S J. Gold Mini WSM Smoker


 
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Made some changes to mine. I bought a clay base, like others have, and moved the thermometer to the lid vs in the belly. I have a turkey breast on there now, and I defintely prefer to have the thermometer on the top vs in the belly. Here's why...

1. I am 6' 3" and its just easier to see.
2. Because I was baptized on a kettle, I am used to seeing the higher temps.
3. Lastly and most importantly, the thermo is right by the smoke hole, so I know the hot air is going right by the thermometer...

Man cooking on this little thing is a blast because it just works. And its portable...

This is the most expensive piece of weber equipment I own, (I have two 22.5 Kettles which I got for $10!!!) and this little thing keeps me amazed....

J
 
Originally posted by JHunter:
Made some changes to mine. I bought a clay base, like others have, and moved the thermometer to the lid vs in the belly. I have a turkey breast on there now, and I defintely prefer to have the thermometer on the top vs in the belly. Here's why...

1. I am 6' 3" and its just easier to see.
2. Because I was baptized on a kettle, I am used to seeing the higher temps.
3. Lastly and most importantly, the thermo is right by the smoke hole, so I know the hot air is going right by the thermometer...

Man cooking on this little thing is a blast because it just works. And its portable...

This is the most expensive piece of weber equipment I own, (I have two 22.5 Kettles which I got for $10!!!) and this little thing keeps me amazed....

J
Click to expand...

I'm feeling the same way about this little monster!
 
The smoked Turkey breast came out PERFECT. I little over two hours, and we had the juiciest piece of turkey I have ever eaten. The kids thought it was impossible to have a juicy turkey, well they know better now!!!

Took about 2.5 hours to cook a 16lb Turkey breast, at 300 degrees. The temps did drop after the air stopped circulating due to the ash. I think the SJG is the way to go because of the ash deposits into the bottom of the cooker. Also no ash droppings out the bottom while cooking.

Dinner was running late but I will take some updated pictures later.
 
Originally posted by Brian Moriarty:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by JHunter:
Made some changes to mine. I bought a clay base, like others have, and moved the thermometer to the lid vs in the belly. I have a turkey breast on there now, and I defintely prefer to have the thermometer on the top vs in the belly. Here's why...

1. I am 6' 3" and its just easier to see.
2. Because I was baptized on a kettle, I am used to seeing the higher temps.
3. Lastly and most importantly, the thermo is right by the smoke hole, so I know the hot air is going right by the thermometer...

Man cooking on this little thing is a blast because it just works. And its portable...

This is the most expensive piece of weber equipment I own, (I have two 22.5 Kettles which I got for $10!!!) and this little thing keeps me amazed....

J
Click to expand...

I'm feeling the same way about this little monster! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Nice pics Brian!! Done any low n slow cooks yet? Cooked a mini 6lb butt on Friday...no pics...was okay, made Katie happy!

Congrats on TOY!!
 
ash problem can be dealt with by putting holes in the side of a can that is put over the vent holes. size is 4x2. when installed the open end is down and the closed side is up. holes will be just under the closed end. works great.
 
Originally posted by george curtis:
ash problem can be dealt with by putting holes in the side of a can that is put over the vent holes. size is 4x2. when installed the open end is down and the closed side is up. holes will be just under the closed end. works great.
Click to expand...

George you have a picture of that?
 
Originally posted by JHunter:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by george curtis:
ash problem can be dealt with by putting holes in the side of a can that is put over the vent holes. size is 4x2. when installed the open end is down and the closed side is up. holes will be just under the closed end. works great.
Click to expand...

George you have a picture of that? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

There were a few posted a few pages back here
http://tvwbb.com/eve/forums/a/...23/m/5870049575/p/13
Also, here is something interesting on how these pots are probably made... http://youtu.be/0RY0cjSUPGg
New to the forums, love the thread, want to make one, still scouring all the Targets and Walmarts for the right pot.
 
Originally posted by Steve M:
New to the forums, love the thread, want to make one, still scouring all the Targets and Walmarts for the right pot.
Click to expand...

Go to your local hispanic store. I did a search and found the pots at two stores. But the 32qt one was at the second store. I am thinking the pots are about $30 now...

Jay
 
5 lb butt in the mini smoker, added charcoal at 6 hr mark . Came out great

efe28468.png
 
Originally posted by JHunter:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by John Ford:
5 lb butt in the mini smoker, added charcoal at 6 hr mark . Came out great
Click to expand...

John,

What charcoal are you using and how much did you use? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I used royal oak briquettes ( often on sale locally ) I ditched the charcoal ring & filled the grill completely bout 20 lit in one side.
The SJG actually has enough room below the grate to burn a long time. Only problem is for poultry I can't get temp above 275 F .
 
Originally posted by John Ford:

...Only problem is for poultry I can't get temp above 275 F .
Click to expand...

Lump.

With Kingford, my SJG usually settles in around 290-300 with the vents wide open the entire time. With Lump, it gets closer to 325-350.
 
Originally posted by John Ford:
I used royal oak briquettes ( often on sale locally ) I ditched the charcoal ring & filled the grill completely bout 20 lit in one side.
The SJG actually has enough room below the grate to burn a long time. Only problem is for poultry I can't get temp above 275 F .
Click to expand...

I got up to 325, but I did the following:

1. Used Stubbs Briquettes
2. Loaded up the SJS with briquettes
3. Dumped half a chimney of fully lite briquettes on top of the full load of briquttes.
4. Lit briquettes were spread around so the entire pile burned.
5. Probably got around 3 hour burn with the temp fluctuatating between 250 - 350 (as the ash clogged/cleared the opening).
 
I'm confused. Why would you want a smoker (low and slow) to reach such a high temperature? I would like to be able to get mine even lower (200-210 is the current controlable minimum) for fish. When I want to 'smoke' something at 300 degrees, I use the big weber, indirect, double rack for volume, and throw some soaked wood chips in for flavor. IMHO this project was for a smoker to emulate the 'big boys' here in the south. Coming out of Northern Minnesota, smoking was for fish and any time we BBQ'd, it was truly grilling. Too cold to wait around for 12 hours for something to cook. I am trying to quickly master what they have known for generations down here, ribs for 12 hours, butts for 30. So many pigs, so little time....
 
Originally posted by John Ford:
My family gave me lots of grief about he colors of my mini nick naming the " dirty bird"
So to keep peace in my family of Saints fans I repainted in black & gold.

299aa7bc.jpg
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wow, are you guys spray painting these or brushing? it looks brushless.
 
PJ many people smoke poultry @ 325-350 because they like crisper skin.
danmarks high heat engine enamel in spray cans. VHT is the brand
 
so the only means to have a smokey joe from weber become a smoker, is to do a selfmade mod. as of 12/04/2010 there still isnt any manufacturer that offers a mass made conversion kit, is that right? it looks like the bandit is for converting a kettle 22" grill. i'm looking for something to give me some efficiency in coal usage when im just smoking 1-2 butts for 12-15hrs, or 25 wings for 3 hrs etc. I know that my 18" wsm can do an overnight smoke in spring /summer btw w/ 1 fill of the coal ring which may be about 10lbs of kingsford coal, the personal mod for the smokey joe only goes about 6hrs on its full fill of coal? would cause for an interrupted sleep night though.
 
Dan mine will go bout 6- 6 1/2 hours on a load.
Mine is geared for tailgating, the pot bottom is my heat shield, the pot carries my charcoal, wood chunks, etc.
I think if you cut out the pot bottom as most do , you can add enough charcoal to go 8 hrs +
 
Originally posted by PJ Mielke:
I'm confused. Why would you want a smoker (low and slow) to reach such a high temperature? I would like to be able to get mine even lower (200-210 is the current controlable minimum) for fish. When I want to 'smoke' something at 300 degrees, I use the big weber, indirect, double rack for volume, and throw some soaked wood chips in for flavor. IMHO this project was for a smoker to emulate the 'big boys' here in the south.
Click to expand...

Reason why I wanted 300-325 was for crispier chicken skin.

Reason I built this smoker is so that I could do two buts or 6 rack of ribs, while keeping my weber grill free to cook other things.

The other reason I built it was so that I could have a cool project to do.

I spray canned the paint on my SJS smoker. I used Rustoleum High heat paint. Probably about 2-3 light coats. It dries fast so I was done painting in about 30 minutes. It took more time to tape up the handles properly than to paint.

I went back and cut the bottom out of mine because I wanted the option of high heat or low/slow. If I want low slow I start fewer coals, if I want high heat I add more coals.

I found that with the partial bottom, and brick that I did initially the smoker took a long time to get hot. Now it gets hot a lot faster with the open bottom.

Its a fun cooker...
 
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