Short answer is yes. Quoting from the article:
Move over Big Green Egg, the Kamado Joe Classic II is the new kamado champion. In addition to excellent grilling and smoking, it offers countless features that make cooking easier than with the Big Green Egg. There’s a spring-assisted lid that holds in place at any height and locks, helping to control airflow and temperature. That’s especially important for slow-cooking methods, like smoking salmon. The dampers are easy to adjust, and there are split racks that allow you to cook food at different heights. The Joe Classic is one of the few models that features an easy pullout ash tray, helping it earn a rating of Very Good for cleaning.
The Vision Kamado Professional is one of the least-expensive ceramic kamados in our ratings and comes in $300 cheaper than the Egg. Like the other kamado grills we test, it delivers delicious food, beautifully browning a medium-rare sirloin steak. It also comes with some helpful features, such as a rolling cart, side shelves, and two lower dampers for fine-tuning temperature (most kamados, including the Egg and those here, have one), earning a Very Good rating for convenience. A special port lets you use an electric charcoal starter (not included) to light coals. Just be aware that like other ceramic models, it's heavy: This grill weighs a stout 227 pounds. It’s available in five colors and sold exclusively at Home Depot.
Can a nonceramic kamado grill compete with the ceramic king? The answer from our tests is yes. The Char-Broil Kamander hits the sweet spot between price and performance. It’s made from double-walled stainless steel, with a powder-coated finish. On high heat, the Kamander can get to 1,000° F, just like most kamados. It earns a rating of Excellent for cooking performance, turning out fabulous thin-crust pizza that’s crisp but not burnt. Like the ceramic models above, it has upper and lower dampers for controlling airflow. Another perk: At 115 pounds, it’s much lighter than ceramic models, which makes it much easier to move around.
CR doesn't test for longevity, durability, and after sales support, and we know some of these products are prone to cracking. They also ignore the grills' available accessories, temperature uniformity, range, and stability. Thus, their ratings seem somewhat shallow overall, and are for cooking, convenience and cooking performance only. As a long time BGE owner I'd probably opt for a Joe if I were to start over because of its more refined design.
Move over Big Green Egg, the Kamado Joe Classic II is the new kamado champion. In addition to excellent grilling and smoking, it offers countless features that make cooking easier than with the Big Green Egg. There’s a spring-assisted lid that holds in place at any height and locks, helping to control airflow and temperature. That’s especially important for slow-cooking methods, like smoking salmon. The dampers are easy to adjust, and there are split racks that allow you to cook food at different heights. The Joe Classic is one of the few models that features an easy pullout ash tray, helping it earn a rating of Very Good for cleaning.
The Vision Kamado Professional is one of the least-expensive ceramic kamados in our ratings and comes in $300 cheaper than the Egg. Like the other kamado grills we test, it delivers delicious food, beautifully browning a medium-rare sirloin steak. It also comes with some helpful features, such as a rolling cart, side shelves, and two lower dampers for fine-tuning temperature (most kamados, including the Egg and those here, have one), earning a Very Good rating for convenience. A special port lets you use an electric charcoal starter (not included) to light coals. Just be aware that like other ceramic models, it's heavy: This grill weighs a stout 227 pounds. It’s available in five colors and sold exclusively at Home Depot.
Can a nonceramic kamado grill compete with the ceramic king? The answer from our tests is yes. The Char-Broil Kamander hits the sweet spot between price and performance. It’s made from double-walled stainless steel, with a powder-coated finish. On high heat, the Kamander can get to 1,000° F, just like most kamados. It earns a rating of Excellent for cooking performance, turning out fabulous thin-crust pizza that’s crisp but not burnt. Like the ceramic models above, it has upper and lower dampers for controlling airflow. Another perk: At 115 pounds, it’s much lighter than ceramic models, which makes it much easier to move around.
CR doesn't test for longevity, durability, and after sales support, and we know some of these products are prone to cracking. They also ignore the grills' available accessories, temperature uniformity, range, and stability. Thus, their ratings seem somewhat shallow overall, and are for cooking, convenience and cooking performance only. As a long time BGE owner I'd probably opt for a Joe if I were to start over because of its more refined design.
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