The Weber Smokey Joe is a durable, useful grill that travels well - however there are a few features you should be aware of if you are considering purchasing one.
Thank you so much for posting this review. Im in a situation where i need something to cook on portably. And your review REALLY helped. Thank you again MoveableChef!
*Bought for my son. We have had one for years, works great. Can cook indirect and smoke meat. Done chicken, ribs, turkey, and the regular **MyBest.Kitchen** hot dogs and sausages. Excellent grill*
Thanks for the review. I have a few Weber grills. I more often choose to take the jumbo joe over the smokey joe for car camping, picnics and beach trips primarily because of the larger size. Although it may seem a bit awkward at face value, it has been awesome! I feel that the slightly larger “joe” can handle the two heat zones better than the little smokey (which is a great option when wanting to cook more than burgers and hot dogs). Both are great - I haven’t tried the gold smokey joe yet... kind of a strange set up though. Either way: can’t go wrong with a Weber! Thanks again!
Thanks for the great info! I'm about to get one and want the gold for it's design considerations (handle lock, no ashes from bottom) but really want air under the coals. What do you think of a home made duct out of copper pipe from the vent to beneath the coals? I have some design ideas to make it convenient but it's more detail than can fit in a comment. I can make it but I don't know if it will work. Do you think the coals would be able to draw air through a passive duct (no fan)?
Hi, thanks for watching. Having used the Gold more, I have to say that it burns more evenly and better than expected with the top mounted vents (using lump charcoal). I haven't really had any issues, and being able to lock the lid down has come in handy. I understand what you are proposing - but I'm not sure you would get the draw with a passive vent, particularly at first when you have just lit it, and you don't have much convection occurring. It would require 2 90 degree (or close) bends.
I was gifted a SMJ Silver. Love it and use it on the porch when the weather is still kind of cold. I was thinking of trying the Gold but realized I don't need it. I just place a small metal pan in the ash catcher on the silver, and when I'm done grilling, I dump it, close all the vents, and I'm done. The only thing I wish it had was the handle lock, but I'm fine without it if the trade off means better air flow from the bottom vents. Plus, I am thinking of just adding the handle lock, minus the side vents, but I don't really need to. Great review by the way.
You can buy the SMJ Gold and then order a damper replacement part and modify it to be a combination of the Silver and the Gold. I just got the Gold unit and plan to order the part to do the mod.
@@davidkeller2832 HI I ended up getting a SJG and drilled holes and added the bottom damper and ash catcher. Now I have the side vents, lid holder/lock, and bottom vents. Best of both worlds.
I bought the gold and ordered a bowl vent and an ash catch pan from a silver, drilled 4 vent holes on the bottom and BAM!.....the best of both worlds.👍
Did you apply any hi-temp grill paint on the edges of the drilled holes? I was just thinking about how the drilling bares some metal and leads to rust down the road. Granted, good maintenance will make these grills last a long time and they aren't expensive.
I ended up buying the Smokey Joe Gold. Added the bottom vents of the Silver. Now I have both the side vents, the bottom vents, the lid holder, and a locking lid. It's great. I love it and use it whenever it's warm enough outside(at least 40 degrees). I took it to the lake front and it was perfect.
+Marco Varguez ordered a step drill from Amazon for about $12, also got some cutting oil though you won't need much, and some masking tape and a marker to mark the holes. it's actually pretty easy and the difference is a much hotter grill, and when you don't want to spill any ash, just close it. also, just get a cheap pie pan for the ash catcher, drill a hole in the middle, and you're good to go. and now you have e both the side and bottom vents along with the lid holder and lid lock.
I have been searching for differences between Silver and Gold. Finally, someone cared enough to explain them. Not even the websites that have them for order (at least not the one I was looking at) really detailed the differences. Thank you for this video. It was very helpful. Question: This looks like the perfect grill for a one person meal. Can you still slow cook on this size grill? If I bought a whole chicken, could I slow cook it on the Smokey Joe or would I need a larger grill for low and slow?
Hi Mindy, thanks. Slow cook is a relative term. Yes, you could do a chicken at 350-ish degrees for an hour or so. I would bank the coals, and perhaps put a loaf pan or something similar in the middle to keep them banked (fill it with water to prevent flame ups too). Or you could splatchcook the chicken, which is faster and cooks more evenly. I thought I had a recipe for that at themoveablechef.com but I just looked and I guess I didn't post it. I'll get around to that, but basically you cut out the backbone with kitchen shears and flatten it. I've done whole and splatchcooked chickens on the Smokey Joe and they turned out great. Google splatchcooked or "chicken and a brick". True low and slow, like 4 hours for ribs or 7 hours for a pork shoulder will be out of the range of a Smokey Joe. The good news is that you can cheat it and get 90% of the results. Start out with a ton of smoke, go for an hour or two, and then move to a 225-250 degree oven. America's Test Kitchen has a great article on cheating the low and slow smoker for BBQ.
I liked you review, however I have been looking for a grill to use in my RV. I prefer the gold because of the locking lid for transport in the RV, but I like the bottom vent of the silver. I was not aware of the jumbo which has both features, although it is a little large for the RV. What a dilemma! I have found some other grills that have locking lids and lower vents, but are not as robust as the weber! Thanks for your review!
i have one of these little guys and love it, but hate that it cant do much with the lid on due to poor air flow but works great with lid off. how ever these can be turned into incredible smokers when paired with a tamale pot.
drill some holes on the silver and exchange the parts. with that said I still have to take the lid off on either to keep fire hot. next time I grill I'm going to try using the recommended peices of coal. 30 for food that cooks under 20 minutes with coal directly under food. and 9 on each side by the vents for meat with bones cooking indirectly
The bends would affect draw, and the easier path for the air would just be to leak through the lid and circulate - defeating the purpose. Having said all that, I'm always down for a cool experiment so if you try anything (or vice versa) come back here and post it. I may have some left over copper fitting to experiment with.... If the size isn't too much, the 18" version, the Jumbo Joe, has both the lid lock and the bottom vents with ash catcher.
The smokey joe gold is WORTHLESS!!! I'll never ever understand why weber doesn't just make the smokey joe silver with the lid locking ring???!!!! I love my weber grills but the smokey joe gold is junk. Get the jumbo joe or smokey joe silver, both great grills.
Wow - perfect review! Concise, informative, to-the-point, practical and no BS. My decision is made. Thank you!
Perfect? He doesn't even freakin' use it in the video.
Thank you so much for posting this review. Im in a situation where i need something to cook on portably. And your review REALLY helped. Thank you again MoveableChef!
*Bought for my son. We have had one for years, works great. Can cook indirect and smoke meat. Done chicken, ribs, turkey, and the regular **MyBest.Kitchen** hot dogs and sausages. Excellent grill*
Very helpful info, thank you. I'm sold on the Silver.
Very concise review! You should review everything I wanna buy.
Thanks for the review. I have a few Weber grills. I more often choose to take the jumbo joe over the smokey joe for car camping, picnics and beach trips primarily because of the larger size. Although it may seem a bit awkward at face value, it has been awesome! I feel that the slightly larger “joe” can handle the two heat zones better than the little smokey (which is a great option when wanting to cook more than burgers and hot dogs).
Both are great - I haven’t tried the gold smokey joe yet... kind of a strange set up though.
Either way: can’t go wrong with a Weber!
Thanks again!
great review and comparison with the conventional smokey joe with the bottom air-regulator
I've got this but without the handle,it cooks brilliant,I've done steaks and sausages and ribs,no problems,it works!
Very helpful info, thank you.
Excellent review!
Thanks for the great info!
I'm about to get one and want the gold for it's design considerations (handle lock, no ashes from bottom) but really want air under the coals.
What do you think of a home made duct out of copper pipe from the vent to beneath the coals? I have some design ideas to make it convenient but it's more detail than can fit in a comment.
I can make it but I don't know if it will work. Do you think the coals would be able to draw air through a passive duct (no fan)?
I have a Smokey Joe jumbo (its my only BBQ ) and have had it for 10years , love it have feed as many as10 people at once . 10 thumbs up
Hi, thanks for watching.
Having used the Gold more, I have to say that it burns more evenly and better than expected with the top mounted vents (using lump charcoal). I haven't really had any issues, and being able to lock the lid down has come in handy.
I understand what you are proposing - but I'm not sure you would get the draw with a passive vent, particularly at first when you have just lit it, and you don't have much convection occurring. It would require 2 90 degree (or close) bends.
I was gifted a SMJ Silver. Love it and use it on the porch when the weather is still kind of cold. I was thinking of trying the Gold but realized I don't need it. I just place a small metal pan in the ash catcher on the silver, and when I'm done grilling, I dump it, close all the vents, and I'm done. The only thing I wish it had was the handle lock, but I'm fine without it if the trade off means better air flow from the bottom vents. Plus, I am thinking of just adding the handle lock, minus the side vents, but I don't really need to. Great review by the way.
You can buy the SMJ Gold and then order a damper replacement part and modify it to be a combination of the Silver and the Gold. I just got the Gold unit and plan to order the part to do the mod.
@@davidkeller2832 HI I ended up getting a SJG and drilled holes and added the bottom damper and ash catcher. Now I have the side vents, lid holder/lock, and bottom vents. Best of both worlds.
@@PartyUpLive I just completed the same mod last week. Now I just need to learn how to grill properly.
thank you, informative
great review man! thank you
365Hustle Thanks!
Great video cheers
I bought the gold and ordered a bowl vent and an ash catch pan from a silver, drilled 4 vent holes on the bottom and BAM!.....the best of both worlds.👍
Did you apply any hi-temp grill paint on the edges of the drilled holes? I was just thinking about how the drilling bares some metal and leads to rust down the road. Granted, good maintenance will make these grills last a long time and they aren't expensive.
I ended up buying the Smokey Joe Gold. Added the bottom vents of the Silver. Now I have both the side vents, the bottom vents, the lid holder, and a locking lid. It's great. I love it and use it whenever it's warm enough outside(at least 40 degrees). I took it to the lake front and it was perfect.
How did u add the bottom vents bro?
+Marco Varguez ordered a step drill from Amazon for about $12, also got some cutting oil though you won't need much, and some masking tape and a marker to mark the holes. it's actually pretty easy and the difference is a much hotter grill, and when you don't want to spill any ash, just close it. also, just get a cheap pie pan for the ash catcher, drill a hole in the middle, and you're good to go.
and now you have e both the side and bottom vents along with the lid holder and lid lock.
+PartyUpLive Gaming ohhhh okay cool thanks for the info
+Marco Varguez no problem. it really is easy and definitely worth it.
Nice mods!
I have been searching for differences between Silver and Gold. Finally, someone cared enough to explain them. Not even the websites that have them for order (at least not the one I was looking at) really detailed the differences. Thank you for this video. It was very helpful.
Question: This looks like the perfect grill for a one person meal. Can you still slow cook on this size grill? If I bought a whole chicken, could I slow cook it on the Smokey Joe or would I need a larger grill for low and slow?
Hi Mindy, thanks.
Slow cook is a relative term. Yes, you could do a chicken at 350-ish degrees for an hour or so. I would bank the coals, and perhaps put a loaf pan or something similar in the middle to keep them banked (fill it with water to prevent flame ups too). Or you could splatchcook the chicken, which is faster and cooks more evenly. I thought I had a recipe for that at themoveablechef.com but I just looked and I guess I didn't post it. I'll get around to that, but basically you cut out the backbone with kitchen shears and flatten it. I've done whole and splatchcooked chickens on the Smokey Joe and they turned out great. Google splatchcooked or "chicken and a brick".
True low and slow, like 4 hours for ribs or 7 hours for a pork shoulder will be out of the range of a Smokey Joe. The good news is that you can cheat it and get 90% of the results. Start out with a ton of smoke, go for an hour or two, and then move to a 225-250 degree oven. America's Test Kitchen has a great article on cheating the low and slow smoker for BBQ.
I liked you review, however I have been looking for a grill to use in my RV. I prefer the gold because of the locking lid for transport in the RV, but I like the bottom vent of the silver. I was not aware of the jumbo which has both features, although it is a little large for the RV. What a dilemma! I have found some other grills that have locking lids and lower vents, but are not as robust as the weber! Thanks for your review!
Weber really needs to make the smokey joe silver with the locking lid handle!
Thanks!
i have one of these little guys and love it, but hate that it cant do much with the lid on due to poor air flow but works great with lid off. how ever these can be turned into incredible smokers when paired with a tamale pot.
Thanks
Ive got a cheapo copy of this grill which I bought from Tesco for £10, does the job.
My point exactly
drill some holes on the silver and exchange the parts. with that said I still have to take the lid off on either to keep fire hot. next time I grill I'm going to try using the recommended peices of coal. 30 for food that cooks under 20 minutes with coal directly under food. and 9 on each side by the vents for meat with bones cooking indirectly
also cheap charcoal many binders
The bends would affect draw, and the easier path for the air would just be to leak through the lid and circulate - defeating the purpose. Having said all that, I'm always down for a cool experiment so if you try anything (or vice versa) come back here and post it. I may have some left over copper fitting to experiment with....
If the size isn't too much, the 18" version, the Jumbo Joe, has both the lid lock and the bottom vents with ash catcher.
I find the gold is much better. The silver with ashtray on the bottom the fire goes out when the lid is on
The jumbo joe has no bottom vent either though.
The smokey joe gold is WORTHLESS!!! I'll never ever understand why weber doesn't just make the smokey joe silver with the lid locking ring???!!!! I love my weber grills but the smokey joe gold is junk. Get the jumbo joe or smokey joe silver, both great grills.
I don't know. A charcoal grill review should include some actual charcoal grilling. Am I crazy?
Nope, you are just mad
I cannot keep my coals hot in this model, even after I drilled additional holes in the bottom. My coals go out
That really sounds like damp charcoal. You can't even store charcoal outside, the ambient moisture is enough to ruin them
thought he was going to review this one not about other kinds
sounds like you bought the wrong grill boss
these do not burn hot enough...useless with lid on.
I just got one. Very disappointed with the purchase. it doesn't work. the fire goes out. don't waste your money.