I don’t know where I got that tagline from…🙄 Anywho, today efincoop posted he was gonna use his new vortex for a chicken cook tonight and was asking for a few suggestions. As I participated in the post I realized that I don’t remember anyone posting about what the cooking grate temps were when using the Vortex. If anyone has, I don’t remember. It got me to wondering what the answer was. I knew what the temps were at the top of the vortex above the coals, which was almost 1000*.
I used my ThermoWorks grate probe to find out. I first tested it again for accuracy. In boiling water it measured 211.2 Close enough. I lit a full chimney of KBB. When most of the coals were all ashed over I dumped them in the Vortex. Before placing my 6 chicken wings on the grill, I let the SNS Kettle heat up with the lid on and a mesquite chunk in the coals. It got up to 456* with both top and bottom vents wide open.
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After I placed my wings on the grill and put the lid back on, it rose to 435* and then dropped a little to around 425*. where it stayed close to that for the duration of the cook.
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In a nutshell here’s what to expect when using the Vortex with a kettle grill. After achieving high temps around 455* or so, after adding your food, I’d expect the temps to drop to around 425* or so at the outer edges of the kettle cooking grate. This is where I placed my grate probe.
Anyone else here tested the temps? I’d be curious to know what you found.
I used my ThermoWorks grate probe to find out. I first tested it again for accuracy. In boiling water it measured 211.2 Close enough. I lit a full chimney of KBB. When most of the coals were all ashed over I dumped them in the Vortex. Before placing my 6 chicken wings on the grill, I let the SNS Kettle heat up with the lid on and a mesquite chunk in the coals. It got up to 456* with both top and bottom vents wide open.
​
​
After I placed my wings on the grill and put the lid back on, it rose to 435* and then dropped a little to around 425*. where it stayed close to that for the duration of the cook.
​
​
​
In a nutshell here’s what to expect when using the Vortex with a kettle grill. After achieving high temps around 455* or so, after adding your food, I’d expect the temps to drop to around 425* or so at the outer edges of the kettle cooking grate. This is where I placed my grate probe.
Anyone else here tested the temps? I’d be curious to know what you found.
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