zanemoseley

Well I said screw it and went with the BJ without the base, gonna make my own table. I'm too OCD about these kinds of things and would rather just spend the cash so I don't have to worry about it.

I've got the bug for a Kamado grill, my primary draw at the moment is to smoke some meat which I've never really done. Just got a family of 3 and we're not huge smoked meat fans or anything but want to give it a go. My gut tells me that the Classic II would be adequate but don't want buyers remorse for not stepping up to a Big Joe II but at the same time the BJ is about 60% more so the increase isn't small. Here's what I would likely cook at a time, each line would be a meal, not all of them simultaneously. 1 Brisket 3 Racks ribs 2 full chickens 3 steaks I've seen people on YouTube fit a good size brisket in there with a V rack. Do you guys ever have issues fitting a whole packer? One one hand I feel like the Classic will do what I need but don't want to regret not going larger. So of you guys that have a Classic do you regret not going larger or is it serving you well.

Trying to decide between the Grilla Kong and the Kamado Joe Big Joe II. Was hoping for a grill large enough to smoke a brisket without trying to contort it to fit. I originally settled on the Kong due to reviews and pricing but their Black Friday deals are pitiful. The Big Joe II is $300 off at Keystone so thinking of really splurging and getting that but almost all the bad reviews I've see on KJ grills are due to bad or non-existant customer service. So have you guys had any good or bad interactions with them.

Looking to get a Kamado primarily for smoking and the 20" - 20.5" grates on the Grilla Kong along with the value seems to be a winner and will fit a modest sized brisket. Is there anything else I should look at? The Kamado Joe Classic II looks nice but is $1100 plus the grates are 2" at least smaller diameter. Also do you guys still use lump coal when smoking or go with standard charcoal briquettes? I've read lump coal is better for higher heat but have seen videos of people smoking for lump coal.