EmailBest Reviewed
Charcoal Grills
- Best budget charcoal grill Weber One-Touch Silver *Est. $90
- Full-featured charcoal grill Weber Performer *Est. $330
- Charcoal grill for parties and big families Char-Griller Outlaw *Est. $205
- Best portable charcoal grill Weber Smokey Joe Silver *Est. $35
- Best luxury charcoal grill The Big Green Egg *Est. $750
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Best portable charcoal grill
- Inexpensive
- Light and portable
- Too small for large parties
- No latches to seal it up
The Weber Smokey Joe Silver charcoal grill beats competing small grills in comparative reviews. This inexpensive, no-frills grill has a 14.5-inch diameter cooking surface and short legs, which require the chef to do a lot of bending or squatting if the grill is not placed on a table. Owners warn that there's not much distance between the grill and the coals, which means it's easy to burn food; this makes the Weber a good choice for quick-grilling burgers. Other owners say the Weber Smokey Joe Silver would be more portable if there were a way to seal it up, and some urge spending the extra $5 on the Weber Smokey Joe Gold for that reason. The Smokey Joes are basically scaled-down versions of the Weber One-Touch Silver (*Est.$90), which reviewers say is the best budget charcoal grill.
We found the best review of the Weber Smokey Joe Silver charcoal grill at Slate.com, where reviewer Jude Stewart puts seven portable charcoal, gas, electric and hibachi grills through their paces. The Smokey Joe also gets a nod from Derrick Riches, the barbeque expert at About.com. We also found helpful user reviews at Amazon.com and Epinions.com.
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Our Sources
1. Slate.com
An unspecified group of testers rate seven portable gas, charcoal and electric grills. The Weber Smokey Joe Gold, a sturdier version of the Silver, wins the competition with a score of nine on taste and perfect 10s on convenience and performance.
Review: Fired Up: Which Portable Grill Cranks Up the Heat?, Jude Stewart, June 5, 2007
2. About.com
Derrick Riches is the guide to barbeques and grilling for About.com. The Weber Smokey Joe places eighth on his list and is described as a "great little grill." (Note: ConsumerSearch is owned by About.com, but the two don't share an editorial affiliation.)
Review: Top 10 Small Grills, Derrick Riches
3. Amazon.com
The 40 or so owners posting here give the Weber Smokey Joe high average ratings. A few mention that it's easy to burn food with so little distance between the grill and the coals.
Review: Weber 10020 Smokey Joe Silver Charcoal Grill, Black, Contributors to Amazon.com, As of June 2009
4. Epinions.com
About 40 owners give the Weber Smokey Joe Gold, the slightly more expensive companion model to the Silver, high average ratings. The few complaints concern the grill being too low to the ground and too small to feed more than a few people at a time.
Review: Weber-Stephen Products Smokey Joe Gold Charcoal Grill, Contributors to Epinions.com
Charcoal Grills Runners Up:
2 picks by top review sites.
Weber 751001 22 1/2-Inch One-Touch Gold Charcoal Grill, Black
 from Amazon.com New: $139.70 In Stock.
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