quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x:

quote:

Originally posted by sybo:
This could be like caliber wars! There are people that treat grilling/smoking like a religion. Green Egg, Pellet, Gas, Charcoal, Lump, Wood, you get the idea.
For years I was one to say I would never spend the kind of money for a ceramic type grill till 2017. A friend who is a MASSIVE carnivore, started educating me on alternatives to my failing Weber. I am 100% happy with my Kamado Joe from the Costco Road Show. https://imgur.com/a/QkQudZY
After getting over sticker shock, and the heavy beast of a crate filled with ceramic parts, the unit is VERY impressive. I do not, never have, and MANY happy grillers own a BGE. My summation is the Kamado Joe took a great product like the BGE and improved on lots of features. The hinge on the Joe is FAR superior and adjustable, base is wonderfully stable, cooks like nothing else I have ever used. I can obtain and maintain 170 for (longest was 15 hours) without much attention, or 750-800 degrees o problem. I will never use Charcoal Briquettes again, to me it is trash, lump charcoal for me buddy. Get the Joe through Costco for an added level of Warranty, (never had to use it yet), and the cheapest price on the unit and accessories. Not to mention that Costco meats are fantastic. I would rate my Kamado Joe with 5 star⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

https://imgur.com/a/vxwO0zo

I looked on Costcos website and am a member, but don't see the Kamado Joe for sale or any Kamado Joe product. Just some Louisiana grills kamado grill. I did see they have an even at a Costco 30 minutes from my house with kamado joe in a month, but for the life of me, cannot find where they sell the kamado joe, is it only at the event? I am strongly leaning towards the Kamado joe II 18" as the classic Kamado joe has the crappy hinge the BGE has and a cheap gasket.

I don't recall seeing the KJ at Costco. I got mine from Sams Club.

I saw the Louisiana whatever at Costco and it looks pretty good. I like that it comes with a ceramic insert so you can cook with indirect heat. It had a nice design too. With the KJ you have to buy a lava stone separately and the bracket that comes with it is not very impressive.

Every year I see KJ at our local Costco for about a month, then gone, usually there's a KJ rep there with them. I think its a short term seasonal thing, partnered with KJ, and not online (these would have to be shipped via freight).

I think the KJ grills are available at Costco during their kamado events. They have a website link which tells you when a specific location will be having it. They also offer 30 lb bags of KJ big block lump charcoal at a good price during those events.

I have a BGE, large. I've never felt that the wheeled stand was flimsy or that difficult to move. Then again, why would one want to move it very far anyway? I'm looking to build a larger table to place it in. It would have casters, but it would never move very far.

2. No. Natural lump charcoal, as others have said.

3. Takes 30 seconds and is very easy. You can even use a shop vac.

4. Always with the lid closed. That's how it was designed. I've never had any issues with it.

5. I always used a combination of both vents. It takes practice, but you get the hang of it quickly.

6. Very little. Do a burnout on occassion to clean up the inside. Clean out the ashes regularly. Wipe down the outside. Done.

7. Lots. Check the BGE forum.

I’ll be upgrading from my Vision ceramic egg to the Weber Summit Charcoal. It’s basically an egg but less weight and double walled porcelain-enameled bowl and lid. Instead of thick ceramic insulation, the Summit Charcoal uses an air gap. It’s very efficient.

Here’s a decent review:
https://youtu.be/glt8Jn2MKgU

quote:

3. Is sweeping out the ashes a pain in the ass? The one thing I like about my weber is they go into a catch can and you just dump them out.

On the advice of a seller I have a small Shop Vac I use for this to great effect. Way easier than a silly little rake tool.

Around the holidays, you can find ash vacuums on sale. I got mine for around $30.

I sold my BGE and purchased a pellet grill...best decision ever. I would never go back. I've had several pellet grills but settled on a Camp Chef Woodwind SG.

quote:

Originally posted by LBTRS:
I sold my BGE and purchased a pellet grill...best decision ever. I would never go back. I've had several pellet grills but settled on a Camp Chef Woodwind SG.

Pretty sure the topic was "Which Ceramic grill to buy?"

It doesn't always have to morph into an ether/or choice.

quote:

Originally posted by smschulz:

quote:

Originally posted by LBTRS:
I sold my BGE and purchased a pellet grill...best decision ever. I would never go back. I've had several pellet grills but settled on a Camp Chef Woodwind SG.

Pretty sure the topic was "Which Ceramic grill to buy?"

It doesn't always have to morph into an ether/or choice.

So your "off topic" post correcting me is more appropriate than my post as someone who has owned a BGE and found another grill to be a better option?

He asked, "anything I'm missing" to which you responded "thermopen" and I responded with my experience with a ceramic grill.

The topic and OP is an "either or choice".

I wish someone would have turned me onto a pellet grill before I spent the $1000+ on a pain in the ass ceramic grill.

quote:

Originally posted by smschulz:

quote:

Originally posted by LBTRS:
I sold my BGE and purchased a pellet grill...best decision ever. I would never go back. I've had several pellet grills but settled on a Camp Chef Woodwind SG

Pretty sure the topic was "Which Ceramic grill to buy?"

The last question that Jimmy asked in the original post was "Anything I'm missing?"

quote:

Originally posted by LBTRS:
I sold my BGE and purchased a pellet grill...best decision ever. I would never go back. I've had several pellet grills but settled on a Camp Chef Woodwind SG.

----------------------------------------

I'm pretty close to having done the same thing, I just didn't sell my BGE but I do have a pellet smoker and rarely use the egg. I love to cold smoke cheddar cheese, what a great flavor. The pellet smoker is so cool, set and forget....

Lump charcoal is “ the way” of the Egg and clones. Definitely start any way except lighter fluid. The fluid will infiltrate the ceramic and you don’t want that.

I have used break apart fire starter blocks but most recently the pseudo mapp gas torches By bernzo etc.

The pellet grills initially sounded interesting but honestly the bad luck I've had with pellet stove augers would have me giving them a wide berth.

The eggs style units are still on my radar.
https://www.nibblemethis.com/2...l-kamander.html#more

Does every single thread on Sigforum have to get into some childish argument about symantics?


Can we just keep the thread to grills? I don't mind other recommendations, I'm fairly set on just a ceramic grill. My weber is on it's last legs and I have 4 bags of kingsford briquettes to get through...I use the weber starter can with 2 sheets of crumpled newspaper to get the charcoal started now.....obviously for the ceramic will have to switch to a torch or starter block etc......but am heavily leaning to going ceramic and most likely kamado joe II 18". Haven't seen the II in person, Lowe's only has the classic in store.


Anyone buy one from Costco? The Kamado Joe II 18"? Was the price still $1199? Unfortunately here in South Florida, we don't really have an off season for grilling where retailers cut prices and dump them because snow is coming

quote:

Originally posted by pessimist:
It doesn't seem like you'll be using it as intended so it's going to be an expensive option.

If you can hold on till the end of the season, you should be able to get a brand new Kamado for half price or better. I paid $250 for mine and it typically goes for around $600.

I didn't do quite so well, but was able to get a pretty slick deal on a new old stock.

the Kamado Joe has been an excellent acquisition at our home.

A bluetooth or other wireless dual probe thermometer really takes a lot of the guess work out of heat control and "done-ness" on various meats.

quote:

Originally posted by jjkroll32:
A bluetooth or other wireless dual probe thermometer really takes a lot of the guess work out of heat control and "done-ness" on various meats.

The ThermoWorks (same people as the Thermapen) Smoke is a great one. It comes with two probes, a meat thermometer probe just like the Thermapen probe and an air temperature probe with a clip to hold it just above the grates. It comes with a base unit the probes plug into and a small wireless remote display you can carry around the house to monitor temps.

For the tech nerds, they also have a wifi gateway that will let you monitor it from your phone.

I have a Kamado Joe, and I love it, the ability to sear steaks at 700 degrees and smoke for 16 - 18 hours at 250 is well worth it, also the divide and conquer system makes it so much nicer.

And the price difference between it and the BGE to me were worth it.

I have a Large and a Minimax Big Green Egg, I would not hesitate to buy them again but the Kamado Joe's seem to be slightly update versions. After trying a few starting methods I have settled on a MAP torch.

Deals can be had - I had been eyeing up the Kamado Joe for a couple of years and finally pulled the trigger a few weeks ago. My local Cabelas was listed as a dealer for Kamado Joe - they had 1 Kamado Joe Classic II on the floor (had been there for at least a year). Went on a day they had a promotion (5x's points and $50 off anything over 250...). They also price matched another local place. After my fiancee and I redeemed our points we walked out paying a little under $600 (and I got about $150 back in points).

So far I'm really loving it - the hinge on the lid and the split grill grates have performed beyond my expectations. I've mostly been smoking meats (at 220) and salamon (at 180), but have used it to sear at high temp (at 700) as well.

I've been trying different brands of lump charcoal (Big green egg lump is the type I've liked best so far).

When I light it, I use a couple of paper towels folded up and pour a little vegetable oil on them, arrange the lumps over the paper towels and light them. 10 minutes open, adjust the bottom and top vents, then close the lid, wait another 20 to 30 minutes for the temp to stabilize. Using that method I've not overshot my target temperature yet. I've used my chimney starter too, but that was only when I was using it to grill at a higher temperature - it would have been too hot for smoking.