I am impatiently awaiting the Kamado Joe Big Joe III I ordered from BBQGuys last week. I wanted it, because here in Northeast Florida by the ocean where I live, nothing metal can survive the salt air and humidity even if it is enamel coated, whether you keep it covered or not. I've been through 3 Weber Kettles in the past 17 years. I want the ceramic body of the Kamado so it will last. Outside of that, I just had a serious case of MCS mixed with too much beer and I pulled the trigger. I honestly do not know what the advantages of a Kamado might be over a Kettle. So to you folks who have owned them, if someone asked you "why a Kamado?" how would you reply to help them understand why I just spent my kid's inheritance on one?
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Why a Kamado?
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Sure, it does the same stuff as a kettle. But for me, a Kamado is superior at pizza. Bread too, but I’ve only done that once.
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Club Member
- Mar 2020
- 4359
- Near Chicago, IL
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Current Portfolio:
Joule
PK300
Meathead’s Large Big Green Egg Loaded (see below)
Old (sold) Loves:
PBC
Weber 22" Premium
Masterbuilt Gravity 560
Akorn Kamado
Thermometers:
Thermopro wired
Thermoworks POP
Combustion Inc
Preferred Charcoal:
Masterbuilt Lump
Favorite Rubs:
Homemade (mainly MMD/Just Like Katz rub)
Other Accessories:
Big Green Egg Slow & Sear
Tandoori Skewers System for BGE
Split ceramic plates BGE
Smoking plate BGE
Mercer brisket slicing knife
Rapala brisket trimming knife
SS BBQ trays
NoCry Cut Resistant Gloves
LEM # 8 Meat Grinder
Lodge 5-Quart Dutch Oven + Skillet
Meat Claws
Grill Rescue Brush
Meat Fridge for dry aging
Favorite Whiskey/Beer:
Anything Peaty or anything from New Holland brewery
It holds temperatures for far longer than a kettle with minimal cook intervention. Next to a pellet smoker, it is the most set and forget with no mods needed in stock configuration. It is more fuel efficient, especially in cold weather.
it also does better baking foods and pizzas, and it’s design allows for more moisture retention for other foods, creating a juicier result.
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Charter Member
- Oct 2014
- 7450
- NEPA
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Large Big Green Egg, Weber Performer Deluxe, Weber Smokey Joe Silver, Maverick 732, DigiQ, and too much other stuff to mention.
I have both. For grilling I go back and forth between them, but for low and slow the kamado is by far superior.
If you have either, you don’t really need the other. But my experience is that the kamado is better at grilling than the kettle is at smoking. The workarounds for grilling on a kamado are easier than the workarounds for smoking on a kettle. For me, anyhow. But I had the kamado first.
As for the food quality? No difference. With proper technique, each will turn out spectacular backyard food of all types.
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Club Member
- Nov 2017
- 7156
- Huntsville, Alabama
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Jim Morris
Cookers- Slow 'N Sear Deluxe Kamado (2021)
- Camp Chef FTG900 Flat Top Grill (2020)
- Weber Genesis II E-410 w/ GrillGrates (2019)
- Weber Performer Deluxe 22.5" w/ GrillGrates & Slow 'N Sear & Drip N Griddle & Vortex & Party Q & Rotisserie (2007)
- Custom Built Offset Smoker (304SS, 22"x34" grate, circa 1985)
- King Kooker 94/90TKD 105K/60K dual burner patio stove
- Lodge L8D03 5 quart dutch oven
- Lodge L10SK3 12" skillet
- Anova
- Thermoworks Smoke w/ Wifi Gateway
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- Thermoworks Thermapen Classic
- Thermoworks RT600C
- Weber Connect
- Whatever I brewed and have on tap!
I think the others have covered it, but I will say the strengths are LONG low and slow with great stability. I've gone 18-20 hours on a load of lump, and still had some unburned when I pulled the deflector before the next cook. Also high heat - 700+ is easy to achieve for making the perfect pizza. And once it soaks at the temperature you are cooking at, even with an elevated grate, I seem to find that the temperature is pretty even between the main and elevated cooking grates.
I hope all the hardware on your new kamado is stainless. That's what I love about my SNS Kamado. If the cart (if you got one) and other elements are not stainless, they will also have issues over time in a high salt environment.Last edited by jfmorris; April 21, 2022, 04:08 PM.
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Something else, living in Minnesota, the kamados hold temp no matter the weather. Wind, cold, whatever. You can shut them down, and do two or three rib cooks on one load of charcoal. A long cook, no problem. There is so little air flow through them that there is no worry about moisture. Had a BGE for 20 years.
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Mark V you are not the first person I've known of to lose a BGE that way. It's the main reason I always said that I was happy with my Performer and other kettles, and saw no need for a kamado. Having had the SNS Kamado for a 15 months now - I'm glad I have it! But I am for SURE never moving it off the patio area it sits on without a lot of help to ensure it doesn't go Humpty Dumpty on me too...
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Club Member
- Sep 2019
- 2582
- Gainesville, FL
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I of course love smoked meats of all kinds, but also like quick cooks like chicken portions, pork tenderloins, steak and fish. Really into cooking of all kinds.
My outdoor kitchen has a Lone Star Grillz Adjustable and it is wonderful. There also is a Pit Boss 5 Burner Ultimate Griddle.
There is an outdoor fire pit that has grilling capability and limited Santa Maria-style grill raising and lowering.
BBQ Guru UltraQ
Anova Precision Cooker Nano
One more thing you will notice is that blast of steam hitting you in the face when you open it during a cook. That shows how well it keeps the meat moist while smoking. And this happens whether you use a water pan or not in my Kamado.
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Club Member
- Feb 2018
- 2829
- Northshore MA
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Home:
XL BGE
PK360
PKGO
Alfresco Gasser
Alfresco Power Burner
Alfresco Sear Station
Blazin' Grid Iron Pellet Cooker
Shirley 36 Patio Offset Smoker
Up at Camp:
Weber Summit Charcoal Grill
Kamado has a bigger denser thermal mass. Takes longer to heat up but holds the heat longer and is more stable (think opening the lid) it rebounds faster. For low and slow much steadier temps. Con to that is if you overshoot temps it is harder to lower it back down. The thermal mass makes it a better oven for baking and roasting.
Harder to do 2 zone in a Kamado.
Kettle heats up faster so is ready to cook faster. The Webers with the removable ash buckets are easier to clean.
Have to use lump in most Kamados.
Go to ceramic grill store and pick up the Kick Ash basket, woo rig, and extra stones.
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I considered a kamado but was hesitant due to 1) time needed to cook (not a lot available during on weekdays) and 2) concerns about cooking surface area size being too small. The deal breaker was that my deck where I BBQ is accessed via a long flight of stairs. The thought of getting that ceramic ship anchor up those stairs gave me premonitions about needing another spine surgery afterwards.Last edited by DrJimmy2112; April 21, 2022, 09:26 PM.
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I’ve been cooking on Kamados for 7 years now. I’m so sold on them that I just got a Kamado Joe big Joe to go with my classic Joe. If I try to cook a brisket low and slow there’s so much moisture that the bark is terrible. If you cook it at 300 F you get beautiful bark, great moisture,and a noticeably shorter cook. You’re going to love it as soon as get comfortable with how to cook on it.
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Club Member
- May 2020
- 2731
- Long Beach, CA
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22” Blue Weber Kettle with SnS insert
Kamado Joe Jr with Kick Ash Basket
Char-Broil Smartchef Tru Infrared Gasser
Anovo Hot Tub Time Machine with Custom Hot Tub
While I only have a Jr, everything the aforementioned comments stated. I wish I chose a bigger one, because ash cleaning is a pain in the ash. But I am learning to make it work. So when I graduate to a full size Kamado, I will be a pro.
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tbob4 that's a great tip. This one is well worth the extra cash. It stores really well unlike most shop vacs that are awkward and bulky. https://www.amazon.com/Milwaukee-088...ps%2C99&sr=8-5
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If you don't need a shop vac for anything else, Home Depot and others sell a "bucket head" vacuum that attaches to one of their cheap 5 gallon buckets, and lets you suck stuff up into the bucket. That might be good for ash cleanup.
I just scoop most of the ashes out of the bottom of my kamado every 4-5 cooks using the same scoop I use for charcoal, and don't worry with a little bit of ash, since its going to come back on the next cook.
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Charter Member
- Oct 2014
- 7450
- NEPA
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Large Big Green Egg, Weber Performer Deluxe, Weber Smokey Joe Silver, Maverick 732, DigiQ, and too much other stuff to mention.
Originally posted by DrJimmy2112 View PostI considered a kamado but was hesitant due to 1) time needed to cook (not a lot available during on weekdays) and 2) concerns about cooking surface area size being too small. The deal breaker was that my deck where I BBQ is accessed via a long flight of stairs. The thought of getting that ceramic ship anchor up those stairs gave me premonitions about needing another spine surgery afterwards.
The cooking surface, yep. I got a LBGE, they should have called that a medium. But the XL is probably too big. The design of a kamado uses more space for a smaller cooking area. There’s no way around that.
The mass, yes and no. I can carry a LBGE (18†diameter) up a flight of stairs myself, without too much trouble, if I take it apart and take each piece up separately, even now as an old guy with aches and pains. But many kamados are 22â€, that creates a problem with both mass and volume when transporting. One of the reasons I don’t have a Komodo Kamado is the exact same, at 500 lbs I just don’t want to have to deal with it. The food will taste the same, so why bother.
Last edited by Mosca; April 22, 2022, 02:55 AM.
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Founding Member & Pit Barrel Cooker Queen
- Jul 2014
- 7207
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My toys:
Weber Summit Charcoal Grilling Center (WSCGC) aka Mr. Fancypants
Pit Barrel Cooker (which rocks), named Pretty Baby
Weber Summit S650 Gas Grill, named Hot 'n Fast (used mostly for searing and griddling)
Weber Kettle Premium 22" named Kettle Kid, eager to horn in with more cooks in the future
Camp Chef Somerset IV 4-burner outdoor gas range named AfterBurner due to its 30kBTU burners
Adrenaline BBQ Company Gear:SnS Low Profile, DnG, and Large Charcoal Basket, for WSCGC
SnS Deluxe for 22" Kettle
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SS Rack for DnG
Cast Iron GriddleGrill Grate for SnSGrill Grates: five 17.375 sections (retired to storage)
Grill Grates: six 19.25 panels for exact fit for Summit S650
gasser
Grill Grates for 22" Kettle
2 Grill Grate Griddles
Steelmade Griddle for Summit gas grill
Fireboard Gear:Extreme BBQ Thermometer PackagePit Viper Fan (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Additional control unit
Additional probes: Competition Probes 1" (3) and 4" (1), 3 additional Ambient Probes. 1 additional Food Probe
2 Driver Cables
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Thermoworks Gear:Thermapen MK4 (pink)Maverick ET 73 a little workhorse with limited range
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Maverick ET 733
Maverick (Ivation) ET 732
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Vortex (two of them)
18" drip pan for WSCGC
Ceramic Spacers for WSCGC in Kamado Mode: 2 sets each 1/2", 1", 2". The 2" spacers work best with the 18" drip pan. The 1+1/2 inch spacers work best with the 14 inch cake pan.
Two Joule Sous Vide devices
3 Lipavi Sous Vide Tubs with Lids: 12, 18 and 26 quarts
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Instant Pot 6 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
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BBQ Dragon and Dragon Chimney
Shun Classic Series:8" Chef Knife
6" Chef's Knife
Gokujo Boning and Fillet Knife
3 1/2 inch Paring Knife
With a kettle, you need an SnS or have to pile your coals in a a 2 zone cook setup. This takes up a fair amount of real estate, leaving about 2/3 or less of the grate area available for the food.
With a kamado, the entire grate surface is available for the food. That makes a big difference in my smoking game, for sure.
Kathryn
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Kathryn,
Do you find that you have to avoid the edges of the cooking grate when using the deflector, due to heat coming up around the edges? I've tried to make sure that the meat stayed over the deflector and did not extend to the edge of the grate, but that isn't always possible with a large brisket or ribs.
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