Who has them and what guidance can you provide? I am looking into getting one. So far I am pretty much set on having an American made unit that is large enough to do a rack of ribs. My research has led me to the Primo 7500 or the Kamado Joe Classic II. Joe is 300 less but is only an 18" round surface vs the Primo oval shaped at 24" long. Thanks for any guidance!
Big Green Egg is considered gold standard/oldest of Kamado grills. But from my reading before purchasing a lot of the newer grills have better features than the BGE. That said I have 2 of the BGE’s one medium and one large that I purchased used. And I’m thrilled with how well they work. The medium ~15” can smoke a 12# pork shoulder butt for 12-18 hours without any additional fuel.
I have had a Primo Kamado all-in-one (18.5" diam, round) for about 2+ years and I love it. Super high quality. It is $300 less than the Kamado Joe II. However, I would be very interested in the Primo oval systems. It seems like that would add a whole lot more options. If you can swing that in your budget, I'd say go for it. For price point, you can't beat the Primo Kamado all-in-one combo. BTW, that's actually a whole Thanksgiving turkey in the last picture.
I have the char-griller Akorn. Love it so far. Did pizzas last night. They use WAY less fuel than my older charcoal grill. I could likely do 2-3 overnight pork butts on one load of fuel. With my old smoker it was at least a 15 lb bag of briquettes for one smoke. The 15-20 lb bag of lump is good for 2-3 full fuel loads in my Akorn
mywaynow. I would look into the Kamado Joe Classic 3 that has the sloroller smoke system. I just purchased one this week. Happy researching!
I have a Primo, only because I found it at a salvage place (brand new) for $630. (And skeeter) It's the std. 19" and now I understand, it really does everything and is almost cold proof. That is my metal uninsulated smoker doesn't like the cold or even a strong breeze. A guy can really get the "jones" for some smoked meat by Dec-Jan. That size (18-19") is easy to find all the accessories at Amazon for cheap money. I have been seeing both the gbe and kj's advertised for around $800 at ace hardware, and even at Cabellas local store. I really like my kamado ceramic cooker and it's nice knowing that it, including the ceramic came from the US. Georgia I believe.
The Akorn is a great entry point, if taken care or it will last but not if outdoors and you’ll forget to cover it because they stay hot so long. The cast grate isn’t all that great because of the center fuel addition point. I ended up with a profire bravo cheap off craigs list. Shifting to a ceramic was a learning curve but you figure it out relatively quick. Make sure you get a heat deflector- essential for any slow cooking and some form of elevator for the grate
I’m around so far inland that all we get is rain from the hurricanes little bit of wind enough to make a mess around the yard but no trees down. Supposed to get some fall weather so I can back into the firewood.
