipotle to two tablespoons.

Thanks to everyone for the kind words. These two items are some of our absolute favorite things.

Yes, I LOVE my Vortex:rolleyes:.

Keep on smokin',
Dale53:wsm:
 
Robert that is a great looking cook. It looks delicious! We have had on and off weather here too. You always have such positive things to say about people's cooks that its nice to give you some congrats on a fine meal.
 
Robert, those wings and abt's outstanding. Great job my you and the Mrs. Thanks for the recipe will be trying them real soon. Thanks you for your service.
 
Robert McGee said:
JR;

I fill the Vortex (medium) with Kingsford Original (often with part "used" coals) and light it with my Performer's gas ignition (just as if the Vortex was a chimney). I run the gas three minutes by the clock. I leave the lid open for fifteen minutes. Then, I close the lid for five minutes, let it heat up, then clean and oil the grates. I then apply the food and close up. I run the vents wide open. It runs over 400 degrees (measured at 437 degrees with my laser thermometer). I rotate the lid once or twice during the cook. I flip the wings and poppers at 20 minutes (one time).

The Apricot, Honey and Chipotle in Adobo Sauce recipe:
1/2 cup of apricot preserves
1/4 cup of honey
1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
1 tablespoon of rice vinegar
1 tablespoon of finely chopped chipotle chiles in adobo

I put everything in a small saucepan and on low heat, blend everything together.
If you wish a bit more heat, just increase the chipotle to two tablespoons.

Thanks to everyone for the kind words. These two items are some of our absolute favorite things.

Yes, I LOVE my Vortex:rolleyes:.

Keep on smokin',
Dale53:wsm:
Click to expand...
Thank you Robert.
 
To all:
One thing that I might mention, using my Performer with the "Medium Vortex", all vents open and a full chimney of Kingsford Original (gas ignition using the Vortex as a chimney), I have experienced something that I have no explanation for:

I often grill large bone in thighs along with the small party wings from Costco (frozen food department). Seemingly regardless of the rub or seasoning (my current favorite is Lousiana Chicken Fry coating), I flip all chicken parts at 20 minutes by the clock. They are done perfectly at a total time of 30 minutes. Yep, the really large thighs and really small party wings finish in the same time. My wife perforates the skin on both but the last few times we deliberately did NOT brine. Just use the directions for the Louisiana Chicken Fry coating and all chicken, regardless of size finishes at the same time with REALLY crisp skin. I have no explanation for this phenomenom (all sizes finishing at the same time), but WE LOVE IT!

YMMV
Keep on smokin',
Dale53:wsm:

P.S. To be clear, I use my Weber large chimney as a measure only - I put used coals in the bottom of the chimney, with new coals on top.That is so when I dump the unlit chimney into the Vortex, the new ones are on the bottom. That way, the used coals are not burned up during ignition. After the unlit coals are dumped in the Vortex, I make certain the Vortex is centered, then, using the Performer gas ignition, I light the gas and allow it to burn THREE MINUTES by the clock. I then turn off the gas, close the lid and let the grill heat up for FIFTEEN minutes by the clock. I carefully clean the whole indirect area of the grate and oil it with a folded paper towel dipped in Canola Oil. THEN, I place the chicken parts around the outside (with a chunk of Applewood centered over the Vortex for smoke). In thirty minutes, I take the chicken off and if I am saucing, THEN is when I sauce. The chicken (quite crisp) is place on a platter and the sauce (preheated) is applied on both sides. The residual heat of the chicken sets the sauce. If you are using the Louisiana Chicken Fry, you may elect to skip the sauce.

Dale53
 
Last edited:
Now I want wings! I'd also like to see pics of that with the Louisiana chicken fry....and get some to try for myself.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top