The comparison of the Weber Jumbo Joe versus the Weber Smokey Joe is simple.  The Weber Jumbo Joe is better in every single aspect.

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I own a Weber Smokey Joe Gold and I love it; I am not a “hater” of the Smokey Joe.  But the simple fact is that the Weber Jumbo Joe has made the Smokey Joe irrelevant.  In my opinion there are only three reasons to consider buying a Weber Smokey Joe.

1. You want to add a Smokey Joe to your Weber collection.
2. You want to make a mini-WSM with the Tamale Pot Modification.
3. You found one for $5 at a garage sale.

Read on for a head to head comparison of the Jumbo Joe against the Smokey Joes and I’ll try to convince you.

By the way, I am not the only person that loves this grill.  Below is a snapshot of the reviews that a ton of other folks have left for the Jumbo on Amazon.

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Size:  The grill grate for both Smokey Joes (Silver and Gold) has a diameter of 14.5 inches compared to 18.5 inches on the Jumbo.  The difference between 14.5 and 18.5 inches is deceptively large on a circular grill as it translates into a cooking area of 165 square inches on the Smokey Joe and 268 square inches on the Jumbo.  That is, the Jumbo Joe has 62% more cooking room than the Smokey Joe.

Portability:  The Weber Jumbo Joe has a swinging metal band that serves two purposes.  When the grill is in use you can put the band is in the horizontal position and use it as a lid holder.  You can rotate the band 90 degrees to the vertical position and it locks onto the lid holding it in place.  The ability to lock the lid makes it very easy to pick up the Weber Jumbo Joe and carry it somewhere.  The Jumbo was designed to be a portable grill.  This feature is NOT present on the Smokey Joe Silver.  This feature is present on the Smokey Joe Gold.

Performance: This is a subtle but important detail.  The Smokey Joe Gold has the same lid locking portability features as the Jumbo Joe but the two grills have extremely different designs as related to air flow.

Specifically, the Jumbo Joe has the air intake vent located at the base of the kettle.  The location of the air intake means that air enters the bottom of the kettle, flows through the charcoal and then out the top of the dome.  This is the same configuration utilized on every Weber kettle EXCEPT the Smokey Joe Gold.

The air intakes for the Smokey Joe Gold is are on the sides of the kettle slightly above the charcoal grate.  The location of the air intake means that air enters the side of the kettle, flows across the charcoal and then out of the top of the dome.

How the air interacts with the charcoal is a fundamental factor in how the grill performs.  I have read several forum threads with people being very frustrated with their ability to control the fire in their Smokey Joe Gold.  I am not stating that the configuration of the Gold is flawed.  I just want to point out that the Gold has a very different configuration than any other Weber kettle currently on the market and it takes a while to learn.

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On a historical note….

The side location of the air vents on the Smokey Joe Gold is also found on the Weber GoAnywhere (a non-kettle grill) and was also found on the previous version of the Jumbo Joe, the Smokey Joe Platinum.

The air intake location on these grills was strategic as it was meant to minimize the potential of accidental fires while using these grills on camping trips, etc.  With the air intake on the side of the grill and slightly above the charcoal grate the possibility of a hot coal or ember falling through the air intake and onto the ground (and starting a fire) is eliminated.  This was a built in “safety feature” that was marketed as increasing the “portability” of these grills.

The Weber Stephens Company patented this concept in 1985 (US 4,535,749).  If you are a patent geek like me you can download a copy of the Smokey Joe Gold patent here.

If you think the Weber Jumbo Joe is the right grill for you then you can buy one from Amazon with free shipping.

Canadian Bacon is so incredibly easy to make that it’s silly.  It is also very delicious which makes for an attractive combination!!  Here is how I made a batch of Canadian Bacon on my Weber Jumbo Joe.

 

I started with a 3.5 pound pork loin and removed the fat cap and silverskin.  The trimming is optional but just takes a minute to perform.

 

The trimmed pork loin was then rubbed with a cure mix that contained Morton Tenderquick and brown sugar.  You are going to use 1 tablespoon of MTQ and one teaspoon of brown sugar per pound of pork.  Get the cure well mixed all over the pork loin; really press it into the surface of the meat and then place it in a large Ziploc bag.

 

I juiced the flavor of this batch up by adding a quarter cup of maple syrup to the bag.

At this point expel as much air out of the bag as you can, seal it up and place it in the refrigerator for 6-7 days.  After a day or two you will see a lot of liquid pooling in the bag.  It is a good idea to flip the bag around and let everything get mixed up about once a day.

After your 6-7 days are up remove the pork loin from the Ziploc bag, rinse it off with cold water and pat it dry with paper towels.  I gave this one a heavy coating of black pepper before it went on the Jumbo.  You do not have to add any rub if you don’t feel like it.  If you do want to add another flavor layer don’t use a rub with any salt in it; the cured pork already has all the salt it needs.

I set up the Weber Jumbo Joe with the charcoal banked to one side (actually I was using a charcoal basket).  Most of the basket was filled with unlit coals and I added about ten lit briquettes to the top with a pair of metal tongs.  I added a handful of pecan chips to the charcoal, placed the pork loin on the indirect side of the grill and closed the lid.  The bottom and top air vents were both HALFWAY open.  The top air vent was placed over the pork.

 

I let the pork smoke for about three hours until it reached an internal temp of 155F.  The slow cooking isn’t needed to break down connective tissue like needed for a pork butt.  You could do this hot and fast if pressed for time.  The low and slow approach just gives the pork more time to soak up some smoke flavor.

 

The hinged grate I used in this cook (and all of the Low and Slows) does not come with the Weber Jumbo Joe.

 

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Update 5/23/13:  The rest of this post is the cheap and long way of grilling pizza.  I no longer use this method because I am getting much better and faster results with the Kettle Pizza.

Grilling pizzas on the Weber Jumbo Joe is a snap once you figure out the basic strategy.  The grill grate is too close to the charcoal to grill a pizza directly on the surface.  You need to provide a shield against the direct heat as well as elevate the cooking surface away from the charcoal.  I have had the best results grilling pizza on the Weber Jumbo Joe by placing an eleven inch rectangular aluminum pan (disposable) on the grill grate and resting a pizza stone on top of the pan.

 

All of my experiments have involved regular crust pepperoni pizzas.  I have heard of folks grilling thin crusts directly on the grate but I don’t have any experience to share with that technique.

The pizza making part is the same as always.  Roll out the dough, apply a layer of sauce and add toppings.  I do this on a wooden cutting board that has been liberally dusted with corn meal so the pizza slides around very easily.

Pour a full chimney of lit charcoal into the Weber Jumbo Joe, place the aluminum pan on the grill grate and a pizza stone on top of the pan.  Close the lid for about 10 minutes to let the stone get hot.  Slide the pizza onto the pizza stone, close the lid and let the pizza bake for about 30 minutes.  Both the top and bottom air vents should be completely open.

I found I had to use a large spatula as a backstop when sliding the pizza onto the stone.  Before I figured this out it was pretty common for the pizza to slide off my cutting board so fast that it would overshoot the pizza stone and land in a crumpled pile on the grate. Grrrrr.

Any other arrangement I have tried has resulted in a pizza that was burnt on the bottom before the cheese had browned.  This technique has always generated great results.

 

 

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This is a really easy way to make a spectacular dish with your Weber Jumbo Joe.  I used a charcoal basket in this cook but you really don’t need one.  You can accomplish the same effect by simply banking your coals to the side of the grill.

Making a stuffed pork tenderloin is really easy.  Slice the tenderloin lengthwise about two thirds of the way through with a butterfly cut.  Place the opened tenderloin between two sheets of wax paper and pound it flat with a skillet or mallet.  It should look like a meat pancake that is a little more than a quarter of an inch thick when you are finished.

 

Add a layer of cream cheese and top that with a handful of pickled jalapenos.  If that stuffing combination doesn’t float your boat try spinach and feta.  Another great combination is mushrooms and onions.  Check out one of my other sites for a ton of great pork tenderloin recipes.

 

Roll the tenderloin back up in pinwheel fashion.  I used five or six strips of bacon to wrap the tenderloin and hold everything together.  If you wanted to skip the bacon you can just tie it with butchers twine.

I dusted the bacon wrapped stuffed pork tenderloin with a mixture of turbinado sugar and chili powder.  There wasn’t any need to add salt to the seasoning since there was already plenty in the bacon.

The Jumbo Joe was set up with a full basket of lit charcoal.  I placed the tenderloin directly beside the lit coals and closed the lid.  Every ten minutes I opened up the Jumbo and rotated the tenderloin so the bacon could crisp on all sides.  The tenderloin was “done” after 40 minutes but I let it cook a while longer so the bacon could keep rendering.  At the 40 minute mark I brushed the tenderloin with some Sweet Baby Rays barbecue sauce to give it a little more sweetness.

 

You could easily grill four pork tenderloins on a Weber Jumbo Joe if you banked hot coals on both side of the grill and kept track of your rotations.

By the way, this was really good with a pile of pretzels!

 

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I grilled a few pounds of turkey necks on the Weber Jumbo Joe in a manner nearly identical to what I did with some country style ribs; grill, braise, glaze.  This is a great technique for smaller pieces of meats that have lots of connective tissue.   For anybody who hasn’t tried turkey necks before you are in for a real treat.  There is a ton of meat of these guys, they are cheap and they taste great.  The only downside to turkey necks is that eating them is messy business.

 

Start by banking about two thirds of a chimney of lit charcoal on one side of the grill.  Season your turkey necks (salt and pepper is fine; I marinated in Italian dressing overnight).  Grill the turkey necks over the charcoal (direct high heat) top get some nice char action going on.  You will need to turn the necks with some tongs every few minutes to make sure that they don’t burn.  Do this with the lid off and be paying attention.  This is active grilling time and is a lot of fun!  This step will take about 10-15 minutes.

 

Add the grilled necks to a disposable aluminum pan (8 or 11 inch depending upon how many necks you are grilling) and add some aromatics (celery, onions, and carrots).  Pour a cup of chicken stock into the pan, seal with aluminum foil and place the pan on the indirect heat side of the Weber Jumbo Joe.  Close the lid (air vet over the pan) and leave everything covered for at least one hour, preferably two.

 

After the necks have braised remove the aluminum pan from the Weber Jumbo Joe and check your charcoal level.  If you are running low then knock the ashes off and add about ten more briquettes. If you need to add more coals do so while the necks are still covered in the pan so you don’t get a layer of ash on them.

Use a pair of tongs and transfer the necks from the pan to the indirect heat side of the grill.  Paint the necks with barbecue sauce (I used a mix of Sweet baby Ray and honey) then close the lid and let the necks cook for another 30 minutes or so while the sauce sets.

 Pull those bad boys off the grill, grab a pile of napkins and start eating!

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“Fried” chicken on the grill is a nice way of breaking up the standard grilling routine.   This is really pretty easy and is one of my family’s favorites.  The chicken isn’t really fried but is coated in a seasoned bread crumb mixture then grilled with indirect heat.  This combination keeps the chicken extremely juicy while getting a really crunchy surface.

I started with eight chicken thighs that I trimmed to remove excess skin and fat and then let them marinate in buttermilk overnight.  The next day I took the thighs out of the marinade, dried them with paper towels and breaded them with a commercial seasoned panko mix according to the directions.  I added a little hot sauce to my egg wash for a little extra flavor but you could leave it out and still have great results.

 

I set up the Weber Jumbo Joe with a charcoal basket full of hot coals and arranged the breaded thighs in two rows on the indirect side of the grill.  I closed the lid with the air vent over the chicken and left everything alone for thirty minutes.

 

After thirty minutes I rearranged the thighs so that those which were furthest from the charcoal were now closest.  This helps even out the cooking process and makes sure all of the thighs finish at the same time.

 

I closed the lid and after another 30 minutes started checking the internal temperature of the chicken.  All of the thighs were reading in the 170F range and that is just about perfect!

 

Here are a few shots of the finished chicken.  It tasted great and was real easy to fix on the Weber Jumbo Joe.

 

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This was a fun cook that really showcases the utility of the Weber Jumbo Joe.

I seasoned about three pounds of country style ribs with a store bought garlic and herb Creole seasoning; salt and pepper would have worked equally as well.

In this cook I used a Weber charcoal basket that came with my Weber Platinum charcoal grill.  These do not come standard with the Weber Jumbo Joe but you can buy them for about $15 from Amazon.  You can also find them in Home Depot sometimes.  I filled the basket with a little more than a half chimney of lit charcoal.

Each country style rib was seared directly over the charcoal for about three minutes per side.  This gave each piece of pork a nice little char flavor.

 

As soon as each piece was grilled on each side I placed it in an eleven inch foil pan that was placed on the cool side of the grill.

 

When all of the pork was in the pan it got covered in a maple barbecue sauce.  The pan was covered and tightly sealed with aluminum foil, the lid was placed on the Jumbo Joe, and the country style ribs were braised with indirect heat for about two hours.  The air vent on the lid was located over the pan of ribs and away from the charcoal.

 

When the braise step was finished I took the pan off the grill and refreshed the charcoal.  You freshen up the coals by shaking the charcoal basket with a pair of metal tongs.  This knocks the ash build up from the charcoal.  Once the ash is knocked off add about ten more unlit briquettes to the basket so you have enough fuel to finish the cook (about ten unlit briquettes).

I took the ribs out of the pan and placed them on the indirect side of the grill.  I painted them with the barbecue sauce that was still in the pan, closed the lid and waited an hour for the ribs to finish grilling.

 

They ended up looking and tasting great! This is a great technique for some of the cheaper and tougher cuts of meat.  I did something extremely similar with turkey necks on the Weber Jumbo Joe.

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The Weber Jumbo Joe is the perfect size grill for cooking a whole chicken.  This post shows three different ways of tackling a whole bird on this grill; Traditional, Beer Can and Spatchcock.  All three variations require cooking the bird for about 90 minutes.

The easiest method of cooking a whole chicken on the Weber Jumbo Joe is to simply stuff the bird and roast it on the grate with indirect high heat.  Taking the time to truss the bird makes a big difference in final appearance and helps with even cooking.

Place a square 8 inch disposable aluminum pan in the middle of the charcoal grate.  Light a full chimney of charcoal and create two piles on opposite sides of the pan.  Place the stuffed and trussed chicken directly over the aluminum pan (breast side up) and close the lid on the Jumbo.  Ideally you will want the air vent on the lid to be located over the bird instead of the charcoal.  The chicken is done when it reaches an internal temperature of 170F in the breast.  This typically takes about 90 minutes.

 

 

Another easy way of cooking a whole chicken in the Weber Jumbo Joe is the classic beer can chicken.  In order to make this work with the Jumbo Joe you need to get a little creative.  Start by preparing your chicken with an open beer (or soda) can inserted into the cavity.  Stand the bird up in a square 8 inch disposable aluminum foil pan and season the skin as desired.

Here comes the first creative part.  If you place the bird on the grilling grate there will not be enough clearance under the dome to close the lid.  What you need to do is remove the grill grate and place the aluminum pan holding the upright chicken directly onto the middle of the charcoal grate.

The second creative part is how you need to arrange the charcoal.  I found that if I spread a full chimney of lit coals evenly all the way around the perimeter of the aluminum pan that the air flow through the grill wasn’t good enough to keep the coals as hot as I wanted.  I got the best performance when I stacked the coals into four piles, one on each side of the pan.

 

Once you have the chicken in the grill and the coals properly arranged you can close the lid and come back in about 90 minutes to a perfectly cooked beer can chicken!

 

The third way to tackle a whole chicken is the classic spatchcock (butterfly) technique.  To prepare the chicken simply cut along the backbone with a pair of kitchen shears, open the bird up and press it flat.  Season the bird as desired; this chicken was injected with a mixture of Dale’s marinade and apple juice.

Light a chimney of charcoal that is about two thirds full and bank the lit charcoal onto one side of the grill.  I used a charcoal basket but it isn’t required.  Place the chicken on the cool, indirect side of the grill then close the lid with the air vent located over the chicken.

 

After an hour open up the grill and use a pair of tongs to rotate the chicken 180 degrees.  That is, if the breast was facing the charcoal turn the bird so that the legs are facing the charcoal.  Close the lid and wait another 30 minutes and you should have a perfectly cooked bird on your grill!

 

Everyone has their own favorite way of checking for doneness in chicken.  I prefer to insert a digital thermometer into the breast and make sure I have a reading of 175F.  It is also an excellent sign when the leg and thigh joints freely rotate.  I also like to brine my chickens so I don’t have to worry if they overcook.

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I have taken three approaches to grilling steaks on the Weber Jumbo Joe.

Technique 1: New York Strip

The New York Strip is a relatively lean cut of beef.  Since it is so lean it can easily be grilled directly over the charcoal as you don’t need to worry about flare ups from dripping fat.

I seasoned these steaks with salt and pepper then let them warm towards room temperature on the kitchen counter.  While the steaks were warming I lit a chimney full of charcoal (Kingsford blue).  It takes about 15-20 minutes for all of the coals to light; once they were lit I spread them evenly across the charcoal grate.

The grilling was extremely simple.  Put them on the grill and cook about four minutes per side for medium rare.  I made a little video of the entire cook.  I have been told that the video is exciting as watching paint dry but it still makes me happy.  You can see that the four steaks easily fit on the Jumbo. By the way, that’s my Weber Smokey Joe Gold in the background 🙂

 

Technique 2: Surf and Turf

In this cook I was working with Flanken Style beef ribs.  These are actually cross cut ribeye steaks and are a real treat if you can find them.  These steaks have a significant amount of marbling so cooking entirely over direct heat would be a bad idea.

I set up the Jumbo with two zone heat.  There were hot coals covering about two thirds of the charcoal grate with cool zones constructed along the back of the grill.

I grilled the beef for about two minutes per side over the direct heat.  Towards the end I was managing some flare-ups.  I then moved the beef to the indirect heat and added some shrimp skewers over the direct heat.  I closed the lid for three minutes then flipped the shrimp and closed the lid for another three minutes.  Anything that cooks quickly would work great with this technique instead of shrimp: scallops, mushrooms, zucchini slices, etc.

Here is what the cook looked like on the Weber Jumbo Joe.

 

Technique 3: GrillGrates

The problem with setting up a two zone system on the Jumbo Joe is that you don’t have a ton of space to work with.  I spent about $50 and bought an upgrade (a two panel GrillGrate assembly) that lets me grill choice ribeyes directly over high heat without worrying about flare ups.  Since GrillGrates eliminate flare ups you get to use more of the grilling surface on the Jumbo.

Not only do GrillGrates prevent flare ups but they also let you put down some major league grill marks.

It might seem silly to spend $50 on an upgrade for a $60 grill but you can use these things on any of your grills, not just the Jumbo.  Besides, you will have at least $50 worth of fun laying down sick grill marks.  Here is a full write up about GrillGrates as well as a link to the exact ones that I bought for the Jumbo Joe.

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