Smokey Joe is an excellent grill


 

Mike Neiner

TVWBB Member
I've been doing some cooking with SJS and reading about various concerns regarding performance (Temps primarily). I have not encountered these problems. This little grill rocks!

I've written about some of my experiences recently......

Smokey Joe Silver
 
I think if you look back through some of the posts, the people who have trouble maintaining temperature are talking about the Gold model. It has a different vent setup (sides instead of bottom), which makes maintaining temperatures tricky. I'm almost ready to trade in my gold for a silver, or at least put the gold into semi-retirement for travel only.
 
Agreed - I enjoy cooking on my SJS. I also use it to sit my charcoal starter on and to put a quick sear on some things that I've smoked on my WSM. And you can't beat the price - about $29 at Lowes or about $5 on Craigslist!

As Jake pointed out, most of the temp problems that people have written about are on the SJG, which doesn't have the bottom vent, and the SJP, or Jumbo Joe, which is the 18" version. I've modified two Jumbo Joes to install bottom vents and with that mod, they are awesome grills. The SJP and the SJG have a neat handle latch for traveling. I've been considering making that mod to my SJS so it can accompany us to Auburn games this fall.

Enjoy - the London Broil looked great, by the way.

Pat
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Mike Neiner:
This little grill rocks! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yeah Mike I love mine too. Great little cooker which I use several times a week. Perfect for a meal for two.
 
Last year when I bought my SJG I filled it up with lots of charcoal and, not understanding how to create a convection with the side vents, found the lump constantly going out when I put on the lid. Since then, I have found that you really can't put more than 1/2 to 3/4 (max) of a chimney's worth of coal into that baby. Plus, you really have to position the coals one of three different ways to get the convective current going. It does work, and probably more slowly than with a bottom vent, but it still cooks very well. But the cooking surface really is quite small.

I can't understand why the SJP was discontinued - that is a perfect size for when you want to feed three or four people.

I do think that the lack of a carrying handle on the SJS is a major problem: how do you safely move the darn thing when it's still hot? If they had put a small ash can under the SJG, one-touch style, that would have been the best little grill in the world, hands down.
 
I've done mods on two SJP's - one with a four hole vent and a carriage bolt to adjust, and one with a One Touch system. On both of them, I reshaped the legs to accommodate a stainless steel puppy dish as an ash catcher - I put a metal pie plate in the doggie dish to make the ask easier to empty. I gave one to my dad and one to my brother so I would have a decent grill to cook on when I go their houses.

The 18" OTS is a great little grill for one or two people, but its just not as mobile as the SJP.

Pat
 
i cut the legs down on the ots 18inch to 7 1/2 inches....with a bungee cord makes it very portable
icon_smile.gif
 
Actually, I think that if the SJG were designed even with the side vents, but having the vents positioned farther down, e.g. level with the charcoal grate, would have provided better intake venting. You can can get a decent convection going in a SJG as-is, but only if you position the coals in one of a couple of different ways.
 
thats what i keep telling folks to do.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Stan In Chi:
i cut the legs down on the ots 18inch to 7 1/2 inches....with a bungee cord makes it very portable
icon_smile.gif
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">having the vents positioned farther down, e.g. level with the charcoal grate, would have provided better intake venting. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Agreed. The coals need air from below to burn efficiently.
 
I just talked with a Weber rep yesterday about my SJG and the fact that when I put the lid on the coals start to go out. She said to try a different method for cooking on the SJG. She said to use half a chimney of briquettes, which I've been doing all along, but she said when you put them in the grill, add 8 unlit briquettes on top of the lit ones. Next, wait until the flames are higher than the cooking grate, then put your food on, which will get some searing action going. Then, put the cover on and finish your cook. I havent tried it, but it doesn't sound unreasonable. Also, as this has really frustrated me, could someone who has had luck with an unmodified SJG post a picture or two of some different charcoal arrangements that actually work on it? A picture is worth a thousand words. I would really like to use my SJG more often, and might end up with it as my only grill depending on where I end up moving to next.
 
Shawn,

I have in fact done up a diagram illustrating what works for me. Hope it can be of help to others as well.

SJG%20Convection%20Setup.jpg
 
A half starter of lit briquettes arranged as you have it in the 2nd diagram works well. I used my SJG as a "side burner" for my OTS, mostly for hot dogs while I cooked burgers on the OTS. I like to use direct heat (on the OTS) for searing and partial cook, and indirect to melt the cheese into the burgers and finish the cook. Works well, and with the two grills I can feed a considerable amount of people (12 guests on Sunday, there was food left over). Lots of compliments, all in all a good day.
 
I do a lot of slow indirect cooks on my SJG, and so recently I find myself using setup #1 the most: it affords the greatest vertical space between the cooking grate and the top of the lid. Also, I can fit a narrow drip pan in the middle, whereas with setup #2 I had a tough time finding a pan that would cover only half the grill with the coals banked only to one side. I also think that having the heat on either side (setup #1) makes for more even roasting.

That said, for searing steaks, I'd definitely go with setup #2 since it creates definite heat zones.

Glad the diagrams helped!
 
I had the SJG out again last night, and got my best results yet. Used all the half-burned charcoal I had left in Joe, plus everything that was in the charcoal baskets from the Performer. Worked out to almost a full chimney of partially burned charcoal. Got it lit in the chimney, then banked it between the vents on one side. With that volume of charcoal, it was touching the grill on that entire half of Joe.

Did a sort of modified reverse sear on a half-frozen ribeye (note: don't try this at home, kids. always thaw your steak thoroughly in the fridge before grilling). The point is, even after leaving the steak on the indirect side for 3-5 minutes per side, the fire was hot enough to sear with the lid on.

That being said, I think the amount of charcoal needed to get this result was way overkill for this tiny grill.
 
I just broke in the new SJS last night, and I am pleased with the results on the turkey burgers. I see how putting the lid on quickly cools the coals somewhat, but I think I just need some more time on it to learn how to tune it for every situ. Closing the vents does a good job of snuffing too. Nice little unit.
 
I did another cook on my SJG the other day - Cajun-rubbed chicken thighs.

Used ½ a chimney of maple hardwood briquettes, divided along the sides with a central drip tray (scheme #1 as per diagram above). There was a bit of a breeze going on, and frankly with full vents open, that chicken was sizzling and stayed sizzling for a long time. It worked really well.

For my own purposes, I can see the right coal setup negating any modifications to my SJG.
 
My wife and daughters have been out of town so I have been grilling out every night. I've been rotating the grills in my Weber garden - using all of them - but using my SJS more than the others because it is ideal for grilling for one or 2 people and because I wanted to do some experimenting.

So far I have pretty much experimented with the amount of coal to use (in my cooks- 1/2 chimney was about right - maybe a half chimney plus a bit) and how long the SJS would hold temperature with a grill therm dropped through one of the vent holes in the lid.

Some of my observations were: (1) - it helps to have a second charcoal grate when using lump charcoal because of some of the fines fall through the charcoal grate, they can clog the vent at the bottom of the charcoal bowl; (2) when the lid is put on over the food, it APPEARS that the temperature drops, but this seems to be because the food is in between the charcoal and the thermometer (when I rotate the lid to where the vent is not over the food, the temperature on the thermometer comes back up); (3) with between a half and 2/3rds of a chimney of lump, my SJS held a temperature in excess of 500 degrees, lid on, vents all the way open, for about an hour. After an hour, I shut the vents and went to bed. Undoubtedly it would have held acceptable grilling temperatures for a longer period, or if I had toyed with the vents to stabilize the charcoal temps at under 500 degrees initially, it would have held those temps for even longer.

Conclusions - great little grill for one or two people; the reports of temps declining after putting the lid on may be as a result of the food blocking the heat from the coals (or the food inhibiting the flow of air from the bottom vent thru the grill to the top vent - maybe don't fill the grill so full); temps will hold for plenty long to cook for over an hour without monkeying with the coals.

I've been "experimenting" with strip steak, ribeye steak and top sirloin steak (which was cheaper than hamburger meat when I went to the Pig to get some ground chuck earlier in the week). Tonight I would love to get off work in time to go by the fish market and get some tuna or other nice firm fish to cook - after all - you gotta be healthy!

Pat
 

 

Back
Top