What if I told you that you can have it all? That’s right--you can have the smoke flavor of the smoker, the crispiness of the deep fryer, and the convenience of using only one item to make them! The Vortex may be overpromising a bit with their 4 techniques, but the Ring of Wings technique alone makes this device a must have. My family has always loved wings, but there weren’t on the menu often because turning out big batches just wasn’t easy enough. With the Vortex, I can cook two days worth of wings in 1.5 hours including prep time and sides. Wings are on the menu every other week now and the Vortex has a semi-permanent home in one of my grills. Is the BBQ Vortex worth it? Yeah, it’s totally worth it. The BBQ Fuel Dome (Vortex) is a BBQ accessory that claims to enable you to cook on your BBQ in a variety of different ways: Smoking on a Kamado isn’t any lesser pain in the butt than low and slow cooking. Creating a 2-zone fire, however, is a bit easier–you just need to ignite and bank the briquettes off to one side. This method is the exact configuration as the previous. The difference is in the food placement. Radiant heat is channeled straight up. The area around the Vortex is shielded from much of the radiant heat, but still remains a high heat cooking zone via convection. The temp around the ring will hit 450-500 while using Coshell, slightly less with Kingsford.

I am yet to try Low and Slow together with Searing but I think both will work well. I will update this review once I try the Vortex with these methods. Next. we want to start a half chimney full of hot coals and once hot, we will place them inside the vortex. What you will have is a hot coal volcano that will make the temp of your grill extremely high (mine went to over 550 degrees).The BBQ Fuel Dome is made from high grade brushed stainless steel. I have had mine for 9 months and much of the time it is exposed to the elements but still looks and works great. I used thighs, which I prefer over breasts, as I think it is easier to cook and not dry out. It is the same when I do kebabs, but on occasion, I will do a mix of thigh and breast. Overall, I think the BBQ Vortex is a great accessory. A really simple concept and design but definitely one that works. For comparison, I made wings using several configurations. The first was two Weber baskets in the center with the ring of wings around it. These wings came out great, but they didn’t cook as evenly. Some wings charred quite a bit, while others had no char. Some wings were perfectly crispy/bite through, while others had a bit of chewy skin. My 2nd config was a two zone set up. Banked hot coals on one side, with the rest of the grill being cool zone. This was a LOT more work than the Vortex. I needed to move wings around quite a bit to keep them cooking evenly. My hands were sore from all of the tonging. The wings were, once again, mostly inconsistent. Here’s where a Kamado Grill addon, such as the BBQ Vortex, comes in. There are a plethora of kettle and kamado grill accessories promising to solve the same problem, that is, a hassle-free cooking experience on a kettle or kamado. And the BBQ Vortex is one of them.

According to many users, Vortex performs better than banking charcoal to one side and cooking the bird on the other side on the bottom grate. The bird in the Vortex cooked more evenly, though it took more time than the one cooked without it. With this method, the BBQ Vortex is used upside down – with the large opening facing up. The hot coals are placed around it instead of inside it, and the food stays on the grate directly above. The Vortex deflects the radiant heat and allows the food to cook indirect. After trimming, I scored them and then patted them dry before sprinkling them with sea salt. I placed them on a plate and put them in the fridge overnight to try to dry them out. The Dome can redirect the flow of heat up and around the meat which turns your kettle into an indirect 'smoker'.Verdit: The BBQ Vortex wins the wing competition hands down. This method alone makes the Vortex worth buying. Verdict on Indirect method? Not worth it. Banking or baskets is just too easy. There’s not enough, if any, benefit of using this method. The method for the coating was spot on, so a huge thank you to Ted. This will be the method I will follow in the future with this type of cook and also with other foods where you want a crispy coating. Wanting a bit of smokey flavor? No problem. Just place a chunk of wood directly over the Vortex onto the grill grate, and you’re good to go. Pro Tips

BBQ Vortex in action. It looks like a lampshade, eh?.The BBQ Vortex has been gaining tremendous popularity lately. It’s a simple steel cone that promises four unique uses in your grill. It comes in a few different sizes to fit your needs. This thing is rugged. The manufacturer takes pride in its USA-made, impurities-free, chemical-free stainless steel construction. You can roll or toss it around, and it won’t show any bents or dents. The weld is also seamless. How do you use it? This method is Volcano style, with the small opening on top. It creates a super high heat zone directly above the Vortex. When I first tested this method, the temps above the BBQ Vortex were only marginally higher than two full Weber baskets. I used a steel plate and an infrared thermometer to compare. Both the Vortex and the baskets brought the steel up into the 800 degree range using Coshell. This was very disappointing at first, but when I ran the test again using Kingsford, the results were very different. The sear zone over the vortex was once again crazy hot, right around 650-700 degrees, while the baskets barely hit 500. The BBQ Vortex DEFINITELY created a super hot sear spot. These methods are not 100% fail-safe and/or efficient. Besides, they require a lot of effort, time, and a steep learning curve to master. If you’re not that meticulous, you might be throwing the coals in haphazardly with varying degrees of results.

BBQ Vortex Review: Final Thoughts

For regular searing, cook both sides of the steaks over direct heat and then shift them to the sides to let them reach the desired temperature. For reverse searing, flip the tradition on its head–first, let the steaks come to the temperature and then cook them over the Vortex for a nice brown finish and crispy texture. Once the wings are separated, lay them on a baking sheet and sprinkle some wing seasoning on them. We used the Owens buffalo wing seasoning that came with our vortex but you can use any kind you want (or even our all purpose BBQ rub.) The makers of the Vortex list several BBQ stores that sell the vortex. A few of those stores have owners who are active here in our Weber Forum, so they’ll get the nod here. Owens BBQ, Mad Hunky Meats, and Big Poppa Smokers. You can also align it to one side of the kettle, just like the Slow n Sear accessory. The Vortex attaches to the barrel snugly. Using this configuration, you can cook and smoke larger pieces of meat, such as briskets, which the four traditional arrangements don’t allow. BBQ Vortex addons