The Weber Jumbo Joe features excellent heat control and retention within its compact frame, making it one of the best portable charcoal grills the barbecue world has to offer. Find out why barbecue enthusiasts love it with our backyard grill review.
Quick Review
The Weber Jumbo Joe remains one of the best portable charcoal grills in the world. Despite being an economical and compact cooker, the high-quality construction ensures excellent heat retention and durability. If you need a reliable charcoal cooker for your next tailgate or camping trip, this is the grill for you. We just wish it was(a little) bigger.
The Jumbo Joe has remained one of Weber’s most popular grills since the Weber Smokey Joe ). Since then, the portable charcoal grill has been the best-selling camping and tailgate grill.
Between its mobile design and excellent durability, it has been the easy default choice for beginners and barbecue experts alike. It’s simple, great value for money and offers enough flexibility for grilling and smoking at high temperatures.
If you’ve been looking for a simple charcoal grill, this could be your perfect outdoor companion.
The Weber Jumbo Joe is compact, lightweight, and features an easy-close lid. This makes it quick and easy to store without creating any dusty spills or grease inside your car or RV, while keeping children and animals safe.
Despite its low price, the Jumbo Joe offers excellent heat retention, helping you maintain consistent temperatures for effective barbecuing.
Is it still one of the best charcoal barbecues in the world? How does it compare to rival brands? Find out everything you need to know with our Weber Jumbo Joe review.
Specifications
What’s in the box?
- Assembly Guide
- Grill user Manual
- Ash Catcher
- Legs
- Nuts and Bolts Pack
- Solve
- Two Grates
- Caps
- Base
Cooking Space
The Jumbo Joe boasts 240 square inches of cooking space and an 18-inch diameter, which is about the average for a portable charcoal grill. It’s a decent amount of space that allows you to cook a few servings of meat and vegetables, although some users might wish it offered a bit more.
If you want a grill for home use only, you may find that it’s too small, in which case you should buy something around the 400 to 500 square inch mark. However, for a portable grill, it’s just the right size.
Note that this will also be beneficial when you carry the grill because it saves space in the trunk of your car. The grill is also not very high. It is designed to be portable; therefore, when cooking, you will need to put it on a reliable counter. Doesn’t come with stand to make taller. The benefit of this is that you probably won’t kick it if it’s on a counter.
An added benefit of the compact size of the grill is that the smaller chamber means the Weber fires up and comes to temperature much faster. With a charcoal chimney and our vents set to open, we were up and running at 225°F in about 15 minutes. This is exceptionally fast for a charcoal grill, with an average heat-up time of between 20 and 30 minutes.
Similarly, it also cools down quickly. This is especially useful on campsites, where adherence to fire safety is crucial. Thanks to its small size, if you turn off the charcoal grill and let it cool with the vents closed, it should only take 30 minutes.
Assembly
If you are one of those people who likes to DIY but not too much, then this product will work for you. It comes with a manual that gives you step-by-step instructions on how to build this grill. It’s not so overwhelming that you have too much trouble putting it together. Construction will primarily consist of driving nails.
In terms of durability, this product is designed to last for many years. It comes made from heavy gauge steel which is guaranteed not to rust regardless of the heat applied. The ash catcher at the bottom is made of aluminum, making it durable yet light enough to carry around when disposing of ashes. The cooking grate is made of plated steel. That will mean that the food won’t stick to the grill easily.
Portability
This grill has been designed to be an adventure travel companion. It’s small enough to take with you when you decide to head out into the wild for a fun camping trip. Allowing you to cook healthy gourmet meals wherever you are. The product has a lid closure which will be very convenient to carry.
No more ash, dust or mud will fall on your rear seats while driving. It will also be beneficial in the event that an animal comes sniffing out food scraps on the grill. The size of the grill is also highly appreciated by customers who have reviewed it. It is not overwhelmingly difficult to transport, which means that both men and women can enjoy this product. The grill lid is 100% heat resistant. It will protect your kids from burning their hands if they try to sneak some meat while your back is turned.
Heat Retention
The lock on the porcelain enamel lid is one of the grill’s best features. When grilling, you can lock the grill to allow a constant temperature inside the grill. This will ensure that your food cooks consistently and at the correct rate. When this is done, you are more likely to get foods that are juicy and not lose too much of their inherent fluids. This will allow your vegetables to be fully cooked, which means they are healthier. With some grills, you may again find that some parts of the food are cooked while others are still raw because the heat is not evenly distributed on the grill. With this grill, you’re not likely to experience that.
Additional Characteristics
Unsurprisingly for a small portable grill, the Jumbo Joe doesn’t offer much more than its main cooking grate and stainless steel chamber. It features a storage shelf underneath so you have a place to put your tools while you cook(a nice feature to turn to when grilling on the go).
Weber has also incorporated additional space below the grill grates, giving you the opportunity to insert a steel plate and effectively double the cooking area inside the grill. However, this can be a bit inconvenient and protect the food from the heat. It’s a good idea in theory, but we wish we had a little more space on a grid.
It features rust-resistant aluminum dampers, with an intake damper at the bottom of the chamber and an exhaust damper at the top. This ventilation system helps maintain good airflow through the grill and is perfectly positioned for solid heat control.
Likewise, it has an ash catcher at the bottom of the chamber to help keep everything clean and to prevent traces from inside your car or RV.
What we Don’t Like
The Jumbo Joe is not without its flaws. While we wish it was a bit bigger, we also think the grill is crying out for the addition of a drip tray. This would help catch the fatty runoff from any large meat that cooks low and slow. We would also like it to come with a bag. Despite being light and small, it can still be inconvenient to carry around camping or on the beach.
Final Verdict
With its compact size and excellent heat retention, the Weber Jumbo Joe is a great grill to take on the go. It’s quick to bring to barbecue temperature, while small enough to use on the go. Quite simply one of the best used tailgate and camping grills out there today.
Writer & content creator. BBQ fanatic!
