KAMADO JOE- CERAMIC GRILL MYTH?

[itskrod00 7]

Hello all,

 

I currently own a weber summit charcoal and i am not sure if i will keep it or not. 

I love the thing cooks awesome.  But the innovative seamless accessories ex. DoJoe and Joetisserie that the Kamado Joe come with look super awesome, and I feel like Weber seems to neglect their bigger grills with the accessories they currently have for smaller units. 

 

That being said am i crazy for wanting to switch over? 

Is it true that the Joe (ceramics) take long to heat up and if you overshoot (good luck bringing the temp back down) ??

Is it a pain only cooking with lump or briquettes?

 

Would like some some feedback if you think i should switch and about the heating up of ceramics. 

 

 

[DWFII 151]

Well, I'm not an expert and I've never even seen the Summit in person. That said, while it is true that kamados take longer to get up to temp than, say, a Weber kettle, or a barrel cooker, there's not a lot of difference between the Akorn, for instance, and a Weber Smokey Mountain. Both take about 20 minutes.

 

And once at temp, the kamado will hold temps better than anything I've used over the last 40+ years. I've never had a problem getting up to or controlling temp with either of my kamados--BGE and Akorn. Cool-down...to zero or close by...on the other hand, takes three to four hours. 

 

It really depends on what you want to do. Open air grilling isn't really a thing on Kamados.

 

But pizza is! 'Nuff said.

[itskrod00 7]

Yeah on my summit I dont really do open air grilling.  Lid is usually always closed. Only open to check the status of whatever it is im cooking. honestly it takes about 15-20 min for me to light a chimney full of charcoal. I did rad that ceramic take longer to bring up ot temp and then if you bring them up to fast that it may be hard for you to bring temps back down (in timely manner) if you over shoot?  Any truth to this?

[John Setzler 14,889]

The summit charcoal grill is an amazing grill.  I wish I could convince myself to shell out for one of them.  They have their advantages and disadvantages over ceramic kamados.  If I were you and I was considering the option of having a ceramic kamado, I would not SWITCH.  You should just get a ceramic kamado and see how you like it compared to what you have.  If you find a reason not to have both in your arsenal then get rid of the one you like the least.

 

[DWFII 151]

30 minutes ago, itskrod00 said:

I did rad that ceramic take longer to bring up ot temp and then if you bring them up to fast that it may be hard for you to bring temps back down (in timely manner) if you over shoot?  Any truth to this?

 

Probably. But the trick is not to bring it up too fast. I light one starter cube in the center of my charcoal and let it come up.  Start closing vents about 75-100 degrees before your target. Not really that difficult esp. if you read some of the posts here and take note of where vents want to be for any given temperature.

 

The only time you might want to dump a chimney full of coals into a kamado is if you're shooting for a high heat cook--like pizza. Even then vent management can easily keeps things in control esp. if you anticipate.

 

And somewhat out in the weeds...why worry about how long it takes? Why barbecue at all if it is just gonna be another of those frantic, rush-rush activities that weekends are supposed to free us from?

[itskrod00 7]

I guess the better question i should ask is, do i have to take any different precautions then i already do on my weber summit. Cooking wise and lighting wise? or pretty much the same?

[WoodyT 81]

56 minutes ago, itskrod00 said:

I guess the better question i should ask is, do i have to take any different precautions then i already do on my weber summit. Cooking wise and lighting wise? or pretty much the same?

 

Yes burp the Grill before raising the Lid all the way .

Meaning to open the lid a little to let the air slowly come back in balance then raise the lid .

 

[prowe 1,806]

1 minute ago, WoodyT said:

 

Yes burp the Grill before raising the Lid all the way .

Meaning to open the lid a little to let the air slowly come back in balance then raise the lid .

 

dude, burp the summit too

[itskrod00 7]

I DO.

[prowe 1,806]

5 hours ago, itskrod00 said:

I DO.

Well there’s a rose ina fisted glove

and the eagle flies with with the dove

and if you can’t be with the one you love

honey, love the one you’re with

[prowe 1,806]

That summit is pretty mint. So is kJ, and yeah lottsa toys to go with kJ. And there is just more and more toys as time goes by. But at the end of the day I gotta say you Got a beautiful cooker ( I’m fairly familiar with it. Never cooked on it, but handled it, eaten from one and read reviews and Justin’s videos). I would be hard pressed to part ways with such a wonderful cooker. But...always follow your heart.  And wallet. 

[Polar Bear 347]

As someone with a Big Joe II, if the Summit was availble in Australia when i was kamado shopping, it wouldve been really hard to go past it, IMO

I love my BJ, but there is a lot to like about the Summit (especially the one in the cart)

 

I'd either stick with what you've got or follow Johns advice and buy the KJ, see which you use more and then sell one.

Aside from the Joetissery, there arent many KJ only accessories that add that much to the whole cooking experience , IMHO so you're not missing out on much  

[fbov 336]

21 hours ago, itskrod00 said:

That being said am i crazy for wanting to switch over? 

Is it true that the Joe (ceramics) take long to heat up and if you overshoot (good luck bringing the temp back down) ??

Is it a pain only cooking with lump or briquettes?...

This is the wrong place to ask if buying another grill is crazy. 

 

I've run mine at 400 F for an hour, then done low-n-slow. I just kept all the removable parts cold until I added food, and then set vents for 225 F. It peaked around 250 F, settled lower in a couple hours. 

 

I'm in love with lump, especially with KJ's ash removal system. No disassembly required. HOWEVER, you must avoid the acrid white smoke from a young fire. I ran mine up to 400 F above because I put in a bunch of new, cheap fuel, and it took an hour for the white smoke to die off. Yes, cooking the lump is a practical necessity. 

 

Have fun,

Frank

[ckreef 19,937]

14 minutes ago, fbov said:

This is the wrong place to ask if buying another grill is crazy. 

 

 

You got that right

 

 

[Likes Big Butts 295]

Different strokes.  I love my KJ and wouldn't trade it for anything.  With the Akorn Jr. I feel like I have all my grilling and smoking needs answered.  But everybody ain't me and if you aren't satisfied then make a change.

 

Any of the downsides to a ceramic are negligible to me.  Yes, if you overshoot it can be tough to bring the temp back down.  So don't overshoot, take your time and enjoy the day.  And a lot of meats (not brisket!) can tolerate some high temps for a bit while you cool it back down.