Quote

"We didn't rise to the top of the food chain, only to turn around and eat vegetables"...........First stated by Unkown, but agreed upon by all Griller's.

Aloha and the Weber Kettle

We recently ventured to the Hawaiian Islands for a family reunion and some beach going. Surrounded by family, the food was excellent and plentiful, but as the vacation rolled on from Kona to Wakiki and on to the windward side of Ohau (Waimanalo, Hawaii), I started to miss grill'in and my Weber kettles. I can't even begin to express my sheer delight as we rolled into Bellows Air Force Station rec area, for a two day stay on the beach. EVERY CABIN CAME WITH A KETTLE! Unbelievable.

With the back of the cabin facing the beach and the wind blowing non-stop, the kettle was the only way to go.

Smokey Joe Silver

Can you cook dinner for a family of five, 4 of which are adult eaters on a Smokey Joe Silver?

You're Damn right you can!

This is an excellent grill.

As of late, I've been breaking this puppy out for quick and easy grill sessions. I've discovered that it's a Big Ass Grill in a small package. The benefits are numerous.

1. EASY CLEANUP

2. LESS CHARCOAL

3. EFFICIENT USE OF CHARCOAL (directly related to No. 2)

4. GREAT HEAT! (Yes, this little hummer gets it done).

5. BIG WEBER KETTLE COOKING BENEFITS IN A SMALL PACKAGE

I've been reading posts from Smokey Joe Silver users for quite some time. Lots of doubters out there and Grill Masters struggling with sustaining heat. I don't get it, I've never gotten it. This little grill has always been an efficient and reliable source of excellent grilling heat.

So I recently documented a cook. Nice chunk of USDA choice London Broil (Top Round). Marinated in "Off-The-Shelf" Teryiaki for 45 minutes. Here's some entering specifications:

1. Location: Pacific Northwest

2. Weather: Very Breezy - 50 degrees F

3. Charcoal Type: STUBBS from Lowes Hardware

4. Charcoal QTY: 33 Briquettes

******Now for the PIC's****

This whole cook was conducted with the Lid On.

USDA CHOICE CHEAP BEEF

33 STUB'S Briquette's

Coals Are Ready

After First Flip - 6 minutes

All Cooking was done with the Lid ON.

Pulled at Medium Rare (135 degrees F) and rested for 10 minutes

Pass those slices out, with some Rice and Veggies and you've got yourself some damn dinner!

450 Degrees F

33 Briq's, 45 minutes after the Beef was pulled from the grill.

I Could bake a potatoe with the left-over heat!

Wicked Good Chicken on Junior's Smokey Joe

So I buy this Smokey Joe Silver several years ago thinking it would come in handy. It's a cool little grill, but so tiny I have to cook burgers for my family in shifts. I'm not a "tail-gater" and our camping days have grounded to a halt due to crazy family schedules. Consequently, the little Weber spent nearly all of it's time on the top shelf in the back yard shed.

In the mean time, I continued to hone my skills on the big kettle eventually graduating to Lump Charcoal and advanced cooking techniques such as - not scorching dinner. All the while lurking and occasionally contributing to the forums on The Virtual Weber Bullet (aka TVWB). At TVWB, I casually noted all the comments about Smokey Joe Silver temp problems. Contributors consistently complained about the temps dropping as soon as the lid was put on. I'm thinking, "Bummer, what am I going to do with the grill in my shed taking up valuable real estate on the shelf."

As spring recently approached, I took the little weber out to give it a dusting off. Nothing more, take a look at it and shelve it for another year or so.

Then.....

Leave it to a 4 year old to breathe new life into something........he laid his eyes on that little Smokey Joe Silver Weber and with sheer delight proclaimed...

"DADDY, IS THAT FOR ME?"......."IS THAT MY LITTLE GRILL?" ...."IT'S JUST LIKE YOURS BUT TINY!"...................As my wife later entered the garage, he showed off his little grill as if Santa Claus had just dropped it off.

So recently, we set up our grills. We lit some Wicked Good Lump charcoal in the chimney and loaded the little grill with some chicken drum sticks.

"Chicken is my favorite!", my little helper proclaims.

I placed an oven therm on the grate and WE gave the chicken a good sear over the lump and then went indirect & covered for about 35 - 40 minutes. This upcoming lull in the action, caused by the lid, motivated Junior Grill Master to score some cartoon time on channel 11483736 (or something). It's all good.

In no time though, we had some very good chicken. The whole event was an incredible Father/Son success.

I monitored the temps over the course of the next couple hours and they held steady well above 450 throughout.

I've done some additional cooking over the last couple weeks and have concluded that this grill does a great job of holding temps. However, it requires Lump Charcoal.

The high ash production and marginal heat of Kingsford as compared to quality lump charcoal are most likely the cause of problems reported by owners.

Get er' Done!

Wicked Good Charcoal

I took the plunge and ordered some "Wicked Good" lump Charcoal. Three 22LB bags set me back $90.00 after shipping. Shipping cost as much as the charcoal.

You're looking at 1.36 per Lb compared to .35/Lb of Kingsford at the local Walmart as the fall season sets in . Although expensive, one chimney will handle a full grill of chicken thighs with plenty of heat left over.

It burns hotter, longer and cleaner than any charcoal I've used. A 22 pound bag is loaded with good sized chunks of charcoal. The average piece is approximately 32.5% larger than a Kingsford Briquette and there's usually several Monster pieces included (I'll save those for the WSM). The pictures depict the big ones from one bag.

I grilled some chicken thighs the other day and the charcoal flavor was absolutely amazing!

Is it good charcoal? Yes, very much so.

Is it worth the price? Well, buy a 22 pound bag and save it for special cook-out's. With that being said, IT'S WORTH THE PRICE!

Update 3/1/09: I've now grilled chicken, numerous steaks, and smoked several items on the WSM using Wicked Good Charcoal. I've come to the conclusion that for my taste, additional smoke wood is not necessary when using WGC.

A few weeks ago I smoked a few racks of Baby Backs using 3 fist sized chunks of Hickory and the smoke over powered the "Q". When using Kingsford, that's never the case. Today I scaled back the Hickory to one chunk and although not as over powering, the smoke was still too much on the grate load of Beef Short Ribs.

I grilled a pile of chicken indirect on the Kettle and after 45 minutes on the grill, the smoke flavor was just right.

Pound It!

Ingredients

1 package of store bought chicken breasts.

1 Manly dead blow mallet from toolbox in garage

2 sheets of wax paper

Olive Oil

Seasoning of your choice. Whatever you got!

Procedure

Place chicken breasts between two sheets of wax paper on your countertop. Flatten them to less than 1/2 inch with repeated strikes using Mallet. Brush with olive oil and season to your liking.

Light off that grill.

Grill direct on hot grill with lump - 4 minutes max per side.

Remove from grill and enjoy.

We seal with the foodsaver and slice up for salads through the week.