Joe Jr With Cast Iron Stand
Serve up adventure with our most portable ceramic charcoal grill, the Joe Jr. Offering 13.5 inches of cooking space, this grill is the perfect sidekick for tailgates, camping or even cook-outs on the beach. With our cast-iron top vent and thick-walled heat-resistant shell, you will have precise temperature control while ensuring smoke and moisture will be locked in during your cook. The Joe Jr provides the quality of charcoal grilling, so you can dare to be bold while on-the-go.
Do We Recommend The Kamado Joe Junior
You bet we do! but ONLY if you want a pint-size portable grill and smoker.
Like I said before, invest in a Kamado Joe Junior if youre cooking at home for two people, max, or you want to take it camping to smoke and grill, or to smoke your catch of the day even if you only caught some burgers at the store.
If youve got more than two people at home, if you like to host, or if you dont feel the need to bring a ceramic grill on your travels, skip the Joe Junior in favor of the larger Kamado Joe Classic.
Meeting Kamado Joe Jr
Whether you prefer grilling, baking, searing, or smoking, you can do them all with the portable Kamado Joe JR. A grill that can fit in the trunk of your car or on your apartment balcony makes it ideal for enjoying tasty meals without the hassle. With a weight of 68 pounds and a sturdy frame that holds it, you can count on its stability and safe operation. A circular grate gives you a little less than 150 square inches of cooking space, and the temperatures it can provide range from 180–700ºF.
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How Often To Clean A Kamado Grill
A valid question that comes to every grill owners mind is that how often to clean a kamado grill, do you clean it after every grill session or do you clean it once a month.
Well, the answer depends on how thoroughly you want to clean your kamado grill.
If you just clean it using a brush and a dry cloth then you can do it after every grill session.
The deep cleaning depends on how often you use your kamado grill. If you grill a lot then once two weeks or if you rarely grill on your Kamado Joe then maybe once a month.
If I grill every day on Kamado Joe then I would deep clean once every week or every other week but since I do not cook on it often, I go for once a month.
Step 1. You can do the pyrolyzing technique to get rid of the food residuals from the SloRoller. So fire up the grill and let it heat up with the SLoRoller inside it.
Step 2. Then let the grill cool down and take the SloRoller out.
Step 3. Simply brush away the residuals, and you are good to go. Do not use soap, and there is no need to get rid of the grease.
The grease will condition the SloRoller and make it more durable after using the grease on it.
Best Basic Charcoal Grill
Theres no beating the original in terms of getting the best performance and the simplest design for the lowest cost. For a fraction of the price of a kamado or a gas grill, Webers basic 22-inch kettle is the standard-bearer of charcoal grills. Its easy to assemble and will last for years and years. Surprisingly versatile, this Weber kettle can be used for high-heat grilling to get a good sear on burgers and crispy skin on chicken, and you can also set it up for a longer cooking session to smoke bigger cuts of meat like a brisket or pork butt. You can find it for $129 on Amazon, but its on sale at Lowes right now for less. Its listed for $152 at Lowes but drops to $109 when you add it to your cart.
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Joe Jr Charcoal Basket
Efficiently clean your Joe Jr. firebox after your kamado-cook with the Kamado Joe Charcoal Basket. This durable stainless steel accessory allows you to quickly separate leftover charcoal from the ashes and be ready for your next cook in seconds. Additionally, the Charcoal Basket will provide better airflow by filtering out the small particles of charcoal, resulting in a cleaner burn. For innovation on-the-go, we’ve got you covered.
Total: $109.99
Is The Big Green Egg Grill Worth It
CR put this $1,000 kamado cooker to the test to see how it stacks up against less expensive competitors
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We arent here to judge the cultural phenomenon that has formed around the Big Green Egg since its 1970s debut. Lets just say that this ceramic beast of a charcoal grill and smoker has hatched numerous copycat cookers and die-hard devotees who call themselves Eggheads.
We can, however, evaluate its performance and help you answer the question: Does anyone really need to drop $1,000 on the Big Green Egg? Especially when competitive kamado grills can be had for as little as $300, not to mention that some great gas grillsas well as the top-rated charcoal grills from our testsstart around $100.
But the Big Green Egg was never trying to supplant gas and charcoal grills and, frankly, its design has little in common with traditional grills.
Rather than adjusting gas burners or arranging charcoal briquettes as you would in a conventional charcoal grill to concentrate heat, you fill a kamado grills lower hemisphere to capacity with lump hardwood charcoal. Once the coals are going, the design starts to make sense: Cast-ceramic walls an inch thick and a heavy lid with a heatproof gasket team up to trap heat. That allows you to use the dampers to precisely control the temperature.
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Can I Use Lighter Fluid As An Igniting Agent In My Kamado Grill
When igniting the coal in the chamber, always try to avoid putting any type of liquid inside. As we mentioned, the inner layer of a kamado grill is usually covered with ceramics, and ceramics do not go well with fluids. The lighter fluid can get into the microscopic holes which ceramic has, and ruin the coating. The best bet would be to go with a solid igniting agent of some sorts and try to use the same brand if possible, or the brand that the manufacturer recommends.
How We Test Kamado Grills
Testing kamado grills is an intense experience for a griller. It requires playing with fire and high temperatures, though in a controlled, responsible way. The most critical element to kamado performance is heat, specifically temperature control and how well a grill holds to one temperature. To smoke meat low and slow, that magic number is 225 F. Good smokers, kamados or otherwise, will stick to this temp for as long as 12, 15 or 20 hours. This means the temperature gauge is key and so is the ability to control airflow via air vents or dampers.
We monitor the internal temperature of the kamado grills as they go.
To capture temperature data, we put a thermocouple on each kamado grill. Essentially a sensitive temperature sensor made of a probe and a connected wire, the thermocouple hangs suspended just 1 inch above the grill grate. Its connected to a data logger and ultimately a computer that records changes in heat levels over time.
Then its time to fire up each grill.
We try to run temperature tests on all the grills simultaneously. We also use the same weight and brand of lump charcoal , often from the same bag. Thats true of fire starters too .
A stable heat level is key to good performance for a kamado smoker.
We carefully fiddle with the vents to get there. Lastly, we let go of the controls and observe.
We smoke ribs along with other food for anecdotal tests.
Burgers, anyone?
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Overview And Core Features
Starting with the basics, the Joe Jr. Is a portable ceramic kamado grill. It runs on charcoal, and you can use it for both grilling and smoking food.
As Ive already mentioned, its a small grill the cooking grate measures 13.5 in diameter, providing 148 square inches of cooking space. To put that size in perspective, many standard gas grills have upper warming racks bigger than that.
For such a small grill, the Kamado Joe Junior has a wide temperature range. You can smoke low and slow at 225F, or you can crank it up to a screaming 750 °F for an epic sear in just minutes.
Now, dont get me wrong on its size this is meant to be a portable grill. At under 20 across and about two feet tall without the stand, the Joe Jr. Is easy to stow and go. Fair warning, though: it weighs 68 pounds empty, so you might want a hand loading and unloading. Its a 2-person job for sure.
Kamado Joe Jr Kj13rh Charcoal Grill
This is the smaller version than the classic we just did but it makes our list because even though it weighs in at 68 pounds, its super portable. You can bring this to any tailgating event or camping or just to the beach. The Joe Jr has a thick-walled, heat-resistant shell that will keep in all heat and smoke which is just how we like it. It has a 304 stainless steel grate, so even with higher temperatures like 700+F, it will not bend or melt. Like all the other Kamado Joe models, it has a thermometer on top so you can keep checking the temperature and a cast iron control tower top so you can control the flow of air. This grill comes with a cast iron stand so that its not completely on the ground or table when grilling. Our favorite part about the Joe Jr is the versatility you can grill, smoke or bake, thanks to the construction and the fact you use charcoal so you can get that delicious smoky flavor that you are after.
The Specs:
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Comparing The Pros And Cons
The Kamado Joe JR gives you almost nothing not to like. It does not claim that it can serve a crowd, but it does everything else that you want in a grill. A lifetime warranty assures you of reliable use that gives you peace of mind.
Pros
ceramic construction in eye-catching redrust-resistant stainless steel grillversatile functions to smoke, sear, and roastcircular design that retains heat wellmaintains a consistent temperatureeasy to add more coal as neededefficient heat control of charcoalceramic deflector for smokinghigh quality that reflects your knowledge and sophistication
Cons
Start-up time compared to a gas grillSome people might not enjoy smokey flavorsDust associated with charcoal
What Is A Kamado Grill
Over 3,000 years old, kamado grills are an old-school approach to smoking, grilling, and searing different types of food. The word kamado itself means stove in Japanese, but it is not just any stove. This oval, egg-shaped, sturdy grill combines different technologies and materials in order to bring you the best thermal specifications for cooking.
They come in different sizes, however, the oval egg shape is necessary for it to be an actual kamado grill. This shape makes ideal airflow possible, allowing you to control the temperature in the most natural way, by restricting or allowing airflow over the fuel .
Speaking of fuel, kamado grills use charcoal to achieve the perfect temperature ratio for the task at hand, with smoking requiring the lowest and searing the highest temperature levels. It is important to have in mind that kamado grills save a lot of coal, being that the whole heating process is in a closed environment, down in the burning chamber . This saving is achieved through controlling the air vents on the bottom and the top of the grill. There is a huge difference in the amount of needed charcoal, compared to the best tabletop grills.
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What Should I Do To Avoid Overheating The Kamado Grill After Firing It
The process of temperature calibration needs only one thing: patience. After you fire the kamado grill and begin the process of temperature setting, make sure to measure the heat every minute or so. After the heat rises under a 100 degrees F of the wanted temperature, start closing the vents and keep tracking the temperature. Repeat the process until you get there. There is nothing wrong about going over, but you will have to wait for the grill to cool down a bit by choking the fire with closed vents. This skill takes some time to master, but it is easily attainable.
Vision Grills Elite Series Deluxe Kamado Grill
MOST VERSATILE
Amazon
Vision Grills Elite Series Deluxe Kamado is extra in all the best ways, when you want to go hard on grilling with all the bells and whistles there is to offer.
While most kamado grills come on a rolling stand, very few offer quite the amount of storage options the Elite Series Deluxe does, include two tables with plenty of space for grilling tools, and more storage below the grill itself to hand the grates when youre finished cooking. Not only does it also offer two grilling tiers, it has both cast iron and stainless steel cooking grates if you want to get a specific kind of cook. The grates are also hinged, which gives you easy access to add more wood and tend to the charcoal.
Another unique feature is the slide-out ash drawer, which also includes a slot for an electric starter where the bottom dampers are located for the easiest charcoal lighting start-up, and clean-up, possible. The hinge is also incredibly easy to lift, but also includes a locking hatch with a tighter seal for those searing high temperatures, which you can easily check on the LED grill light.
The grill is rounded out with a round Lava Stone for indirect cooking and smoking. Vision Grills shows that sometimes, more truly is more.
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Best Midrange Gas Grill
Char-Broils three-burner stainless-steel gas grill offers the best balance of features and performance among the models CNET has tested. At 25,500 Btu over 420 square inches, it provides a good amount of grilling power and space. It also has a side burner and tank storage behind two cabinet doors, and it comes with a 10-year warranty. Char-Broil uses what it calls Tru-Infrared, a set of perforated emitter plates that separate food from flame to evenly distribute heat and reduce flare-ups.
Meeting Your Grill Needs With Kamado Joe Jr
The solidly built grill uses only the highest-quality materials, proving the cooking performance. The heat retention makes it desirable, but its weight of less than 70 pounds makes it a keeper. The designers’ attention to detail includes a handle that does not get hot, a convenience that you may experience when you choose Kamado Joe JR for all your grilling needs. The dome lifts easily with the help of a spring-assisted hinge. Even more, it stays up when you need time to add charcoal or turn something on the grill.
Everything about Kamado Joe JR signifies quality as it impresses friends and family with its efficient and pleasing performance.
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Finding The Best Features Of Kamado Joe Jr
As a smoker, the Kamado Joe JR grill excels. It offers the best features of a good grill with the convenience of portability. In addition, it retains heat and keeps your flavorsome meals warm and tasty until you get ready to serve them. Easy to start, Kamado Joe JR can provide a handy resource for cooking everyday items like hot dogs or hamburgers while you prepare everything else.
Is The Green Big Egg Really Worththe Money
The Big Green Egg isnt the only kamado grill but it is the one that most are familiar with. So, is the BGE just asmokescreen of marketing or is it the real deal?
The Big Green Eggs biggest draw is itsability to do one thing better than almost any other grill: give you precisecontrol over the level of heat being used to grill your food as well as have the most amazing warranty and customer service.
Time and again, users report that your abilityto influence the level of heat by utilizing the ventilation system isunparalleled. Likewise, when you pick a temperature, it stays there forhours, unassisted.
When you use the BGE you are using a grillthat is both determined to naturally flatten out fluctuation and eager to giveyou the power to control it. There isnt much more you can ask for thanexcellent savory results all controlled by you!
The Big Green Egg definitely shows itsstrengths when you talk about the numbers behind its performance. Its hard todeny the efficiency of the Big Green Egg when it can track heat readings of over 750 F , warm up to astronomical temperatures in about fifteenminutes, and maintain a long cook with a single load of charcoal for twelve tosixteen hours .
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Advantages And Drawbacks Of A Kamado Grill
Like every other serious piece of cooking equipment, kamado grills come with some drawbacks. No type of cookware is perfect, and it would be best to analyze both good and the not so good parts of this type of cooking. If you are opt-in for a kamado, you are taking your cooking skills to a whole new level, but it does require some practice and experimentation. Even though we mentioned the simplicity of this technology, a small learning curve is involved, if you want to become the master of fire-cooked food.