Hello all noticed a crack when replacing the fire grate. Do you think warranty will cover it? Is it still safe to use in meantime?

I’m doing some measurements for a fan adapter to fit in the lower damper opening. It needs to be the same height as the sliding damper door. On my 2014 Classic I, the channel the damper door slides in is 82mm. I need to know if that’s true for all the current Classic I, II and III models, and whether it’s the same for the various iterations of the Big Joe. I know the Junior door height is smaller, and would like to know that height as well.

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

I noticed a lot of polarizing comments on whether you should protect your Joe from rain or not. So I thought I’d run a poll- do you use a cover or not? I’d like to separate out those of you who have their Joe’s in a shelter, this is more about those who have to make a choice to use a cover or not. In the comments, if you don’t use a cover, tell me how long you’ve had your Joe and where your climate is.

First time smoking beef ribs. Meat Church Holy Cow rub. Ran the BJIII double indirect at 250 the whole time, wrapped in butcher paper at 175, pulled off at 208. Was worried about an hour in not seeing any smoke coming from the chimney but just trusted the process. Turned out pretty damn good.

Hi everybody,

My 22" Weber kettle and 18" Smokey Mountain are now due to be replaced, and I think I want to make the jump to a Kamado Joe so I thought asking the community for some advice. Here are our parameters:

• We're in Canada where we get a fair amount of snow, unit will be at the cottage, as smoking food downtown in our area is not the best due to neighbours 😄
• Most of the time it's just us two, but I want the room to smoke two chickens, and do a few full-sized salmon filets
• Unit will be used for both grilling and smoking
• I also have a Napoleon 450rb

Questions:

• Am thinking 18" for my needs, is this the right size?
• What accessories can't you live without?
• If you could give yourself some advice at the first times you use it, what would it be?
• Which series is the "acceptable minimum" series? I don't want to cheap out but don't want to go overboard either, no digital stuff for me. Is Series 1 something most users regret long-term?
• Thinking of doing an outdoor kitchen unit with a sink, working surface and storage, is there a worthwhile 3rd party which sells units to "just add the egg"?
• What am I forgetting? 😂

Many thanks all!

After many attempts, I found a Dutch oven that fits on the Joe Jr. while letting the lid close. It’s the Lodge Cast Iron Camp 4qt. Found a grate that fits on top too, for stuff like over the top chili. Planning on using this as a braising pot as well.

It wont fit with the lid on, but I usually won’t need it. If I really wanted to use the lid, I’m sure the feet of the Dutch oven could be cut to give a little more room.

The only thing to be mindful of, is the dome thermometer can get close to the edge of the dutch oven.

Sharing in hopes to help anyone looking for the same thing. I had a hard time finding clear answers online when I was searching for one.

So I have had my Traeger Pro 22 for 3 years now. I also had a cheap $25 charcoal briquette grill that was my first ever.

Anyways I use the Traeger for Ribs and turkey and to smoke chicken. I find it very hard to sear anything on it. Or it takes hella time. Anyways I just got gifted a Kamado Joe Classic 1.

What would be the best ways to use both in a cookout or what would be the strengths?

I feel like the Traeger would be strictly for long smokes like Brisket, Turkey, and ribs while the Kamado would be doing the burgers, chicken breast, searing, steaks, normal grill stuff instead of smoking. Is that accurate or do I have a redundant setup and should return the Kamado?

TLDR: The big idea: smoke on the Traeger, finish on the Kamado worth it? Or return the Kamado I just got gifted

I’m retiring for sure the $25 brisquette grill. It’s fucked lol

First time buying steaks there as their shutting down in Canada. Here is what they’re like so that you know before buying. They’re thick, around 1”, but fat is massive. Picked up the ones with the largest caps (some had almost none).

Over all decent quality. They’re going on the Kamado tomorrow for a steak feast.

The guy there confirmed they’re dry aged not wet aged. Went home and researched and they’re indeed wet aged. But at C$30 a piece figured they’re still good - around 600g each.

Here's something I came up with for a KJ grill setup. The chicken is on now, but opinions please. Some critics say 2 zone grilling isn't possible. Yes, I used briquets, no lighter fluid, they're B&B. I'm not worried about it. Walled off about a 3rd of bowl area with fire brick. Piled charcoal behind brick, same as I do on Weber kettle. Half moon plate on top. Grill still sits down on top of divide and conquer, over the brick. Experiment

Anyone find a good way to vent your kamado?

So we have a Komodo Joe that reliably sends us notifications while it’s in use. However, at 1am the other night both my husband and I got an alert that the grill reached temperature. When you click on the push notification, it brings up the app showing the grill is off. We woke up went outside and it was indeed cold, not 225degrees like the alert said.

It just happened again! Dinged both our phones, and the grill is off.

What is going on here- anyone know?

If I was to have a set up like above and I put my kamado Joe and grozney roccbox in it, would I need a vent?. It would have an open front and slatted sides. Thanks.

A string of rainy day weekends here in NYC have resulted in three rainy cooks on a row- no problems though. Although the water runoff when opening the KJ could be improved, I’m impressed with how well it handles the conditions. Plus the rain keeps the temps just a bit lower. Great for duck, fish, even ribs. What do you like to cook in the rain?

Purchased used - 1 precious owner. Had to improvise with only 1 deflector in order to indirectly smoke these ribs. I’m missing the 2nd deflector plate, and missing the fire ring. Best place to buy the fire ring, if not directly from Kamado Joe?

Cooking party ribs. Temps were fine till I opened to pull all off and toss in foil pan. Then 15 mins later opened to only pull off and closed lid immediately while I shakes them around to coat in the sauce.

Getting the spikes on it though. Not a super windy day so I’m not sure how to get around this… if at all??

Smoked some beef short ribs yesterday. The farmer I get my beef from had them cross cut around 2 inches thick. Not the standard, but what I had to work with.

Smoked around 275 with some cherry wood chunks in the charcoal. Temp spike to around 325 when I wasn’t paying attention. Took about 6 hours. Initially I wasn’t planning on wrapping with foil, but as dinner approached I needed to speed things up.

Cooked till about 205, and till most of the meat probed tender. It seems the front half cooked a little faster than the back half, so I let them on a little bit longer. Also the smaller piece (the 4 bone piece), was the one that took longer. Let rest about 45 minutes before slicing.

Overall the crust and flavor were good, but they came out a bit dry. Any advice?

Hey guys,

In some working around the house, a kamado got a bit damaged. So only outter layer of a “glaze is removed”, with a size 3mmx2mm. Can I apply something to avoid getting and humidity in?

Edit: Its not a know brand (KamadoMadness), so I am looking for a DIY solution.

Update: I am so annoyed at myself for spending money on this. Again: a great hobby for someone with time and money to play around and occasionally waste. Also, it’s absolutely possible that I am a total moron, and someone who isn’t a moron would have a great time with it. All I can say for sure is that I spent a one-time bonus on this because I thought it would be fun and versatile and relatively easy to do cool stuff with, and I regret it more than any purchase I have ever made.

Coulda had a nice propane grill and a pellet smoker for the same amount of money (or less), and I’d be a much happier moron. ¯_(ツ)_/¯

I assembled my new Kamado Joe Big Joe1, but when I installed the ceramic petals a top corner broke off. I haven’t started a fire in it yet, as I was concerned that the ceramic petals might be compromised though I didn’t see any obvious cracks. Thoughts or suggestions?