More Chicken in the Vortex

Well ... like I mentioned in Whole Chicken in the Dutch Oven, I was pretty sure that next time I grilled a whole chicken I would do it in the Vortex ...

... Like I did in Whole Chicken in the Vortex ...

... and ... Another Whole Chicken in the Vortex ...

Lots of people say spatchcock is the best way to cook birds, but I have not found spatchcocking to make my birds turn out as good as cooking the whole thing upright like beer can chicken.

Cooking the bird upright on the kettle brings the top of the chicken close to the lid of the kettle, so at some point I decided to try to cook on the charcoal grate rather than the cooking grate.

The Vortex (or the Dutch Oven) protect the meat from too much direct heat while allowing the bird to be down with the coals.

This has turned out real well for me the times I've tried it.

So ... at this point, this is how I've decided to cook whole chickens.

I'd like to try this out with a turkey as well, but I guess we'll see how brave I get around Thanksgiving. I might try to buy a non-Thanksgiving Turkey at some point to test it out.

I've been drinking the 2023 version of Mardi Bock. It turned out great and I really like drinking it while grilling / smoking.

It is nice and clear with a nice malty bready flavor. It is a gorgeous dark red color.

It is a little higher in alcohol than generally I should be drinking while working with fire, but no beer is perfect I guess.

The chicken and Mardi Bock paired really nicely together.

As I was typing this, I did realize that I've never spatchcocked a chicken on my Weber. To be fair, I should probably give that a shot.

So, next time that might be what I do.

Anyway ...

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