Getting a new grill— thinking about a Kamado

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

I really like my Weber gas grill. But we have a small cottage and I am thinking of mixing things up and getting a Kamado grill for that place. I am curious if anyone has thoughts on these grills. 
 

I was reading consumer reports, and they rank the Vision Kamado s-series as their favorite. That

seems like a good value too— not in the price range of a green egg or Kamado Joe. I also saw that you can buy cheaper non-ceramic ones, but not sure what the deal is with those.

 

any thoughts would be appreciated! 

 

[Augie]

My son got a Kamado grill about a year ago. He LOVES it! Cheaper than a BGE, and still a lot of the advantages. Surface size is rather limited if cooking for large groups, but you can use a second level grill grate to add space. Hie wife is a vegetarian so has to be careful not to drip meat juices on to her stuff. 

 

I would add one here if I had a little more space and play around with it. I like to cook, and it would be fun to have for variety. I’ll stick with my Weber for this house as we often do large groups and need volume, but I’d be very open to other options in the future. 

 

Good luck! Doing something different at another place would be a great way to try it out. 

[sherpa]

I've owned a Primo XL Kamado for years.

I use lump charcoal only, and control the temp with a Diqi-Q controller.

Not a cheap combination, but works great and I really enjoy it.

I always use a meat thermometer to check for doneness. Those are quite inexpensive and very accurate.

I've cooked just about everything in it.

 

Not sure about your non ceramic question.

The benefit of ceramic is that they really hold moisture in, as long as you don't keep opening them, which you never have to with a controller for the pit temp and a meat thermometer.

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

The other thing I am looking at is the Kamado Joe “Junior.” 
 

it is a more portable version— weighs “only” 60 pounds and is 13 inches of grill Space (versus the normal

18 inches) and from what I can tell is a big enough size to cook for like 5-7 people and still smoke a fair amount of things. It’s $350– so significantly cheaper than the full-size ones, which run over $800.

[BarleyNY]

I have a Big Green Egg (BGE) now.  Previously I had the black Char Grill non-ceramic one.  It worked almost as well as the BGE and was a fraction of the cost, but it only lasted 2-3 seasons.  If you’re not sure if you want an egg, then it’s not a bad way to go for a couple years to see if you like it enough to drop the money on a ceramic. 

TBH I find the BGE a little pretentious but I got a decent deal on mine and I’m not swapping it out now.  Many dealers have events where volunteer cooks make food on a bunch of them.  You can get a discount if you buy one of those.  You should reserve it ahead of time though. 
 

There are other brands that are just as good as the BGE.  My buddy got his at Costco.  It was close to the same price as the BGE but it was larger and came with a ton of extra stuff that would’ve really added up for the BGE.  It works great.  I believe that Cabelas used to have their own brand, but I don’t see it on their site now.  Nothing wrong with a Kamado either.

 

Oh and eggs are great to cook on.  If you like charcoal cooking then you’ll be happy with one.

[Just Joshin']

I have a Vision and a BGE.  The BGE is better quality and holds heat better but also more expensive.  it depends upon your budget.

 

Ceramic smokers are very flexible - I use mine as smoker, grill and pizza oven.  it really is multi purpose in way other grills are not.

 

Regardless of make, get the largest one you can afford.  You can smoke an entire brisket or sear steaks.

 

If getting the vision, do not get the combo gas/charcoal option.  The gas does not heat up enough to use properly.

 

Always use lump charcoal and never use lighter fluid.  Some people use a chimney starter but I use wax cube made by Weber.

 

Good luck on your new hobby.

[RaoulDuke79]

I bought the Louisiana Grills version from Costco 2 years ago. Got a hernia lifting it into the truck and even had my buddies help. Haven't used it as much as I want to just because it's not as convenient if you need a 30 minute meal. There's definitely a learning curve with the intake and damper settings. I recommend getting familiar with those early on. I had some great things off of it and have some where I'm on the 3rd or4th attempt. Still struggling with ribs and pizza

Edited May 14, 2021 by RaoulDuke79

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

Thanks for all the advice, everyone! I ended up going with the Kamado Joe Jr.  Not a huge cooking surface, but quality, price and portability were really good. And I saw enough videos of people being able to grill and smoke a lot of big meat on that grill to get comfortable with the idea of the smaller grill.

 

I will let you all know how it goes when  it gets here! 
 

 

[RaoulDuke79]

Tomorrow is looking promising weather wise. I think I'm going to get a rack of ribs and let them do their thing while I work in the yard. Best of luck on your purchase. 

[Augie]

37 minutes ago, Miyagi-Do Karate said:

Thanks for all the advice, everyone! I ended up going with the Kamado Joe Jr.  Not a huge cooking surface, but quality, price and portability were really good. And I saw enough videos of people being able to grill and smoke a lot of big meat on that grill to get comfortable with the idea of the smaller grill.

 

I will let you all know how it goes when  it gets here! 
 

 

 

Thanks for the update. I know it’s a hassle, but I’ll look forward to tasting what comes off of it at a tailgate this season. Since they are so heavy, I’ll have a fit young guy like @plenzmd1 help you unload it. He’s the stud of his yoga classes, so I’m sure he’s up to the task!

 

As my mother would say, cook and enjoy in good health! Bon appetit! 

[Nextmanup]

I was in a small, locally owned grill store down here in FL about 8 years ago.  The guy only sells top brands and nice equipment.

At that time, he said to me that the industry was going to hell and that the only major brand that still offered spare parts for their grills, so that they could be repaired, was Weber.

 

He said the other big names didn't even offer spares, such that there were all expensive disposable items.

 

I bought a Weber on that information alone.

 

It's worth nothing I have now bought spare parts for it 3 times to keep her running at minimal cost.

 

I have never heard of Kamado, don't know if they have spare parts, or if the information I got about spare parts some years ago is still relevant.

 

 

 

 

[sherpa]

Glad you made your decision and are pleased with it.

As I said, I've been cooking on a Primo XL for years, and if there is one bit of advice I would offer, because I think it's invaluable, is to purchase some kind of temp controller. If you want to do long cooks, like brisket, pork butt, or ribs, it is essential that the temp be controlled accurately. 

Same with turkey/chicken.

It is way too much work to actively control it with vent placement, and even then the temps are not accurate.

On my Primo, I cook brisket and pork butt at 225.

In order to get 225 in the cooking area, where it matters, the dome temp indicates 305.

 

In other words, the dome temp is useless if you care to cook precisely.

Controllers are not cheap, my DIGI Q is about $125, but it holds the cooking temp within two degrees without any work, or opening the lid, on my part. I get it stabilized at the cooking temp for 20 mins then don't open the thing for ten hours until done.

Pays for itself after about five cooks, and I wouldn't operate without it.

 

[Seasons1992]

2 hours ago, Nextmanup said:

I was in a small, locally owned grill store down here in FL about 8 years ago.  The guy only sells top brands and nice equipment.

At that time, he said to me that the industry was going to hell and that the only major brand that still offered spare parts for their grills, so that they could be repaired, was Weber.

 

He said the other big names didn't even offer spares, such that there were all expensive disposable items.

 

I bought a Weber on that information alone.

 

It's worth nothing I have now bought spare parts for it 3 times to keep her running at minimal cost.

 

I have never heard of Kamado, don't know if they have spare parts, or if the information I got about spare parts some years ago is still relevant.

 

 

 

 

 

Yeah I'm sticking with Weber permanently for gas. If I'm ever able to own charcoal, it will be whatever is cheapest and whatever has the highest grate off the coals.

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

5 hours ago, sherpa said:

Glad you made your decision and are pleased with it.

As I said, I've been cooking on a Primo XL for years, and if there is one bit of advice I would offer, because I think it's invaluable, is to purchase some kind of temp controller. If you want to do long cooks, like brisket, pork butt, or ribs, it is essential that the temp be controlled accurately. 

Same with turkey/chicken.

It is way too much work to actively control it with vent placement, and even then the temps are not accurate.

On my Primo, I cook brisket and pork butt at 225.

In order to get 225 in the cooking area, where it matters, the dome temp indicates 305.

 

In other words, the dome temp is useless if you care to cook precisely.

Controllers are not cheap, my DIGI Q is about $125, but it holds the cooking temp within two degrees without any work, or opening the lid, on my part. I get it stabilized at the cooking temp for 20 mins then don't open the thing for ten hours until done.

Pays for itself after about five cooks, and I wouldn't operate without it.

 

Thanks— this seems like critically helpful advice. 

[Nextmanup]

22 hours ago, Seasons1992 said:

 

Yeah I'm sticking with Weber permanently for gas. If I'm ever able to own charcoal, it will be whatever is cheapest and whatever has the highest grate off the coals.

After 3 or 4 years of high use, the tubular gas port thing that carries gas through the grill and provides all the flame jets just rusted away in a certain area.  It prevented the guess from going from the left side of the burner port to the right side, so that I only had 1 of 2 burners that were working.  The grill was not usable like that.  

 

I was able to order exactly the right part for like $35 at Amazon and fix it myself in 1/2 hour, no big deal.

 

If that part was not available, the entire $350 grill would have gone to the curb, and I would have started over with another $350 grill.

Had the grill cost $750 or $1,250 (there are some fancy grills out there), THAT grill would have gone to the curb and I would have started over with another one of THOSE.

 

The other parts I bought were the "flame plates" or whatever they call them; slats of steel that prevent juices running off whatever you are cooking hitting flames and creating flare-ups.  Those things just disintegrated in the heat of the grill over time.  

 

Had to buy a left one, and then eventually a right one.  

 

The grill itself is going strong and is very stable construction.

 

But ANY grill will destroy itself with time; it's a function of the heat.  Not having spare parts is crazy and Mickey Mouse IMO.

 

 

[flaz]

I'm a bit confused here. Why was @Gugny not consulted before starting this thread?  I'm quite sure he has tested every one of his neighbor's grills (in the middle of the night) to determine which was the best/easiest one to pilfer. Of the hundreds he left dirty for the unsuspecting owners, I'm sure one of them would have been the Kamado model you are considering 

Edited May 20, 2021 by flaz

[loyal2dagame]

I just bought a Cadillac Weber to replace a Cadillac Brinkmann. Brinkmann went out of business about a year after i bought it and you can not get oem parts for it.  So this time i spent more to get the Weber. The Weber has a 10yr warranty, which is awesome. 

I use a Coleman Roadtrip 285 and a small Coleman charcoal smoker for tailgating and camping. 

Also have a nice 44 in smoker to do the low and slow at home.  

 

Bottom line,  parts and warranty aside,  a grill or smoker is only as good as the operator. But for longevity,  you get what you pay for. 

[dorquemada]

So this is one of my favorite topic upon which to pontificate

 

Gas Grills - get a Weber, full stop.  I bought a Weber Genesis Silver B right before my daughter's 2nd birthday party.  She graduated from UB last weekend.  Other than replacing the burners (like $30 at home depot) and the flash bars or whatever they call them, a couple times.  All in probably about $100 in maintenance over those 20 years.  They have newer models like the Genesis II that seem to be more or less the same with some additional bells and whistles.  My family's favorite thing I make on here is pizza, right on the grate.  Dont use a stone, roll it out, throw it on, work fast

 

Smoker - Vision Kamado Pro-S (https://visiongrills.com/kamado-grill-models/professional-s-series/)

I got this a couple years ago and couldnt be happier.  I got mine at Home Depot, and it came with the accessories kit which is nice.  I make ribs & butts regularly, and sometimes wings and burgers.  It took some practice, but once i dialed in, the meat is remarkable.     I can't recommend this highly enough.  I usually prep the smoker hte night before so all i have to do it start it in the AM and throw the meat on.  The accessory kit comes with an electric starting element that makes things easier.

 

glad to answer any questions on this!

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

13 minutes ago, dorquemada said:

So this is one of my favorite topic upon which to pontificate

 

Gas Grills - get a Weber, full stop.  I bought a Weber Genesis Silver B right before my daughter's 2nd birthday party.  She graduated from UB last weekend.  Other than replacing the burners (like $30 at home depot) and the flash bars or whatever they call them, a couple times.  All in probably about $100 in maintenance over those 20 years.  They have newer models like the Genesis II that seem to be more or less the same with some additional bells and whistles.  My family's favorite thing I make on here is pizza, right on the grate.  Dont use a stone, roll it out, throw it on, work fast

 

Smoker - Vision Kamado Pro-S (https://visiongrills.com/kamado-grill-models/professional-s-series/)

I got this a couple years ago and couldnt be happier.  I got mine at Home Depot, and it came with the accessories kit which is nice.  I make ribs & butts regularly, and sometimes wings and burgers.  It took some practice, but once i dialed in, the meat is remarkable.     I can't recommend this highly enough.  I usually prep the smoker hte night before so all i have to do it start it in the AM and throw the meat on.  The accessory kit comes with an electric starting element that makes things easier.

 

glad to answer any questions on this!

On your Vision, do you have issues with the seal?  That was the one thing that ended up scaring me away from it— from reviews, people had to get some different kind of fabric to fix some issue with the seal not being tight enough. 

[sherpa]

11 minutes ago, Miyagi-Do Karate said:

On your Vision, do you have issues with the seal?  That was the one thing that ended up scaring me away from it— from reviews, people had to get some different kind of fabric to fix some issue with the seal not being tight enough. 

 

Not sure about other brands, but I replace the seal on my Primo about every three years.

Regular low and slow meals don't cause any wear and tear, but pizza and other things I do at about 500 degrees do.

Easy and cheap to find on Amazon or on any user forum for the particular brand.