This was my first attempt at using the Weber Jumbo Joe as a smoker. I kept a log of time and temperatures for this cook and found that I got very similar results on subsequent efforts.
I started with three and a half pound of real pretty beef short ribs. I coated the ribs with a standard beef rub (turbinado sugar, salt, black pepper, granulated garlic, granulated onion, chili powder) and let them sit in the refrigerator while I prepped the Jumbo.
I placed an 8 inch aluminum pan on the left side of the charcoal grate and banked a pile of charcoal on the right. I lit seven Kingsford briquettes in a chimney and placed them on top of the unlit charcoal in the grill. Three chunks of hickory were added as well.
I added a quart of hot water to the foil pan and placed the beef ribs on the grill grate over the pan. I added the water to add some moisture and act as a heat sink to help hold temperatures steady. The more I have played with the Jumbo I have realized that adding the water is a waste of time as the heat flows around and across the foil pan and not through it. You can add liquid to the pan if it makes you happy; I don’t bother.
The top and bottom air vents were set at 50% open; the lid was placed on the Jumbo with the air vent over the beef ribs.
Here are the ribs at two hours.
And here they are at four hours.
I should have let them cook for another hour or so to get them a little more tender but it was getting dark, I was hungry, they looked spectacular and the aroma was killing me. Here one is plated up in better light.
I used a digital thermometer and measured the temperature at the dome and the grate during the course of the cook. I consistently found the dome to be running about 30 degrees hotter than the grate. Below are the temperatures I recorded during the cook as well as afterwards when I wanted to keep playing. All temperatures were measured at the dome.
- 2:30 – Start
- 3:00 – 211F
- 3:30 – 246F Opened the grill to peek. Since it was open I added 3 unlit briquettes.
- 4:45 – 248F Added ten unlit briquettes.
- 7:00 – 276F Ribs looked delicious and I took them off the pit.
- 7:30 – 275F Just playing around now.
- 8:00 – 267F I stirred the coals and restacked with tongs.
- 8:30 – 257F Quit checking the grill and started playing with my family.
The big takeaway here is that you can easily pull off a six hour cook on the Jumbo Joe by setting the vents to 50% and doing a little basic charcoal management.
I had assumed that I would have a problem with ash buildup clogging the bottom air vent. In all of my low and slow cooks with the Jumbo this has not been an issue. I am using blue Kingsford; if you use an off brand of briquettes that has a higher ash content you might have problems. If I ever decide to try for a ten hour cook I will almost certainly switch over to lump charcoal.
You can perform long slow cooks on the Jumbo Joe with the standard charcoal grate. However it is easier to manage your charcoal if you upgrade your grate to either the hinged grate or, if you want to go high end, the Craycort.
Be sure to check out some other Weber Jumbo Joe Upgrades!