I'd do it again. Chicken came out pretty good. Things I would do different would be to dry brine the chicken overnight, like I typically do wings. Also let the rub sit a little longer and brush off the extra (black is from the burnt sugars in the rub).

Started with a full chimney, kinda poured it against the bowl all around and shimmy'd the vortex into the center. Originally tried to pour the coals around the vortex, but I was getting ash inside the vortex where the chicken was gonna sit (reason for the shimmy). After getting the lit coals in place, I put another ~6 handfuls of briquettes around the vortex and spread it as even as I could.

Wide open top and bottom vents. Per vortexs page, I rotated the lid 45deg every 20min. Pulled the chicken when the breast read 165F which took about an hour and 20min. Skin was crispy, breast was juicy. Its dark and cold outside, so I didn't see how much of a mess it made, but I did wrap the foil around the bottom of the vortex.

by kppaynter

4 Comments

  1. Shake_Ratle_N_Roll

    Interesting what was the reason for the foil on the bottom just for less mess?

  2. FartmanBreaux

    That looks like a waste of coals, not that it didn’t work , just a lot of coals

  3. I did this on NYDay with a prime rib roast and it was amazing. The foil at the bottom is to catch any drippings to use as gravy/au jus. It is a lot of charcoal, but I’ve used the leftovers for two subsequent cooks and still have a bit left for my next cook.

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