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Posted: 3/25/2018 4:51:14 PM EDT
I've only ever used a Weber kettle. I'm closing on a house in a few weeks and need a grill. I know the kettles do better with high heat and pellet grills do better with low. I'm mainly looking at kamado Joe and traeger
If you could only have one type (for now) which one would you get? |
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I have the large GMG pellet grill and love it. I cook a lot more often outside now because of it.
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Depends on what you want to do.
A Kamado is incredibly versatile. You can smoke low and slow, or cook a pizza at 800 degrees, or sear a steak in seconds. A pellet grill is basically set it and forget it, it many of them end up with problems with the electronics, or auger. It can often cook at 500 degree temps, but can’t get as high as the kamado. I went with the Kamado, and I made pizzas the other day, and I’m doing beef ribs today. I make steaks 1-2 times a week, ribs every 1.5 weeks, brisket and Boston butts monthly, and pizzas weekly. It’s taken a lot of use and I probably would have work out a pellet grill after 6 month and of that kind of use. |
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For years I was convinced I needed a Weber Smokey Mtn. I was mentally prepped... water tray, local charred hardwoods, air control, the works. I ended up buying a Camp Chef DLX Pro. Its been fantastic.
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How hands on are you ? They are both tools , you can make great BBQ with either one I think a Rec Tec may be in your price range
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How hands on are you ? They are both tools , you can make great BBQ with either one I think a Rec Tec may be in your price range View Quote I've never cooked over wood. Is the flavor really that much different than charcoal? For the time being, my concern is overall versatility. ie: if you're going to use it to cook everything, does the better low temp control of a pellet grill make up for the fact that most of them can't get as hot as a kamado. |
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Also consider how much you can cook on either. I've seen photos of a 40 lb pig on a Yoder. I cook way more food on mine than I need and just eat leftovers during the week.
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I have a camp chef. A smaller one.
Not sure which model. I got it cheap because I wasn't sold n the pellet grill concept. I love pellet grills I wish I had a better quality one. I have trouble with temperature control on mine. I also have a Kamado Joe. If I could only have one or the other, it would be the Kamado. It will do anything. It's not as convenient as the pellet, but it's much more versatile |
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I wasn't in the markey for one, but bought a Rec Tec Mini when they were blowing them out (Live in Augusta, just happened to walk in)
I really like it. The mini is small (a 9# brisket was it today) but it does a great job. Temperature control seems excellent and the new electronics they have will let me control it from my phone. |
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I have a camp chef. A smaller one. Not sure which model. I got it cheap because I wasn't sold n the pellet grill concept. I love pellet grills I wish I had a better quality one. I have trouble with temperature control on mine. I also have a Kamado Joe. If I could only have one or the other, it would be the Kamado. It will do anything. It's not as convenient as the pellet, but it's much more versatile View Quote I understand the kamado take a while to get going, but could you use it on a weeknight? |
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My pellet grill is only 80%-90% as effective at smoking/grilling as my Weber was but it is easily 100% easier to use. I haven’t used charcoal since I got it last year. Everything I cook on it tastes great and it’s so much less work. Maybe I’ve gone soft but I’ll never be without a pellet grill again.
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Damn I need glasses. I was expecting a video of a komodo dragon doing battle with a smoking pellet grill.
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BGE is where it's at. You can find earls on them. I got mine at cost plus a tip for $750, large with ALL the goodies. I bought the Flameboss and it runs low and slow and also sears at 1000+. Yes it will run low and slow without the controller, but I'm spoiled.
Much more versital than a treager, which does t get hot enough to sear. |
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Not quite sure how to quantify. One of the things that had me wanting a kamado is the ability to cook pizza on it. I can make pizza from scratch, and am comfortable cooking things like rib roasts and leg of lamb. I've never made barbecue, although either way it's something I'd want to do. I've never cooked over wood. Is the flavor really that much different than charcoal? For the time being, my concern is overall versatility. ie: if you're going to use it to cook everything, does the better low temp control of a pellet grill make up for the fact that most of them can't get as hot as a kamado. View Quote |
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BGE is where it's at. You can find earls on them. I got mine at cost plus a tip for $750, large with ALL the goodies. I bought the Flameboss and it runs low and slow and also sears at 1000+. Yes it will run low and slow without the controller, but I'm spoiled. Much more versital than a treager, which does t get hot enough to sear. View Quote eta: also realized the $1000 number I threw out there was off. I'm fine with $1200 for an 18" kamado joe. |
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Just bought a Pit Boss K24 at Costco. Came with nest, side shelves, and deflector plate for $600. I cant see a BGE being twice as better than this kamado.
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Why not a Weber bullet or a bullet and a weber kettle?
The Weber Smokey with electric fans and pid are much more awesome than the insulated kettles. |
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I bought the Vision Kamado on sale for $500 from Home Depot last year. It’s a knock off BGE but is built with excellent quality. Just smoked a pork butt Saturday. Learning curve takes a while for temperature control.
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If you end up going the Kamari route, look for a Kamafo Joe “road show” at your local Costco. They are highly discounted and come with free stuff. I believe I paid $750 for my classic with Grill cover, 2 bags of lump, and an extra cooking surface.
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I own a kamado. It is a Primo Large Oval. A little over the $1000 budget you are shopping. Well worth the extra cash because of the increased grill top area for larger cooks.
There is a huge difference in Lump Charcoal for kamados. I prefer BGE, Cowboy and Royal Oak Lump. There are many other brands that just contain alot of crap. dirt and pieces that are too large and need to be pulverized before they will burn properly. IMO kamado grills are much more versatile than pellet grills but both turn out mighty fine grub. |
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Get a kamado. It's going to last a hell of a lot longer than the Traeger. Lifetime warranty on the kamados and ceramic can't rust. No electronics or motors to fail either.
Expand your options and look at other besides the KJ (made in China). It's the most expensive now......if you're in TX you can find a BGE cheaper with the same options. Where in TX? Might be able to point you to the best location. Otherwise, there are cheaper options out there, but none seal up as nice as the BGE, KJ, or Primo. Those three are great, but the BGE has the most aftermarket accessories, dealers, etc for support. Nothing against the Primo oval--great design--but if you're looking for aftermarket grates and other parts it's unique and you're stuck with whatever Primo has. The Large BGE, classic KJ, and round Primo are all almost identical in size shape--lots of options out there. The kamado gives you the opportunity to grill, smoke, bake, and roast all in one. Yes, you can do a pizza in a pellet grill, but you're not going to do a pizza on a 900 degree stone in 30 seconds like you may want to. Also, look at your availability of good lump charcoal and good pellets. These two grills/smokers are only as good as their fuel. Pellets can be 80% alder with a little bit of apple or cherry to give them that flavor, or they can be 100% of what's on the bag.....price will tell. Lump charcoal can be a bag of charred wood from south American that's smokey and bitter as hell, or it can be properly carbonized from oak/hickory. Texas has a lot more charcoal than pellets, so you might keep that in mind. |
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it many of them end up with problems with the electronics, or auger. It can often cook at 500 degree temps, but can’t get as high as the kamado. View Quote Pellet grills are largely for smoking and cooking. If you want to sear, the Yoder has a sear kit. Smoking is effortless with a pellet grill. If you want to smoke meat, they are hard to beat. |
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that's the exact comparison I was looking for. thanks. I understand the kamado take a while to get going, but could you use it on a weeknight? View Quote |
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I want to keep it under a grand. The camp chef woodwind just caught my eye. Has anybody used one? View Quote Vision Kamado Weber Q1000 Under a grand and I can smoke, grill and sear anything I want to. Smoked a butt this weekend as a matter of fact. |
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Those of you with Kamado, how easy it is to get going and get up to temp? I like the convenience of gas, but these style grills have me reconsidering my next grill purchase.
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Quoted: Negative. I have the GMG Jim Bowie and the Akorn Kamado. They get used an even amount on the weekend, but the GMG gets the nod on weeknights because it usually takes 30 minutes to an hour to get the kamado prepped and up to temperature. You can also do pizza on the GMG, they have a pizza insert that gets very hot. View Quote I surprised that thing takes so long considering there isn't cold ceramic soaking up the heat. You might look at switching out the bottom grate with a piece of expanded stainless steel because it sounds like there's an airflow issue if it's taking that long to come up to temp. |
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Those of you with Kamado, how easy it is to get going and get up to temp? I like the convenience of gas, but these style grills have me reconsidering my next grill purchase. View Quote |
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Get a kamado. It's going to last a hell of a lot longer than the Traeger. Lifetime warranty on the kamados and ceramic can't rust. No electronics or motors to fail either. Expand your options and look at other besides the KJ (made in China). It's the most expensive now......if you're in TX you can find a BGE cheaper with the same options. Where in TX? Might be able to point you to the best location. Otherwise, there are cheaper options out there, but none seal up as nice as the BGE, KJ, or Primo. Those three are great, but the BGE has the most aftermarket accessories, dealers, etc for support. Nothing against the Primo oval--great design--but if you're looking for aftermarket grates and other parts it's unique and you're stuck with whatever Primo has. The Large BGE, classic KJ, and round Primo are all almost identical in size shape--lots of options out there. The kamado gives you the opportunity to grill, smoke, bake, and roast all in one. Yes, you can do a pizza in a pellet grill, but you're not going to do a pizza on a 900 degree stone in 30 seconds like you may want to. Also, look at your availability of good lump charcoal and good pellets. These two grills/smokers are only as good as their fuel. Pellets can be 80% alder with a little bit of apple or cherry to give them that flavor, or they can be 100% of what's on the bag.....price will tell. Lump charcoal can be a bag of charred wood from south American that's smokey and bitter as hell, or it can be properly carbonized from oak/hickory. Texas has a lot more charcoal than pellets, so you might keep that in mind. View Quote Theres a place near me called BBQ outfitters that stocks kj, bge, traeger, and handful of other brands |
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Pellet grills are specialty items, not a do it all one stop shop IMO. Of the two options, picking only one, the Kamodo is the one that can do it all.
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Im in San Antonio. The main reasons I had the kj in mind vs bge are the hinge, seal, top vent, and ash collector all seem better in the kj. The made in China thing is a big strike against it though Theres a place near me called BBQ outfitters that stocks kj, bge, traeger, and handful of other brands View Quote |
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I have a large BGE and have enjoyed it immensely. Already had a decent 4 burner gas grill and wanted something to primarily smoke pork on but I end up using the Egg for almost everything now from chicken to lamb. It also sears steaks better than almost every gas grill under $1000. That being said a properly accessorized Weber Kettle can do it all too, especially once you learn the snake method for smoking.
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I have both. A Kamado Joe classic Joe and a Camp Chef DLX Pro Pellet grill.
The pellet will never replace the Kamado. It's not versatile enough. It's more of a smoker / oven as it just does not get hot enough to sear steaks properly. The hottest it will get is about 450 and it's always indirect heat. But, it's easier to use since you just load the pellets, set the temp and come back after about 15 minutes and it's ready to use. If you like to smoke low and slow a lot then either will work really well. My Kamado Joe will hold 225 for up to 18 hours on one load of lump charcoal. And you can buy a digiQ or similar to really make it set and forget. The pellet grill is super easy to smoke but does not create a lot of it so you need to add a smoke generator if you want that heavy smoke like a stick burner or Kamado will give you. It's just a stainless cylinder you add some pellets to and light to supplement the smoke. |
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Have you thought about just getting a Slow n Sear for your kettle?
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On my K-Joe Classic, I'm ready to sear steaks in about 30 minutes. That's using the no fuss, no muss method.
Just lighting it with a paper towel wet with cooking oil, and then closing the lid after about 20 minutes. If you ignite it at multiple locations, use a weed burner, and/or used forced air, you can get it up to temp more quickly. On week nights, I light the grill, pull my steaks out, and by the time the grill is ready, the meat is almost to room temp on one of those aluminum defrosting trays. |
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Also note that you have to have electricity or drop cords to plug in a Traeger.
That is a PITA for a lot of people. |
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Quoted: The new hinge and seal don't really make up the $200-300 price jump they added (to me at least). Big deal that you can lift it with one finger......it takes two finger with the new BGE hinge. If you have a bad shoulder, then it's nice and might be worth the money. On the seal, again.....not really worth the extra money. If you toast the BGE seal, an $8 flat rutland fiberglass stove gasket does the same thing and the weight of the lid seals the kamado. The ash collector is kind of cute, but again, an ash tool will scrape it out the ash just as well (you only clean these things out every 5-10 cooks anyway). The new cap is nice, but you can get a stainless steel Smokeware cap for a BGE or KJ for about $30 (and BGE is coming out with a new cap this yeah.) The multi-rack system for the KJ is also nice, but it's just a copy of Ceramic Grill Stores system (that's who I was going to recommend if you were near DFW). All this stuff is just extras, I wouldn't call them upgrades. And in my book they don't add up to bring this Chinese thing to be more expensive than a BGE--which has been around since 1974. If they gave you all that stuff and it was still $200-300 cheaper, then yeah it would be harder to argue. It just solidifies who has the better reputation and product when one brand is always comparing themselves to and/or dogging the other one. View Quote Quoted:
Have you thought about just getting a Slow n Sear for your kettle? View Quote |
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I bought a Rec Tec 2 years ago and it's changed my outdoor cooking life. As easy to use as an oven. Press a few buttons and forget it. I fire up charcoal like 2-3 times a year for tri tip, but otherwise everything goes on the Rec Tec. I haven't cooked bacon indoors since getting it. Use the Rec Tec 3-4 times a week.
I always hated the idea of a pellet grill, because I thought it wouldn't be hot enough. Bought the Rec Tec sort of on a whim and it completely changed my view. Moist chicken breasts, steaks, burgers, pork butts, ribs - all come out great. I've done a few turkeys on it, too. The temp control is amazing. I'll put a pork butt on there and then leave the house for 5 hours, knowing it's doing just fine. The one thing it does ok, but not great, is pizza. You also have to use halfway decent pellets. Bottom of the barrel pellets have a lot of sand and tend to disintegrate if you leave them in the auger too long (like weeks). I believe they are coming out with a wi-fi enabled controller in May . . . so if you go this route, you might wait a bit. You'll be able to monitor meat temps and control the grill when you're not home. |
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That's all great info. Must have been an older BGE I looked at, because it was just a simple hinge. Where can I find all this info? I've been under the impression that the KJ undercuts the BGE on price when you're dealing with comparable specs. i kinda liked the idea that the KJ comes with a lot of stuff that isn't included with the bge, but if if it's the same price in the end, that kinda kills the benefit. For those that mentioned them, i'm not all that interested in the acorn or the lower end egg grills. nothing against them but i'm more of the buy once, cry once type. don't have the kettle anymore. I gave it to my parents in MD when I sold my last house 4 years ago. I'm a big fan of the Weber, I've just been really curious about the kamado grills for a long time. View Quote |
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That's all great info. Must have been an older BGE I looked at, because it was just a simple hinge. Where can I find all this info? I've been under the impression that the KJ undercuts the BGE on price when you're dealing with comparable specs. i kinda liked the idea that the KJ comes with a lot of stuff that isn't included with the bge, but if if it's the same price in the end, that kinda kills the benefit. For those that mentioned them, i'm not all that interested in the acorn or the lower end egg grills. nothing against them but i'm more of the buy once, cry once type. don't have the kettle anymore. I gave it to my parents in MD when I sold my last house 4 years ago. I'm a big fan of the Weber, I've just been really curious about the kamado grills for a long time. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
Quoted: The new hinge and seal don't really make up the $200-300 price jump they added (to me at least). Big deal that you can lift it with one finger......it takes two finger with the new BGE hinge. If you have a bad shoulder, then it's nice and might be worth the money. On the seal, again.....not really worth the extra money. If you toast the BGE seal, an $8 flat rutland fiberglass stove gasket does the same thing and the weight of the lid seals the kamado. The ash collector is kind of cute, but again, an ash tool will scrape it out the ash just as well (you only clean these things out every 5-10 cooks anyway). The new cap is nice, but you can get a stainless steel Smokeware cap for a BGE or KJ for about $30 (and BGE is coming out with a new cap this yeah.) The multi-rack system for the KJ is also nice, but it's just a copy of Ceramic Grill Stores system (that's who I was going to recommend if you were near DFW). All this stuff is just extras, I wouldn't call them upgrades. And in my book they don't add up to bring this Chinese thing to be more expensive than a BGE--which has been around since 1974. If they gave you all that stuff and it was still $200-300 cheaper, then yeah it would be harder to argue. It just solidifies who has the better reputation and product when one brand is always comparing themselves to and/or dogging the other one. Quoted:
Have you thought about just getting a Slow n Sear for your kettle? the ash collector on the KJ's is awesome. would also recommend the kick ash basket too. i priced out the KJ classic (original model) and the BGE last jan and came out way ahead with the KJ. came with all the stuff while you had to piece meal the BGE. if i were to do it over again, i'd get the big joe because i can only cook four full racks of ribs on the classic. another consideration is they are heavy. the KJ can come with a cart stand or you'll need to make/buy a cook top bench. a neat thing you can do with the kamado types is cold smoking using the pellet tubes in the bottom. |
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definitely go with a kamado/ egg grill. a poster not too long ago found a used one on craigslist, so you might find a deal. the ash collector on the KJ's is awesome. would also recommend the kick ash basket too. i priced out the KJ classic (original model) and the BGE last jan and came out way ahead with the KJ. came with all the stuff while you had to piece meal the BGE. if i were to do it over again, i'd get the big joe because i can only cook four full racks of ribs on the classic. another consideration is they are heavy. the KJ can come with a cart stand or you'll need to make/buy a cook top bench. a neat thing you can do with the kamado types is cold smoking using the pellet tubes in the bottom. View Quote Definitely a Kick Ash Basket on ANY kamado. That is the number 1 improvement to any of them. |
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I've had hasty bakes, weber kettles, weber Wsm, weber summit charcoal grill, BGE. Rectec 680. You really just need to decide if you want charcoal vs pellet. My rectec with lumber jacks will hit about 550. I can pull the drip pan and do about 700. My weber summit charcoal will pull an easy 900 if I want. Rectec did come out with new stainless models that have an upgraded controller.
If your look at a large size BGE which is 18" it is hard to lay full briskets down or do more than 3 racks of ribs without cutting. There is pellet grills that do get hotter like the cookshack pg-500 which can hit 800 plus on the sear area. If you have any questions you can also PM. I've owned just about every style out there. |
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I've had hasty bakes, weber kettles, weber Wsm, weber summit charcoal grill, BGE. Rectec 680. You really just need to decide if you want charcoal vs pellet. My rectec with lumber jacks will hit about 550. I can pull the drip pan and do about 700. My weber summit charcoal will pull an easy 900 if I want. Rectec did come out with new stainless models that have an upgraded controller. If your look at a large size BGE which is 18" it is hard to lay full briskets down or do more than 3 racks of ribs without cutting. There is pellet grills that do get hotter like the cookshack pg-500 which can hit 800 plus on the sear area. If you have any questions you can also PM. I've owned just about every style out there. View Quote |
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Pellet grills are specialty items, not a do it all one stop shop IMO. Of the two options, picking only one, the Kamodo is the one that can do it all. View Quote |
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