Smokey Joe now in colors in the US


 
Stefan H

Stefan H

TVWBB Guru
Not sure when Weber started this but according to their Website you can now get the Smokey Joe in color as well here in the US:
www.weber.com

Smokey Joe® Series | Portable Grills | Weber Grills

Grab your buddies, scoop up the Smokey Joe, and hit the road. The Smokey Joe allows you to travel with taste or grill up a quick meal on your patio. The compact size is perfect for any weekend getaway or spontaneous day at the beach.
www.weber.com www.weber.com
Good thing I sold my ivory one last year.
 
I absolutely love the smoke color, but couldn't justify a new full sized kettle. But this might be just the ticket.
 
I was just looking at these this morning. Is this the model with the poorly positioned vents that everyone complains about? I would love a small grill, especially in a nice color like crimson, but not if it doesn't work well.
 
Judging by the metal tabs where the lid bail goes into the bowl, I'd say yes. IIRC that vent design was first used on the original Jumbo Joe, which is why I haven't used mine in years.
 
J I remember years ago when the big thing on here was making Minis using a Smoky Joe and a tamale pot between the upper and lower parts of the Smoky Joe, effectively making a 14.5 WSM. Still have mine and it works great. Mine has the one bottom vent and I remember some saying that having the three side vents it did not work very well. with the air flow going over the top of the coals.
 
Bummer. Our vacations for the foreseeable future have changed. Road trips to VRBOs/AirBnBs that take pets. I want to get a little charcoal grill for those trips. I'll look at the GAC or perhaps modding the SJP with the vent and tray from the regular SJ.
 
The black one on the site were called SJ Silver with the vent on the bottom. It has an ash pan attached to the legs. The coloured ones with the side vents and the lid bale were called SJ Gold. I have both and the Silver with the bottom vent is a nice little grill but the Gold with side vents does not get as hot. It is fine like Rich said when I use it for my WSM mini so that is all I use it for. Too bad the colours do not come in the Silver model as it is better for grilling.
 
Richard in NS said:
The black one on the site were called SJ Silver with the vent on the bottom. It has an ash pan attached to the legs. The coloured ones with the side vents and the lid bale were called SJ Gold. I have both and the Silver with the bottom vent is a nice little grill but the Gold with side vents does not get as hot. It is fine like Rich said when I use it for my WSM mini so that is all I use it for. Too bad the colours do not come in the Silver model as it is better for grilling.
Click to expand...

That is some damn good information. Thank you for posting.
 
These look like the ones I saw in Germany...Yes I bought an Ivory one :coolkettle: ! I bought it for display only, but I have to say I wasn't impressed with that design compared to the old wood handle Smokey Joe I also display. That one has the bottom vent and also the welded traditional handle - not the "taco shell" one the newer one has. I have to wonder, though, if the US version has that charcoal grate with the ultra tight spacing.

German Ivory Smokey Joe and Stainless Steel kettle grate
IMG_3684.jpeg
Unusual German charcoal grate with pan below.
IMG_3685.jpeg
 
Jon Tofte said:
These look like the ones I saw in Germany...Yes I bought an Ivory one :coolkettle: ! I bought it for display only, but I have to say I wasn't impressed with that design compared to the old wood handle Smokey Joe I also display. That one has the bottom vent and also the welded traditional handle - not the "taco shell" one the newer one has. I have to wonder, though, if the US version has that charcoal grate with the ultra tight spacing.

German Ivory Smokey Joe and Stainless Steel kettle grate
View attachment 8338
Unusual German charcoal grate with pan below.
View attachment 8337
Click to expand...

That bottom one looks just like the bottom pan liner deal from the 14.5 WSM.
 
The issue was that ashes would plug up the bottom vent. So i came up with the can fix. But having bothe the sj and the gold, i found for the mini smoker, the gold worked the best. For grilling, the sj was great. Either way, just use what works for you. Its fun doing all this testing.
 
I bought a cheap used ivory Smokey Joe Premium in Germany last year and brought it with me. I was personally not impressed with the design of the vents on the side. This might work well for low and slow grilling or smoking but not for searing which was the main purpose I was looking for.
So I sold it again on ebay. A few crazy collectors were outbidding each other since back then these grills were not available in the US.
If I would ever get another Smokey Joe I would go for the base models with the vents at the bottom or with a Go-Anywhere. If one shows up cheap I might grab it.
 
I took the plunge. I just ordered an SJ Premium in Ivory along with a bottom vent and ash pan from the regular SJ.
 
I love the colored grills. So that means the SJ Premium (SJP) or nothing. I looked through the threads here, but the vast majority of photo links are busted. I wanted to see what a successful vent modification looked like, so a quick youtube search turned up this:


Her use of the tomato can to prevent ash blocking the vent is inspired. I think that is what George Curtis mentioned above. I have the step bit and have drilled my WSM before, so I'm confident it will go smoothly. I'll post a thread when I've finished it. The two parts needed for the modification are available from Weber.com, so no need to call customer service. Here are links to the parts in case anyone is interested:

https://www.weber.com/US/en/accessories/care/charcoal-grill-replacement-parts/65462.html

https://www.weber.com/US/en/accessories/care/charcoal-grill-replacement-parts/65461.html
 
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J, I have done the can trick and it works but I used a can opener and kept all the holes near the top as you want as much space as you can get when using it on a long cook on my WSM mini. See pics below.
If I am just doing high heat grilling I don’t use the can so try it first without.
C1747684-1ADA-4682-8C4F-5283DF9A061D.jpeg79CED8D1-F9D3-496D-8090-7FDA9D18651C.jpeg6DAC5101-FC63-48D9-8B28-721597E24F40.jpeg
One layer of charcoal will not give that much ash and I usually have the grate only 2/3 covered to leave me a cool spot if I need it. That amount of ash shown was using the coal basket below and it was full.
 
J Grotz said:
I took the plunge. I just ordered an SJ Premium in Ivory along with a bottom vent and ash pan from the regular SJ.
Click to expand...
I placed that order on July 21st. I received an email that it shipped yesterday, August 5th, 15 days later. I guess Weber prioritized shipping all of those beautiful Glen Blue 26ers. At least I should have it in time for a road trip in September. It shipped with Fedex, so maybe not.

Sorry, Grumpy J has pandemic fatigue.
 
Bob (FLbobecu) said:
Is that a charcoal basket for a smokey Joe?
Click to expand...


Bob, that is one I made from expanded steel to use in a Smokey Joe mini WSM project that I made using a tamale pot. See that section of the forum. This was a thing before Weber made the 14” WSM cooker or if you want one for less money. I got the metal from a scrap metal junkyard for a couple of bucks.
 
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