Kamado style grill preferences?

[paul85]

Looking to move away from my cheap charcoal grill, weber gas grill, and electric smoky mountain smoker to a single kamado style cooker. Wife wants the back porch tidied up and this will do well to speed that along. I had entertained the idea of a traeger style grill, but think the kamado style cooker would be more fun and easier to use. That being said, I'm looking primarily at the Pit Boss 71220 22 inch cooker and the Vision S-4C1D1 ceramic cooker. There's about a $110 difference between the two and I'd need to buy a ceramic diffuser/pizza stone for either one. Can one of these cookers legitimately do the job of a grill and smoker?

 

[TulsaJeff]

paul85 , I haven't used those particular models but if they are anything like the Big Green Egg, either one will work great. I cook low and slow with indirect heat using the plate setter (heat deflector) and if I want to cook at 600-700°F, I remove the plate setter and let her rip and she will go as hot as I wanna go.

I am a big fan of kamado style cooking. Hopefully someone who has one of these particular models or is familiar with them can pop in soon and give you more specific information about it.

 

[cooker613]

Big fan of kamados. Have a kamado joe, big joe. My son has a big green egg. At the end of the day they both cook great, but the counter balanced lid on the joe makes a big difference on my old joints

 

[retfr8flyr]

I can't help with those brands either, as I am a Kamado Joe guy. I have heard good things about both of them and truthfully they will all cook about the same. It's the warranty and customer service you are really paying for with the top brands. The Kamado Joe grills come with everything you need to start cooking, except the charcoal. Most of the other brands require you to purchase lots of extra items to really make the grill ready for cooking. You should check out all the options before you pull the trigger.

 

[paul85]

Thanks for the advice guys, I appreciate it. I really want to keep it around $700 or so, which means the nicer, more expensive brands are out of it for me. The ceramic plate is another $50 on top of the grill. I don't need a cover as this is going under my covered patio. Both of the ones I looked at have the front mounted lid bumper so the top doesn't come down and crack.

 

[rob g]

I read somewhere recently the Kamado Joe Classic was on sale for about $700. It's a good time of year to be checking for clearance prices. Personally I have the KJ Classic. It will smoke or grill with ease. I have done a 17 hour brisket with it holding about 250F. I use my KJ all winter with no issues. I think most Kamado cookers will do what you want them to do.

Kamado Joe's service/warranty is fantastic. Ive had mine for about 3 years. I recently found a crack in the Firefox when I performed my first cleaning. I put in a claim and was promptly told they are waiting for supplies to come in. About 3 weeks later a new one was on my doorstep. The crack doesn't hurt the function of the unit but I wanted it replaced on the chance I pull it out sometime and it falls into multiple pieces on me.

 

[retfr8flyr]

Amazon currently has the KJ Classic version on sale for $695 delivered. This is not the new II version with the new hinge and gasket but it's a fantastic price for the KJ.

 

[paul85]

Well, I(she) ended up getting the pit boss. It was $100 cheaper than the KJ Classic and we also got the diffuser/stone thing. It arrived this morning which was about 7-10 days faster than we thought it would be here. I'll post some pics later after I get home and get it set up.

 

[drno_1]

Looking to move away from my cheap charcoal grill, weber gas grill, and electric smoky mountain smoker to a single kamado style cooker. Wife wants the back porch tidied up and this will do well to speed that along. I had entertained the idea of a traeger style grill, but think the kamado style cooker would be more fun and easier to use. That being said, I'm looking primarily at the Pit Boss 71220 22 inch cooker and the Vision S-4C1D1 ceramic cooker. There's about a $110 difference between the two and I'd need to buy a ceramic diffuser/pizza stone for either one. Can one of these cookers legitimately do the job of a grill and smoker?

I'm in same boat so I can appreciate this thread. i've only got an old offset cheapo smoker i had someone give me, and i grill on the firebox - which works, but isn't ideal. I've been struggling with either buying a pellet smoker/grill - specifically the CampChef SG 24 with searbox, or going with a Kamado Joe II. i was ready to pull the trigger on the CC two days ago, but hit a patch of reviews on pellet smokers that really downplayed the smoke they produce, and even mentioned having to buy a tube to place in cooking chamber to get more smoke if desired, which seems to be counter-intuitive to having an all in one unit - whereas the Kamado style does it all. still pining away on what to do - this thread helps.

 

[retfr8flyr]

I'm in same boat so I can appreciate this thread. i've only got an old offset cheapo smoker i had someone give me, and i grill on the firebox - which works, but isn't ideal. I've been struggling with either buying a pellet smoker/grill - specifically the CampChef SG 24 with searbox, or going with a Kamado Joe II. i was ready to pull the trigger on the CC two days ago, but hit a patch of reviews on pellet smokers that really downplayed the smoke they produce, and even mentioned having to buy a tube to place in cooking chamber to get more smoke if desired, which seems to be counter-intuitive to having an all in one unit - whereas the Kamado style does it all. still pining away on what to do - this thread helps.

You really need to sample food from a pellet grill before you make up your mind. Do you know anyone with a pellet grill? Pellet grills still give a wood smoke flavor to the food, it's just a different, cleaner taste. Some people actually prefer the pellet flavor over the others. I have a Big Joe, Akorn and Akorn Jr. and I am planning on adding a pellet grill to my setup because of the many benefits of pellet grill cooking. I will still use the charcoal grills but for some of the times, the pellet grill will be a better choice.

 

[drno_1]

yes we have friends who have made ribs on a traeger and they were very good. i'm thinking i'll get the CC, seems a bit more convenient for day to day - and then reset the wheel of funds and see about a kamado in the future.