I think I could ‘fry’ chicken on my grill using the Vortex every day of the week. The possibilities are endless but the results are always fantastic. Crunchy skin and tender, juicy meat. I prefer to use bone-in chicken thighs, with the skin on. They have the most flavor and are the most tender. The coating is simple. This time, for a change, I drizzled the fried chicken with a bit of honey. Honey fried chicken using the Vortex was crazy good.
Just Sweet Enough
Since the honey adds a good bit of sweetness to the chicken you might want to offset that a bit by adding a bit of heat. A little cayenne pepper in the dredge will get you that. Or try chipotle powder for a little kick and little smokiness. Just don’t skip the honey. After all, you’re making honey fried chicken using the Vortex. And if you want, you can make a spicy version too!
Also try my buttermilk fried chicken using the Vortex and my Amish fried chicken.
Honey Fried Chicken using the Vortex
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8-10 chicken thighs bone-in, skin-on (or whatever cuts you prefer)
- Vegetable oil
For the brine
- 4 cups buttermilk
- 1 tablespoons kosher salt
- 1 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon paprika
For the dredge
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ tablespoon kosher salt
- ½ tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 2 tablespoons garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons onion powder
For serving
- 1 cup honey warmed (thinned with a splash of water if desired)
Instructions
- Place the chicken into a large resealable container.
- Whisk together the brine ingredients and add to the chicken.
- Refrigerate for 4 hours.
- Fire up your Vortex. Fill it completely with charcoal and let them get good and hot.
- Combine the dredge ingredients in a large pie pan or resealable baggie.
- Working in batches, remove chicken from brine. Shake off the excess then coat in the dredge (if using a bag just put 2-3 pieces in at a time, seal, and shake to coat).
- Transfer to the grill around the Vortex.
- Cook for approximately 45 minutes or until the chicken reaches 165 F as measured in several places. Optionally, turn the lid every 15 minutes. I’ve found that on smaller grills turning the lid isn’t necessary, but on a 26″ grill you might want to turn it.
- Brush chicken very lightly with the oil and let cook another 5 minutes.
- Remove and drizzle with the warmed honey. Serve.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are approximate.
