Kamado Joe Big Joe III. $2600 I think when I got it a few years ago. Fortunately, it comes with basically everything you might want.
A kamado was on my wish list for 2 years before I sold my gas grill and pulled the trigger. So far no regrets, it has turned out some really great meals in every kind of weather.
Very very heavy. I always considered then over priced and not worth it. The good plus is they hold temp like a champ! The thermal mass being what it is and all. Do you think these types of grills have advantages over say a stainless gas, or charcoal, or any other fuel type? I honestly fail to see why their so expensive. Any ideas now that you have owned them? What’s the consensus from your view.
You can do pretty great cooking with charcoal and just a Weber kettle. I keep one of those as my back up that I got as a gift my first year in college… 20 years ago lol. But I think the answer is lump charcoal and not briquettes for taste, so that makes heat management for an 8 or 10 hour cook a very hands on experience.
So I see three big upsides of a ceramic grill, and I could have saved several hundred and got one size smaller without much loss, but I DO like to cook for a crowd.
First, like you said, this thing is a MONSTER at keeping temperature. I would not be afraid to leave it overnight with a brisket in it. There’s a YouTube channel called Smoking Dad BBQ where he did a 50 hour burn at 250F without touching vents or adding charcoal. It’s crazy. Of course, this one will hold almost a whole bag.
Second, there’s enough space in it that you can make the fire inefficient if you need to. Why would you want to do that? Well a problem with other charcoal grills is you lose the ability to do low temp smoking in a high quality way. A cold fire burns dirtier. So by putting a lot of “stuff” like heat deflectors and slow roller and whatever between the food and the fire, you can use a hot bed of coals (clean smoke) and still get temperatures as low as about 170F. I make my own jerky and smoke my own jalapenos to make my own chili powder.
Third, it is truly all season. I can do 800F+ even when it’s 0F outside. I could never get my other grills to do that so I was left to wearing over the chimney starter and no pizza.
The last thing that really pushed me over the edge has nothing to do with food prep and everything to do with longevity. This guy is a giant piece of ceramic with great customer support (I’ve had 2 minor issues and Kamado Joe has sent replacements free) and basically no moving parts that can fail besides the hinge and the bolt on the control tower. I plan to use this thing for decades to come. I have extra gaskets and stuff like that in case they ever fail. No gas grill I’ve had has lasted longer than about 5 years.
If I had unlimited money, I’d also have an offset smoker, but this one grill does pretty much every style of cooking already. I guess that really makes about 5 things… But yeah I like it.
So that really makes sense longevity. Of all the thoughts I didn’t consider that lol. I do see even 2k stainless grills they do eventually rust, break down, fall apart at all the joints eventually. So the fact this behemoth is simple I can see it going the long haul, pair that with the insulation and yeah cooking/grilling all year round is a good advantage. Your foods looks dialed in! So while to me its wildly expensive for a grill. I do see the points you mention and how they factor into the cost average over time. Plus I have a better understanding of why one would need a 2.5k or 3k egg grill. Interesting…
Is there a cleaner method besides charcoal? I love smoked meat but don’t own a smoker. I have an autoimmune condition so I’m very ingredient sensitive which is what worries me about the charring and cleanliness of the heat source. The only smoked meats I usually consume are hickory smoked bacon in small amounts.
Kamado Joe Big Joe III. $2600 I think when I got it a few years ago. Fortunately, it comes with basically everything you might want.
A kamado was on my wish list for 2 years before I sold my gas grill and pulled the trigger. So far no regrets, it has turned out some really great meals in every kind of weather.
It’s a real heavy bastard though.
Holy fucking shit! $2,600…
The big big green egg costs more and doesn’t include accessories. These big ceramic guys are expensive.
Very very heavy. I always considered then over priced and not worth it. The good plus is they hold temp like a champ! The thermal mass being what it is and all. Do you think these types of grills have advantages over say a stainless gas, or charcoal, or any other fuel type? I honestly fail to see why their so expensive. Any ideas now that you have owned them? What’s the consensus from your view.
Also, I rotisseried my entire thanksgiving turkey in that thing last year lol. Tons of space for activities.
I guess I’m shallow minded. I never thought if what use it could really have. The room it is capable of holding. Item types, quantities. Neat.
You can do pretty great cooking with charcoal and just a Weber kettle. I keep one of those as my back up that I got as a gift my first year in college… 20 years ago lol. But I think the answer is lump charcoal and not briquettes for taste, so that makes heat management for an 8 or 10 hour cook a very hands on experience.
So I see three big upsides of a ceramic grill, and I could have saved several hundred and got one size smaller without much loss, but I DO like to cook for a crowd.
First, like you said, this thing is a MONSTER at keeping temperature. I would not be afraid to leave it overnight with a brisket in it. There’s a YouTube channel called Smoking Dad BBQ where he did a 50 hour burn at 250F without touching vents or adding charcoal. It’s crazy. Of course, this one will hold almost a whole bag.
Second, there’s enough space in it that you can make the fire inefficient if you need to. Why would you want to do that? Well a problem with other charcoal grills is you lose the ability to do low temp smoking in a high quality way. A cold fire burns dirtier. So by putting a lot of “stuff” like heat deflectors and slow roller and whatever between the food and the fire, you can use a hot bed of coals (clean smoke) and still get temperatures as low as about 170F. I make my own jerky and smoke my own jalapenos to make my own chili powder.
Third, it is truly all season. I can do 800F+ even when it’s 0F outside. I could never get my other grills to do that so I was left to wearing over the chimney starter and no pizza.
The last thing that really pushed me over the edge has nothing to do with food prep and everything to do with longevity. This guy is a giant piece of ceramic with great customer support (I’ve had 2 minor issues and Kamado Joe has sent replacements free) and basically no moving parts that can fail besides the hinge and the bolt on the control tower. I plan to use this thing for decades to come. I have extra gaskets and stuff like that in case they ever fail. No gas grill I’ve had has lasted longer than about 5 years.
If I had unlimited money, I’d also have an offset smoker, but this one grill does pretty much every style of cooking already. I guess that really makes about 5 things… But yeah I like it.
So that really makes sense longevity. Of all the thoughts I didn’t consider that lol. I do see even 2k stainless grills they do eventually rust, break down, fall apart at all the joints eventually. So the fact this behemoth is simple I can see it going the long haul, pair that with the insulation and yeah cooking/grilling all year round is a good advantage. Your foods looks dialed in! So while to me its wildly expensive for a grill. I do see the points you mention and how they factor into the cost average over time. Plus I have a better understanding of why one would need a 2.5k or 3k egg grill. Interesting…
Is there a cleaner method besides charcoal? I love smoked meat but don’t own a smoker. I have an autoimmune condition so I’m very ingredient sensitive which is what worries me about the charring and cleanliness of the heat source. The only smoked meats I usually consume are hickory smoked bacon in small amounts.