SNS Kamado - SNS, Vortex or Deflector for high heat (350) indirect

[jfmorris]

Hey BBQ family and friends!

It's been a bit since anyone posted in this channel, and having just cleaned the ash out of my SNS Kamado, I am debating tonight's dinner cook, my first outdoor cook of Fall 2022.

The menu includes baked potatoes, chicken thighs and drumsticks, and a couple of Denver steaks I pulled out of the freezer an hour ago. The question really comes to the best way to do indirect 350 degree cooking for the potatoes and chicken, but still be able to sear the beef.

I've always used kamado mode, with the deflector, when doing indirect cooks above low and slow temps on the SNS Kamado. I have to wonder if I build a fire in the SNS can I reach 350F grate level temp on the indirect side, or will there be too much bypass heat escaping the top vent? I went looking at the various chicken recipes on the SNSgrills website, and all those and their videos of doing chicken seem to do it on the kettle. With a kettle, I know there will be plenty of convection, as the vent is all the way across the grill from where the SNS is.

So that led me to ponder whether I should try my Vortex in the SNS Kamado, or would it have issues, since the vent would be directly above the Vortex in the kamado, versus offset like it is in a kettle.

Any thoughts from anyone on this subject? I know I am rambling here, but I've actually thought about the Vortex in a kamado for a while, and wondered how it would work compared to in a kettle, due to the top vent placement.

I may just setup full indirect with the deflector, do the potatoes and chicken over there, and then toss the steaks on the flat top, but it would be nice to keep it all on one grill...

[LA Pork Butt]

You might try opening your bottom vent wide and closing down as much as possible your top vent. That would slow dow the drafting of the heat straight up.

[jfmorris]

Actually, now that you bring up vents, maybe I ought to see if the SNS Kamado manual that is in my filing cabinet says anything about this.

[jhapka]

The SNS kamado has a lot of top venting. I get the fire going and then close the top vent below 1.5 to get the grate temp 400+

[jfmorris]

It dawned on me too that in the past, I dropped a full set of Grillgrates from my kettle on the kamado, and just grilled my chicken...

[Old Glory]

I have cooked chicken in my WSCG using the S&S basket at 350. In theory it should work with the S&S Kamado.

[jfmorris]

If I don't hear back from the SNS guys who I emailed my question too, I'm just gonna do like I would on a kettle for chicken with the SNS, and dump a half chimney of lit coals on top of a half chimney unlit in the SNS, and throw the potatoes in, then 15 minutes later the chicken, then 15 minutes later the steak. At least I'll have a hot sear zone I can move stuff too, and just cooking for 4, I think I can fit it all in the indirect area and elevated grate.

[fzxdoc]

Ditto Old Glory 's recommendation. No problem reaching 350+ with the SnS in kettle mode on the WSCGC. Sounds like you have good plan in place, jfmorris .

Kathryn

[jfmorris]

Ok, I dug out the SNS Kamodo manual I received back in 2021, and they in fact give lighting instructions for both low and slow (225-300) and higher temp (300-450) cooking with the SNS installed, so I will give it a shot that way tonight. They pretty much steer you to the kamado mode for cooking about 400 or so, which makes sense. The bypass heat from the offset fire is just to great to get much hotter than 400 or so when using the SNS insert.

[Allon]

I wish I had something intelligent to say, but that's would be sooo out of character...

Good luck!

[jfmorris]

Ok, SNS support replied back within an hour, saying for the temps I want to get to (350ish), treat it just like my kettle, so I'm setup and ready to light a starter cube in an hour or two...

[jfmorris]

I think I will just have to test the Vortex in the SNS Kamado, and report back here. I think it will work fine if I close down the top vent about halfway, to keep all the heat from going out the rather large venting area up top.

[fzxdoc]

The vortex works great in my WSCGC. Pretend it's a 26" kettle. Only better.

Kathryn

[CLB3]

+1 on the vortex. Works great in my Kamado Joe.

[Allon]

We have a plan...
Start the checklist...
Begin ignition sequence..
Firing APU...
(auxiliary power unit. Small engine used to power electronics and start main engines).
aka... Fire starter.

[bbqLuv]

I dial up my desired temperature and press select. But then I have a pellet grill.
Sorry no help.
I do suggest PBR at beer-thirty.

[jfmorris]

Ok, I will report back that with the top vent at 2, and the bottom vent at "3" but with the windscreen open, I was sitting around 450 on the dome thermometer. I never checked the grate temp, but the chicken got done in about 45 minutes. About 30 minutes after the chicken was put on indirect, I dropped the elevated grate above the fire, and cooked some small Denver steaks up there. SWMBO ended up baking the potatoes in the oven, so that simplified my cook.

[Allon]

Looking good! Nice job says I...

[jfmorris]

I will say this, and it will lead to my next chicken experiment - I feel that the Vortex on my kettle gets hotter than the offset fire in the SNS in the kamado, and leads to crispier chicken skin. Nothing wrong with this chicken, and I temped each piece at 170+ before pulling, but while the skin was probably bite-through, it was not as crispy as I prefer. I probably could have left it a few more minutes, but the steaks were already off for 10 minutes, and I was hungry...

So my next experiment, maybe in a week or so when I crave chicken wings, will be using the Vortex on the SNS Kamado. I'll report back when I do. I will have to put a grate level probe in there just to get a better idea of what is going on, and play with the vent settings to reach maximum Vortex convection currents inside the kamado.