Whole Chicken in the Vortex

So ... if you've been following along for the past couple of weeks, you might remember that I've been using a (knockoff version) Vortex in my Weber Kettle for some of my weekend meals.

I've done Chicken Thighs and Steaks with corn.

One of the specific reasons I asked for a Vortex was based on a Weber Kettle Facebook group post I saw awhile ago where someone cooked a whole chicken inside the cone with charcoal surrounding it.

The main advantage to this (at least in my mind) is that the chicken can sit upright without being in danger of hitting the top of the kettle lid.

In my experience, whole chickens seem to turn out best when sitting upright like this.

So, on Saturday, I got to try this Vortex configuration with a whole chicken I had thawed from my freezer.

I placed aluminum foil on the bottom to catch chicken grease to hopefully help in cleanup.

Then, I placed a non-alcoholic beer can in my beer can holder and the chicken on top of that. The whole thing fit perfectly inside the Vortex.

And ... I let it cook for a couple of hours with apple and pecan wood to give a little smoke flavor.

It was a beautiful day to cook in the back yard.

The yard bird cooked a bit slower than last time I cooked a whole chicken, but nothing too concerning.

The cooking temperature stayed nice and consistent at 375ish or so.

The bird turned out beautifully. I don't think it turned out quite as good as the Infusion Roaster Chicken I made last time, but it was pretty good.

I think I'll have to try both ways again. Bookmark Sheppy's Blog: Chicken, and you can see how those turn out.

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Go Cubs Go!