Does anyone here own a Kamado Joe OR a BGE and can tell me a little bit about your personal thoughts on either one? I am looking to buy one of the two within the next year or so, and would like honest personal opinions on what you have and pros/cons of either unit. For comparison sake I am looking at the Joe Classic or Classic II or a Large BGE. I have to travel a bit to put hands on a KJ but there is a BGE dealer in my town. I used to have a "Kamado" made by a company that called themselves simply "Kamado". A guy by the name of Richard Johnson out of San Diego was having them made in both Indonesia and Mexico. Major competition of BGE about 15--18 years ago but they went out of business due to some horrible management and quality control. I still have the base of the unit, it is now a flowerpot next to my woodshed. The experience kind of soured me on the whole ceramic cooker/smoker concept, but I am thinking of trying again because when the thing did work and didn't fall apart, it made amazing food.
I have the large BGE for around 10 years now and haven't had any issues. I got lucky and found one in great shape on Craigslist. I mostly use it when I have some extra time, otherwise I use my gas grill because it's quicker. Mainly I use it for ribs, pork shoulder and jerky. But I have used it for pizza, chicken and steaks on occasion. It does a great job.... I can't speak to the Kamando, but I know resale on the BGE is pretty good.
I have a large BGE. I really like it. It does a great job on just about everything. For low and slow cooks, once you have your temp set, it just sips on charcoal and maintains a steady temp. I’ve put a pork butt on at 9pm and temp stayed rock steady until I pulled it off at noon the next day. Closed it up and still had charcoal enough left to do 2-3 more high temp cooks. Check your area to see if there is an Eggfest nearby. Those are good to go to to taste what they can do and to visit with some folks that use them regularly. You can also sign up to by one of the demo eggs at a discounted price. I also picked one up used from a guy I met at an eggfest. The only thing about picking one up used is that you don’t have the lifetime warranty.
I’ve been looking at both, biggest difference is BGE you have to buy every accessory individual. Kamodo Joe and others come as a package deal. I met a gentleman at a business meeting a few weeks ago who loved the Kamodo he had a WiFi connected thermostat so he could light it in the morning and adjust the temp while at work or have it ready to sear steaks when he walked in the door.
If you’re wanting to dip your toe back into the Kamado style cooker the Akorn by Chargriller is a low cost entry point. Picked mine up for 250 plus another 30 for the ceramic diffuser plate. Cooks incredibly well sips charcoal and has a lighter lid than ceramic grills
