portiaindira's Full Review: Weber-Stephen Products Smokey Joe Gold Charcoal Gr...
We have had the little "Smokey Joe" Weber grill since our daughter was in 1st grade, and now she is a Sopohmore in high school. I like the grill because we eat a lot of chicken, and we cook it in advance for the week, then I store it in a large Tupperware square container in the refrigerator for the week. It is really nice to have something tasty to offer people when they come to our house. My brother-in-law magically appears on Sundays because he knows that we cook-out every Saturday, and we always share some with him.
Oh! How I wish I had a larger cooking surface on which to cook, 14.5" is just not enough. I would like to have a larger cooking surface so that I could get more done at one time. I dont like having to go back and forth and keep checking the chicken, and starting a new batch of chicken breasts. I usually cook {2} family packages of chicken breasts, and only about 4 breast fit on the grill at one time. This would not be so bad if I did not have to go up and down the {25} steps, and out back to check on the meat. It is great exercise, but you might want to consider getting the largest cooking surface possible if you are going to cook at home, and don't like running back and forth.
The grill is always outside in the elements. I never cover it, although I would be well advised to do so. The black paint has stayed marvelously in tact. One of the washers that keeps one of the side vents closed is gone, so my husband has rigged the grill by tying wire around the lever so that it will stay somewhat closed. One of my FAVORITE FEATURES about this grill is that it can be completely closed off from the atmosphere. This saves the charcoal for the next time that I grill, and since I don't buy cheap charcoal, I really love this feature. I have the wooden handle and I really like it. I really don't like the looks of the plastic handle, and since i have read that it gets hot I know I don't like it. Weber should go back to the wooden handle design.
I like to use the small paraffin-like cubes to start the fire. Then I stack the charcoal and hickory wood over the burning cube. I let the stacked coals burn for about 15 minutes, then I bring the meat out. I never use lighter fluid because I do not like the taste of it. I also use 100% charcoal that I purchase from one of my neighborhood barbeque stores. I do not like the taste of fillers in my charcoal. The 100% charcoal catches fire easily and burns nicely. It takes the headache out of grillin'. I use a metal brush to scrub the grill. This can be purchased at the local Five and Dime Store, but I sprung for the deluxe metal brush, and it is worthwhile because it has a groove on it that slides up and down the metal rods and cleans them more efficiently. I usually don't put the sauce on the grill because there is so much sugar in the sauces that it burns easily. If the weather is nice outside then I do put the sauce on the chicken and only let it stay on for about 3 minutes. When you put the sauce on while grilling that requires lots of babysitting the grill, and I am not always up for that.
One thing that I do not like about the Weber grill design, are the AIR VENTS. The meat closest to the vents cooks the fastest. You have to become a wind expert to know how open to position the vents. My husband has so little patience that he often wants to lift the cooking grate and stir the charcoal. The Weber cooking vents create hot and cold spots on the grill. You have to keep rotating the meat to get more even cooking. I would love to punch holes on the other 2 sides of the bottom of the grill so that I could get more even cooking.
Another thing that I do not like about the Tuck and Carry grill is that the ashes stay in the bottom. I called Weber about this and the rep said that you either get the nice resting place for the lid, or the ash catcher. You don't get both. Why Not????
I would be interested to know if there is any other small charcoal grill on the market that cooks more evenly, but 'til that time I will keep smokin' on my little Smokey Joe. I will probably get a Jumbo Joe or something comprable.
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