Help me decide between Webber charcoal summit or Kamado big joe.

Both great grills. Either way you will be happy. If you have to move it around a bit then the WSC is more mobile.

Between the two you are looking at, I would go with the WSCG. I cooked on KJ’s for years. Had 2 Big JOES’s, a Classic and a Jr. They are nice cookers, but IMO the cons outweigh the pros. Ceramics are super heavy and not the easiest cooker to move around when needed. Ceramics are to efficient for low n slow cooking, and to my tastes produce a dirty campfire flavor profile, not a pleasant wood smoke seasoning. You also have to deal with ceramic cracks from time to time, including the bowl itself which is not fun to deal with. It’s not that there was nothing to like about them, but I discovered after 4 or 5 years that they are not for me. Regarding the WSCG... although I have never cooked on one, from what I have read and from the conversations I have had, Weber seems to have remedied much of the annoyances I described. 1) They are a bit less efficient which translates to better airflow. 2) They are super easy to move around. 3) You won’t have to worry about cracked parts. As far as not being able to use a Jotiserrie on the WSCG, that is true... but you could easily remedy that by buying a gently used kettle on CL or FB Marketplace... adding a Cajun Bandit rotisserie when able... and having it as a dedicated rotisserie cooker or a backup cooker when needed. Kettles are easy to tuck away when not in use.

Just my 2 cents

Sergdman said:

Thanks for the feedback. Hmmm, dirty campfire flavor huh. Don’t think I heard about that yet. I guess I could get a dedicated rotisserie, but I rather not.

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I didn’t realize how undesirable the low n slow flavor profile was until I acquired a stick burner and then a pellet cooker. Just think about it... you have almost no airflow which maintains the tiniest of fires. Wood chunks sit in the kamado and smolder and with almost no airflow you are left with a very stagnant, dirty flavor. You may not notice it until you have something with good airflow to compare it to. I was happy until that happened... lol.

I would go with the WSCG as well. I have owned numerous ceramic Kamados and a Chargriller Akorn, and I think the Akorn was superior to the ceramic grills in many ways, including my Primo that I currently own. Double walled metal with high temp insulation pancaked in between transfers a lot less heat to the exterior than ceramic, I could lay my hand on the outside of the Akorn when it was 500* and it didn’t feel that hot. The Ceramic grills would feel like....500*. Not bleeding off all that heat made it even more efficient. Also, the ceramic grills are much heavier and not a lot of fun to move...even if you don’t plan to go portable, if the need to move it ever arises (new house, new deck or cooking area, etc) it’s not fun.

I will second rwalters comments on the flavor profile...I first experienced that after buying my Shirley and much prefer the flavor of my Mak pellet grill for low and slow cooking compared to the Primo. I did find that using a good quality lump charcoal (my favorite is Rockwood) and using wood chips instead of chunks did help to minimize the smoldering wood/camp fire flavor inherent to the low oxygen environment. In the case of the WSCG or Kamado Joe...I cant imagine one will be much different than the other for low and slow cooking. Never used a WSCG but they are certainly nicer made than the Akorn I did own.

I have never owned a kamado style cooker but to me the Summit is a no-brainer. Register the cooker when you buy it and Weber will back their warranty. You might get a dent in WSCG but crack that Kamado Joe and it's probably game over.

I only have experience with the Big Joe and not Weber Charcoal Summit. I don't have any complaint with the flavor profile like rwalters. I also have WSM and I think the flavor profile between Big Joe and WSM are pretty similar. I normally smoke at 275-325 F range on my Big Joe and it's rock solid. I never feel like the smoke is choking or the smoke is dirty.

If you have Costco membership, you can buy Big Kamado Joe at the Costco Roadshow at decent discount. I don't know if they still do this but you used to be able to buy the floor display Big Joe and get the Jr. for free. That's how I bought my Big Kamado Joe and Kamado Joe Jr.

Ive had green eggs and the wscg. I could never get my weber to burn clean. Preferred the egg to it. Sold them all and now all my charcoal cooking is on a Hasty Bake or a weber Smokey mountain.

WilliamKY said:

I have never owned a kamado style cooker but to me the Summit is a no-brainer. Register the cooker when you buy it and Weber will back their warranty. You might get a dent in WSCG but crack that Kamado Joe and it's probably game over.

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Kamado Joe have lifetime warranty. They're very good with warranty.

ulc said:

I normally smoke at 275-325 F range on my Big Joe and it's rock solid. I never feel like the smoke is choking or the smoke is dirty.

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Being I never smoke that hot as I am more of a >250° kinda guy... I could see the hot n fast method definitely providing a bit more airflow

Baby Back Maniac is a member here and a youtube master. You may find some of his vides of interest. May have to start these vids from beginning.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=il2E9Ej06bU


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glt8Jn2MKgU&t=1010s

I've also had a kamado. As a matter of fact my entry cooker to BBQ. While great for "certain" things, once I gradually crossed over many cookers I'd say the Weber Summit Charcoal is a better choice for an all around cooker. Never owned one but I'm confident it's better.

I'd seriously consider a Weber 26 to start off the transition though. You may actually like it better than all the cookers you've come across. Only exception is a stick burner. Really confused you now right? :-D

But seriously. I'd go WSCG or a Weber 26. I circled around all and 95% of my cooking now is done on my 22 or 26. With the kettles and the stick burner, you're set for life.

I've cooked on Kamados (Bubba keg), I never had any issues with dirty smoke at all, but I always went light on the wood chunks and chips. That campfire flavor may be the drippings getting all toasted on the diffuser maybe, especially true if you cook a little hotter. I used to have an air gap between my diffuser (empty water pan) and the foil that lined it that would minimize burnt drippings. 90% of smoking is done on my WSM or drum, I get a better smoke and don't' have to baby sit it as much as the bubba keg during startup.

I have a Vision Kamado that I have been using for 5 years now. No complaints. Best grill, smoker I ever had. I've held temps for over 20 hours on one full load of lump. Steady like a rock temps. A few years ago I bought a flame boss controller. Not that I needed it, more for peace of mind on overnight cooks.

The controller makes smoking on it even easier and allows me to bring the temp up to where I want it with no real input from me. Set it and forget it.

I think the problem with acrid smoke or campfire smoke taste is from user error. You can have that problem on any smoker. Knowing your individual smoker and how to set it up and when to put the meat on is key. Sure I screwed up a few times when I first got it and had some not so pleasant cooks and results, but that was due to me not knowing the grill and not setting it up properly or rushing the cook in the beginning.

When you get a Kamado you will read about how you want to only light one small area and bring the temp up slowly. I get it. That is to ensure that you are not getting a large fire going that will overshoot your target temp which will be difficult to get back down.

That is great advice for a newbie and it works to a degree. But your not getting the whole story and you will make mistakes due to you not knowing the grill. You also have to have common sense and use your past experience as a guide. That is if you have past experience to fall back on. If you never smoked before and or have not had much experience with grilling or smoking then there is going to be a learning curve.

First off I don't light my smoker like they suggest. I did in the beginning because that is what was suggested and what the manual said to do. If you do light the smoker like they suggest you have to wait until the smoker reaches your desired temp...which could take up to an hour or more. Most people will get in a hurry and throw the meat on too early before the fire is really ready.

When you get to temp and add the deflectors and the meat you will see the temp drop and the airflow get reduced. That is what causes the problems. Too small of a fire and the reduced air flow make for an acrid taste. To remedy that I light 3 to 4 areas at the beginning leaving the lid open and the bottom vent wide open. Usually about 30 minutes or so. I don't worry about overshooting the temp too much.

Once I see that the fire is going the way I want it I then add the wood chunks and set everything except the meat in the smoker and then let it come to temp and adjust the vents if needed. Let that go about another 20 to 30 minutes. By this time you should have a good airflow as indicated by looking at the top vent. Adjust vents as necessary and let it ride a few minutes until its steady and humming along. Then put the meat on and crack a beer.

I've been grilling and smoking a looooonnnng time. Never owned a quality offset..a bunch of cheap ones over the years. Like most I started with a weber kettle. When I got the kamado I was blown away. The ease of using it and the way it holds temp and the amount of fuel it uses were mind boggling to me.

Have I had that acrid or campfire taste on some cooks....yep. Was it the fault of the cooker? Nope. Its all in experience and knowing your cooker and how to set it up and when to put the meat on. You can have that issue with any smoker. Every smoker is going to be different. You just have to figure out how to use it to get the results you want.

Using the controller also helps with that. I can set things up, light the smoker, setup the controller and let the controller take me up to temp. The controller will keep a more even airflow too in the first few hours of the cook. Which is when most of the issues with acrid or campfire taste happen. Once the grill is chugging along the controller doesn't really have to do much. But the airflow by this time is consistent and the temp is holding steady.

If your getting dirty smoke taste or campfire taste or acrid taste.....well your doing something wrong. Does a kamado compare with a stick burner as far as taste and smoke profile.....not really. Nothing beats a stick burner. But a Kamado will put out some really good Q and its one of the easiest ways to smoke will little to no input from you.

Now as to which one to get....either one will put out great food. Both have pros and cons. I think you would be happy with whatever you decide. I do like having the Joetissorie and I use if from time to time....but that wouldn't be a deal breaker for me.

Good luck on whatever you decide to go with.

rwalters said:

Being I never smoke that hot as I am more of a >250° kinda guy... I could see the hot n fast method definitely providing a bit more airflow

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Maybe. I think there are lot variables when it comes to using different charcoal smokers and the smoke profile can change depending on how you use it. For me, I notice the flavor difference when I smoke with different brands of lump charcoal on my Big Joe. I don't notice it when I'm grilling but I notice it when I'm smoking. My favorite cheap lump charcoal for smoking is the Western lump from Walmart. My least favorites are Royal Oak and Cowboy lumps. I feel like the latter two gives slight hint of kerosene/gasoline like taste when used for smoking. All brands of lumps are fine and taste neutral when used for grilling.

I don't use lot of wood when I'm smoking. Two small cherry chunks in Big Joe and I'm good. I use wood chips in Joe Jr. I feel like chips burn cleaner in Jr. than chunks since Jr. is such small cooker with limited charcoal space.

And depending on if I use drip pan or not can change the smoke profile. Using drip pan gives cleaner taste than just letting the drippings hit the ceramic heat deflectors and burn on the deflector stone and charcoal. If I don't use the drip pan in the Big Joe, the smoke flavor profile is similar to using Vortex charcoal plate in my WSM. I like both smoke profiles so it just depends on my mood if I use the drip pan or not with the Big Joe.

I think the biggest key with any smoker that is not pellet smoker is to make sure you wait for the clean blue smoke before putting the meat in. That means waiting like an hour or more to let the Big Joe come up to temp and waiting until all the white smoke from the wood chunks initial burn clear away before adding any meat. And just letting the cooker cook at the temperature it wants. I feel like Big Joe is the happiest cooking at 275-325 F range so I let it cook there. Or maybe I like smoking at that temp so I think the Big Joe likes cooking at that temp. But I do think kamados like higher temperatures. So let your kamado breathe and don't choke it trying to run 225 F.

For grilling, I do prefer using my Weber kettle mainly because the lid of so much lighter and the charcoal ash cleanup so much easier than my Big Joe. It's a workout lifting the lid of the Big Joe although the Big Joe II don't have that problem anymore with that nice air lift hinge lid. But the kettle still has the easier ash cleanup. I can pickup the Weber charcoal baskets and give it couple shakes to remove the ash. With the Big Joe, I have to mess with that clumsy ash tool to rake through the charcoal to separate the ash from the remaining charcoal.

And the direct/indirect grilling is simpler and easier on the kettle vs the Big Joe. You can use the one half of the ceramic deflector to setup indirect on the Big Joe or use charcoal divider to only fill one side with charcoal but on the kettle, you don't have to do any of that. But one nice grilling feature of the Big Joe which the kettle lacks is that you can lower or raise the grate height position with the Divide and Conquer Flexible Cooking System. So I like to have one half of the cooking grate down close to the charcoal and another half of the cooking grate at the top in normal height position when I'm grilling steaks. And the bigger 24" size of the Big Joe does come in handy I'm grilling lot of meat vs the 22" kettle.

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I think the biggest key with any smoker that is not pellet smoker is to make sure you wait for the clean blue smoke before putting the meat in. That means waiting like an hour or more to let the Big Joe come up to temp and waiting until all the white smoke from the wood chunks initial burn clear away before adding any meat. And just letting the cooker cook at the temperature it wants. I feel like Big Joe is the happiest cooking at 275-325 F range so I let it cook there. Or maybe I like smoking at that temp so I think the Big Joe likes cooking at that temp. But I do think kamados like higher temperatures. So let your kamado breathe and don't choke it trying to run 225 F. End Quote:

Agreed. I run around the same temps. I've tried lower temps and it just makes for a longer cook. Results for me were not any better. 275 to 285 for me is the sweet spot. If it runs at 300 for a time I don't sweat that either.

Hands down, Weber Summit...

Both would cook basically the same but the Weber won’t develop a crack or bust plus waaay easier to move around!

Weber Summit by a large margin.