Smokey Joe Help


 
B

Brian Trommater

TVWBB Super Fan
I bought a smokey joe today to complete my weber family. I started with 30 kingsford coals lit in a chimney. I put a piece of corn and a pre nuked potato in with all vents open. Turned every 7 minutes three times and put a pork chop on. Not enough heat to cook chop. I currently have the lid off trying to heat up enough to cook chop. Not sure what I need to do next time?
 
Finally had to fire up the gasser to finish. The corn husk hardly got black. I have been a big fan of weber for many years. I have found myself cooking on my 22.5" charcoal kettle a lot more than the gasser lately and since I usually just cook for myself I thought I would get the smokey joe. If home depot would take this thing back used I would. I guess maybe try one more time with twice the coals.
 
is it a gold or a silver?

the gold has vents on the side, while the silver has vents at the bottom.

I've heard a lot of horror stories about grilling on the gold and not being able to hold any heat.
 
That's really odd. I would think 30 lit coals should have more than enough in a Smokey Joe. Were top and bottom vents open? That's the only thing I can think of.
 
30 to 40 minutes of burn time is all I get out of my SJ silver. Beyond that, and the fire has died down too much. There are times when I finish the cook and just let it go over night with all vents wide open, and have unburned (cold) charcoal in the morning.

I gotta say, though, it's my go to grill when cooking a steak for the wife and I. 20 briquets or so is all I use, and the steak is cooked to perfection!

JimT
 
It is the silver. All vents where open. It was pretty windy today. I will try it again using a few more coals and keep it out of the wind.
 
I know that my Smokey Joe cooks differently than my kettle does. It may have something to do with smaller air volume inside with the lid closed. So I make sure that the coals are cranked up pretty well before putting the lid on. If I see that things are cooling off I leave the lid off again until it gets up to temps again. I look at the Smokey Joe as a good portable grill to take on a picnic or for travel. But I would rather use my kettle even if just cooking for myself.
 
What I do is to is to put my lit charcoal off to one side directly underneath one of the side vents. You can then cook direct or indirect. Keep both side air vents open. When I put the cover on, cock the lid opposite the fire to allow more airflow. Since I have been doing this I get a steady hot fire.

Dan
 
I have some chicken wings to cook tomorrow. I will take suggestions and try again. I had bought my 22.5 at a garage sale for a $1 several years ago. Just put a new cooking grate in and has worked great. I wish now I would of put the money toward a new kettle. I am getting laid off soon so have to watch how much I spend.
 
Todays cook went much better. Wind much calmer today. Made some Pineapple Sriracha wings. Used more coals this time and made sure they they did not over burn in chimney. Placed lid slightly off center during cook. Wings turned out great. Perfect heat for them. Corn good just no char on it. Thanks for the help. Sorry for the messy plate.

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Looks great Brian, glad you got her up to temp!

I like to use lump in my SJS.
The cooks are usually pretty short since lump doesn't always last very long.

Ash build up can also be a problem with these little guys, and I plan to use Stubb's for my next SJ cook since they burn pretty hot with less ash than K.
 
I've got a SJ Silver, too. I've found that it works best to arrange the charcoal in a 'circular' pattern, leaving a hole in the middle directly over the bottom vent.
I haven't had a problem since I started doing it that way.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> I've found that it works best to arrange the charcoal in a 'circular' pattern, leaving a hole in the middle directly over the bottom vent.
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Brian, that's a good suggestion. I've had trouble keeping the coals lit even after they got red hot in the chimney. I'm going to give this one a try. Thanks!

Dan
 
I have fell in love with this grill. I think every grill has its own personality. I finally got this thing figured out and it cooks great. My poor gasser and kettle and not seen any action since I got this thing. Thanks again for all the help.
 
Good to hear things worked out with your Smokey Joe. I use mine a lot as well when I'm just cooking for 1-2 ppl. Use it tons for outings & tailgating too.
 
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