I put my mad scientist hat on. This is just a dry run, but as proof of concept I think it’s right there.
While putting stuff away, and trying to collapse and telescope stuff because Kettle accessories take up so much space, I realized something: the freakin’ Vortex fits perfectly inside a Smokey Joe Jr.
And see that gap? What size does that look like to you? EXACTLY. It’s about the size of a charcoal briquet.
But the grate is sitting above the bowl, and when I put the lid on, it didn’t seal; there was about a 1/4” gap. And air coming through the bottom vent doesn’t have to go through the coals around the outside. I thought about this, then figured that a simple layer of heavy duty foil under just the Vortex opening would force air through the surrounding coals.
But what about the grate? And, the lid on the SJ jr. is pretty shallow; maybe a rack of ribs could go there, but nothing else. I had to think about it some more. And then I realized: YOU DON’T NEED THE GRATE. We are going to put our pork shoulder directly on the foil! The foil isn’t heated from below. The interior of the vortex will act like an oven, and our meat will get heated from all sides!
I put a ring of charcoal around the bottom. These are B&B; KBB are smaller, and would fit better.
Wood chunks would interrupt such a narrow, constricted snake. I put a layer of wood chips on top,
And then another ring of briquets. I stuck a couple firestarters in there,
And we have ignition! (Thank you forever, Secret Santa 2024!)
To monitor the pit temp, I’m going through the top vent. I think if I go between the clamshells, it will damage the probe when the flame reaches the wire.
Lower vent setting:
And It’s been holding just shy of 250° for a couple hours now.
I don’t expect it to run 12 hours, but I expect 5. At that point, adding coals to the snake might be work, idk. But does this work? Resoundingly, YES. And, if I were doing a pork shoulder here, I’d probably bump the temp up to 300-325°. Get some nice crispy bark on that sucker!
While putting stuff away, and trying to collapse and telescope stuff because Kettle accessories take up so much space, I realized something: the freakin’ Vortex fits perfectly inside a Smokey Joe Jr.
And see that gap? What size does that look like to you? EXACTLY. It’s about the size of a charcoal briquet.
But the grate is sitting above the bowl, and when I put the lid on, it didn’t seal; there was about a 1/4” gap. And air coming through the bottom vent doesn’t have to go through the coals around the outside. I thought about this, then figured that a simple layer of heavy duty foil under just the Vortex opening would force air through the surrounding coals.
But what about the grate? And, the lid on the SJ jr. is pretty shallow; maybe a rack of ribs could go there, but nothing else. I had to think about it some more. And then I realized: YOU DON’T NEED THE GRATE. We are going to put our pork shoulder directly on the foil! The foil isn’t heated from below. The interior of the vortex will act like an oven, and our meat will get heated from all sides!
I put a ring of charcoal around the bottom. These are B&B; KBB are smaller, and would fit better.
Wood chunks would interrupt such a narrow, constricted snake. I put a layer of wood chips on top,
And then another ring of briquets. I stuck a couple firestarters in there,
And we have ignition! (Thank you forever, Secret Santa 2024!)
To monitor the pit temp, I’m going through the top vent. I think if I go between the clamshells, it will damage the probe when the flame reaches the wire.
Lower vent setting:
And It’s been holding just shy of 250° for a couple hours now.
I don’t expect it to run 12 hours, but I expect 5. At that point, adding coals to the snake might be work, idk. But does this work? Resoundingly, YES. And, if I were doing a pork shoulder here, I’d probably bump the temp up to 300-325°. Get some nice crispy bark on that sucker!
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