SUMMIT CHARCOAL GRILL and SMOKER

[sidpost]

https://www.weber.com/US/en/grills/summit-charcoal-grill

I saw an old add for these for ~$1,000 on ACE Hardware.  Is this a reasonably standard price or was it a one of a kind special deal?  What is the real world street pricing?

I started with a Smokey Joe and pecan branches and added a 26" Premium to the stable.  I'm looking for a real smoker now and I wonder if a Summit would be a better solution for me than an Insulated Vertical Cabinet or offset stick burner.  I already have a baby Kamado so, I'm thinking this would sort of split the difference between a larger Kamado and Kettle and an IVC or offset stick burner.

Do these smoke well for the people that own them?  Are they relatively easy to use?

TIA,
Sid

[Grillagin]

Not a bad deal, it seems.  I was just looking at the big Summit.  This one on Amazon is $1500.

https://www.amazon.com/Weber-WEBER-Summit-Charcoal-Gril/dp/B01JN0YWF6/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1511409890&sr=8-9&keywords=weber+summit+grill

[AZ Monsoon]

A "real" smoker eh?

[pbe gummi bear]

The Summit is sold as a do-it-all grill and smoker. They hold temperature well without having to fiddle with vents or reload it every hour, and are easier to use than a Kamado. On the flip side, they don't hold as much a a "real" smoker and some prefer cooking purely with wood (from my observation mostly people in TX and the south because of the culture and availability of smoke wood). Since you already have a 26, have you considered a WSM? I think you'd have the best combo of smoking and grilling there. $1000 is a good price for the base Summit Charcoal Grill.

[TD]

I'm from Texas and I prefer cooking on the Kettle in the suburbs. So much more efficient. The thick steel of an offset with suck all the heat out of your briquettes. Get ready for a large charcoal bill. Now if you live out in the woods well then you could burn sticks. You see a lot of those guys shoveling coals from a separate fire in the offset (watch Franklin). I like to set up an extra kettle start some briquettes and close the vents when they get ashed over. Don't care if the go out. I add those coals to my cooking kettle as needed. The thin top of a kettle recovers back to the temp it was at before fairly quickly. not so with the thick steel of an offset. One of the Weber char baskets  holds enough to cook around 250 on my 22 in my neck of the woods. Of course more efficiency is always good. I'm sure the Summit cooks good especially in the cold. I like that the Kettle gives more room to cook meat off to the side..

[BBQ Jack]

Check out this video on you tube. It suggests the 26 inch weber kettle might be a better smoker than the summit.

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

[sidpost]

Babyback Maniac is a YouTuber I follow.  He is one of the few reviewers that doesn't obviously have a bias for a Kamado, Kettle, Stick burner, etc. and gives honest pro's and con's in his reviews.

The Summit's plate seems to block some of the smoke from getting to the meat.  I'm sure this can be offset with more smoke wood.  The versatility and lower price point of the Weber 26" Kettle is a factor to consider in addition to its heavier smoke flavor which I'm sure can be tweaked with less smoker wood.

Maybe I should try a Slow'n'Sear before I pursue the Summit .....

[sidpost]

I'm from Texas and I prefer cooking on the Kettle in the suburbs. So much more efficient. The thick steel of an offset with suck all the heat out of your briquettes. Get ready for a large charcoal bill. Now if you live out in the woods well then you could burn sticks. You see a lot of those guys shoveling coals from a separate fire in the offset (watch Franklin). I like to set up an extra kettle start some briquettes and close the vents when they get ashed over. Don't care if the go out. I add those coals to my cooking kettle as needed. The thin top of a kettle recovers back to the temp it was at before fairly quickly. not so with the thick steel of an offset. One of the Weber char baskets  holds enough to cook around 250 on my 22 in my neck of the woods. Of course more efficiency is always good. I'm sure the Summit cooks good especially in the cold. I like that the Kettle gives more room to cook meat off to the side..

In suburbia, I see charcoal having some advantages.  Heck, that's why I got my Smokey Joe in the first place.  All I needed was an asphalt motel parking lot, a bag of briquettes and, the meat of choice and I was set with my ice chest and some beer on a sunny afternoon when I was off work.  In terms of cost, when I can get 32# of Kingsford for under $10 on sale, the charcoal cost isn't significant compared to loading up a big cooker with briskets, butts, etc.


Of course, 'free' splits for an offset is even cheaper!  I live in East Texas so, smoker wood is easy to come by even if I don't cut it myself.  When I go to North Dallas, it isn't hard for me to throw what I need in the back of the pickup either.  Having a place to keep an offset and the recurring fire maintenance though is an issue.  Sometimes I want to socialize somewhere other than the firebox or sleep through the night!  Plus, how often do I need ~8 to ~20 butts or several briskets anyway?


Kamados are very versatile but, being ceramic are easy to break if you move them a lot.  Theft of a Weber kettle not stored in a garage is a concern as well so, something like the Weber Summit seems like it might be good all round solution for me.  Small and light enough to be reasonable to move.  Large enough to cook reasonable amounts of food without being so difficult to move.  Large enough to keep random people from tossing it in the trunk of a car and driving off (though keeping a kettle hot helps in this regard too).


A 600 pound cabinet smoker isn't practical.  My Smokey Joe is too small unless it is just me.  My Kamado is too fragile.  My Lodge Sportsman Grill doesn't smoke.  All of these get hot enough to hurt little fingers (toddlers) who get out of sight.  Maybe the Summit is overkill but, the double layer nature should keep external kettle temperatures down and be more fuel efficient while being light enough to be practical to move and/or load by myself if needed.  The main drawback is the price at $1600, even $1000 is still a big bill but close enough to a Ceramic Kamado to be a reasonable alternative.


I guess I could always go with a Backwoods Cubby or Humphreys Weekender and keep the Smokey Joe in reserve.   

If I wasn't worried about portability, it would be a whole lot easier on me.

[BBQ Jack]

I am similar to TD, I do okay with the 22 inch kettle and a charcoal basket. I can get 4 hours or more on one burn with the basket if I need to. It is not hard to reload after that if needed. On some cooks I will lift the lid every hour and mop the ribs with apple juice or something else so it is not an issue to add charcoal. The Weber summit is nice but from what I read you can do whatever it does on a kettle. Maybe I will buy an SNS one day, it seems to be an item that is worth the cost except I can duplicate whatever it does with the baskets or the charcoal rails, including high heat. With charcoal sometimes simplicity is best, it is amazing what people will pay for a grill to cook with cheap Kingsford charcoal. A Weber summit would be more likely to be stolen that an old kettle. They would only need a truck or van. Having said all this I could easily see myself buying a summit day as my reward, it is an aspirational product.

[GoAnywhereJeep]

Check out this video on you tube. It suggests the 26 inch weber kettle might be a better smoker than the summit.

I thought he suggested that he personally liked one better and his wife liked the Summit better. I did not see him go so far as to say which one is actually better, though the comments along the way of the cook were interesting (i think the cook on teh 26 darkened up earlier).

Babyback Maniac is a YouTuber I follow.  He is one of the few reviewers that doesn't obviously have a bias for a Kamado, Kettle, Stick burner, etc. and gives honest pro's and con's in his reviews.

The Summit's plate seems to block some of the smoke from getting to the meat.  I'm sure this can be offset with more smoke wood.  The versatility and lower price point of the Weber 26" Kettle is a factor to consider in addition to its heavier smoke flavor which I'm sure can be tweaked with less smoker wood.

Maybe I should try a Slow'n'Sear before I pursue the Summit .....

Not biased? Sorry, don't agree.  If you watch his 1 year follow up on the Summit where he is whining about a complete breakdown in Weber support and then watch his Kamado Joe video on the new model where he lumps the Summit into the "flippy floppy" issue that he came up with. The latter (which can be labeled as FUD) probably came from Kamado Joe's marketing department in the first place anyway.  At least on a summit, the temp setting won't change if the lid flips down. Sure the lid will flop down if it was wide open in the first place bu then you just flip it back open and no change to the setting on the wheel. Lame to lump that into the issue with the older Kamado style vents.

I also feel that the leak Mr. BabyBack is experiencing is fixable on a Summit. I have taken a close look at the Summit and listened to his problem and feel that i could fix it if i experienced the same thing.

With respect to capacity, PitmasterX over in the Nederlands, got 15 slabs of ribs onto his Summit using two of the Weber stainless racks. Another, German, channel used the stainless stacker shelf to get NINE pork shoulders onto a Summit. Plenty of room! The summit's 24.5" of grilling space can be 100% indirect. Cannot say the same about the 26.5 (even though it is still a very very good choice).

https://youtu.be/MPXnj42oaHY?t=4m22s

https://youtu.be/T2P3auEe_bU?t=6m5s

[nitis]

I want a summit mainly because I'm a Weber geek and just feel like I should have one. However I honestly don't think I can cook anything any better on it than any of my kettles. I've cooked just about everything possible on it from burgers and birds to brisket. On the longer cooks some say I cheat but on butts and briskets that get wrapped they usually wind up on the genesis or in the oven since it's all about heat by that point

Now if I lived in a cooler climate I would totally reconsider a summit for heat retention. Now a 26" is intriguing for the surface area to Cook more larger cooks


Sent from my iPhone using Weber Kettle Club mobile app

[GoAnywhereJeep]

Hey man...  Sorry but the insulation/climate argument is kinda lame because the insulation is not the only reason to get the Summit. As much as I like my Performer (and it is awesome), I still like cooking on thew new Summit better (just working with it and using it as a tool). The 26 is indeed awesome and should be carefully considered before a SC. I got out of my WSM and would recommend a 26 over a WSM in a lot of cases. Oh, and i am the newest SC club member.

[nitis]

No doubt but when trying to justify the cost that's how I justify putting it off


Sent from my iPhone using Weber Kettle Club mobile app

[GoAnywhereJeep]

No doubt but when trying to justify the cost that's how I justify putting it off

Fair enough. I can definitely appreciate wanting one while concurrently avoiding purchasing one for whatever reason. I had to divest from other hobbies that I have stopped playing with and rely on gift money to be able to want to afford the Summit. It is definitely nice to work with and is well built. It should last a very long time. I plan to use the heck out of it and use the Warranty at every opportunity. Weber support has been fantastic for the most part on my other products. I was really torn between the 26 and the two Summits. I like the idea of a 26 or the stand alone Summit but am really a performer kind of guy and need that table. The 26 option does not suck at all. Personally i think i could live without the SnS and use other less expensive options instead but I would get that CB rotisserie.

One thing i have to get better at doing is to avoid overshooting the temps. Even under automatic pit control, I am overshooting the temps but i am only a few cooks into this new rig. It has been a long while since I last cooked on a Kamado (an Imperial) and even then it was without a pit thermometer, let alone any form of automatic temperature control.

[SteveMBH]

If anyone is looking for a deal on a new non-grilling center version in SE MI let me know.  There are a few that could be had at a discount...