Grilling up easy summer foods with a perfect sizzle is the essence of summer. You’ll need the ideal grill to make the cooking job easy, quick, less messy, and hassle-free. Consider how often you’ll grill up, how much storage is required, what’s your taste palette, what food your taste buds enjoy, and how much time and attention you’ll want to spend on cooking and grilling when choosing a grill. When buying a new one, the two biggest players are Big Green Egg and Kamado Joe — but both have their own pros and cons.
Here is the basic comparison of both for your better understanding:
Big green egg vs Kamado joe
Big Green Egg
The Big Green Egg Company has been the largest manufacturer of kamado grills in the U.S for the past 40 years and there was no other competition. However, they now face challenges in the form of Kamado Joe, a brand with a new approach that is rapidly gaining attraction. The BGE is a well-known brand for outdoor BBQ events because of its vibrant colors and patterns. The Big Green Egg was established in 1947.
Recommended Big Green Egg Grill
Components
The Big Green Egg includes an external thermometer, a strong bodywork with a steel grid, and also the egg itself. There are a variety of different accessories available for the BGE, making it ideal for a variety of meat cuts. Big Green Egg makes a single product in a variety of sizes, ranging from the little MiniMax to the huge 2XL Big Green Egg.
Cooking Technique
The BGE is best used with natural lump coal, and at times it is used with lighter fluid but that is not recommended. Because lighter fluid might leak chemicals into your meal, to avoid that they offer charcoal or electric burners to make things easy. If you’ve used lighter fluid in the BGE, it’s best to heat it to around 500 degrees to burn it off.
The temperature in the BGE is controlled by the airflow. You may need to increase airflow by increasing the temperature and manipulating the lower door and top vent. The egg will not reach the highest temperature if the charcoal is moist. The air will not circulate as much if the air openings become blocked with ash over time, and the temperature will remain lower.
Accessories
The Big Green Egg also has a fantastic selection of accessories, but most of them aren’t included with the purchase of a grill, and few, if any, of them match the Kamado Joe’s level of creativity.
Buying
The BGE is not available for purchase online, which is a major disadvantage for many people. You can’t just go to the Big Green Egg website and order one. On the other hand, the Kamado Joe can be ordered online.
Kamado joe
Kamado Joe is the fastest-growing brand in the charcoal ceramic grill business. Despite the fact that the kamado-style barbecue has been around for generations, technological advancements have improved the barbeque experience. What sets Kamado Joe apart from the competition? Take a look for yourself. For over 3000 years, kamado-style ceramic grills have been an integral component of human culinary development.
Kamado Joe was founded in 2009 by Bobby Brennan and Kerry Coker just outside of Atlanta, and their brand is based on unparalleled workmanship, smarter features, unique accessories, and a spectrum of flexible cooking surfaces. The Divide & Conquer grilling system on the Kamado Joe is famous for allowing you to cook at two different heights at the same time.
Recommended Kamado Joe Grill
Components
The top vent of Kamado Joe is an important part as it allows you to get airflow but also prevents rain from coming into the grill because of the position. This is great for times when it starts raining but you still want to start grilling!
The airlift hinge on top of the Kamado Joe is probably the feature that distinguishes it from all other kamado grills on the market. The airlift hinge is a type of grill hinge that helps to lighten the overall weight of the grill dome. There are numerous stages to the cooking mechanism, and the ceramic design helps to avoid corrosion.
Cooking Technique
The Kamado Joe’s versatility allows you to prepare traditional recipes while also allowing you to experiment with foods you might not have considered grilling before. They have a divide and conquer cooking technique that employs many levels and half racks to cook various items at different temperatures. A sophisticated mesh fiberglass gasket creates an airtight seal, allowing you to grill at extremely high temperatures. A vent at the top allows you to run a very continuous flow of air, effectively circulating temperature.
Accessories
The Kamado Joe Grill comes with a number of accessories to help you get started cooking right away. When grilling over direct heat, half-moon heat deflectors can help keep you safe. The whole range comes with a few accessories included like a cast iron stand and wheels, grill gripper, ash tool, ash drawer folding side shelves, and handles.
Buying
Unlike the BGE, the Kamado Joe is available from a variety of online retailers, including Amazon. Kamado Joe grills and accessories are available for purchase straight on the internet. If you just want a grill delivered to your house, this can be a significant benefit of Kamado Joe.
Major Standout Differences Between Big Green Egg Vs Kamado Joe
Air Vent
The temperature of the grill is controlled by the air vent at the top and to prevent rust, the Kamado Joe has an aluminum upper vent. To improve air movement, it includes a smaller airflow valve and a larger aperture. The grill vent on the BGE is made of cast iron, which means it can rust on the outside. However, cast iron does not rust or deteriorate in the middle! As a result, cleaning the air vent on the grill’s top is simple.
Lid
When you pop the lid of the Kamado Joe, a mechanism in the hinge allows it to slowly open. Some springs help balance the lid on the BGE, but it’s still a lot heavier than the Kamado Joe hinge. This means the Big Green Egg’s lid will be more difficult to open, and you’ll have to be careful when lowering it back to the grill.
Ash Removal
A metal ash container is required by the BGE to guarantee that the ash can be easily removed. It’s really simple to remove the ash. When you remove the ash from the Kamado Joe, there is an ash drawer that must be removed and replaced. It’s always a pain in the ash to clean out the ash. However, if you have the correct can made expressly for the huge Big Green Egg, things are a little easier. It’s a simple and quick way to clean the grill.
Grates
The Kamado Joe has many racks and comes with a tool to move the hot racks around. The grilling grates on the Big Green Egg are all at the same height. You can adjust the height of the meal by moving the grates and plates, but there is less freedom.
Warranty
BGE takes pleasure in providing all of its products with a limited lifetime warranty, with varied warranty periods for different materials. The dome, base, damper top, firebox, and fire ring, as well as the ceramic components, are guaranteed as long as you are the original purchaser of the egg and it came from an authorized retailer. The guarantee duration for ceramic add-ons, such as the plate setter and pizza stones, is reduced to three years. Thermometers and gaskets are also covered by a one-year warranty from BGE. The metal bands hinge mechanism, dual-function metal top, cooking grid, fire grate, and draught door are all covered by a five-year warranty, whereas any wooden components are only covered for one year.
Kamado Joe offers an almost identical warranty with exactly the same warranty periods and restrictions. Both firms provide thorough and outstanding warranties for their products, so you won’t have to worry about your kamado breaking down within the first six months.
Price
When you compare the prices of a Big Green Egg and a Kamado Joe of similar size, they appear to be fairly comparable. The Kamado Joe, on the other hand, comes with some useful extras, such as a stand, which you’ll have to buy separately with the BGE.
In Kamado Joe, the twin grilling rack system is also included. So in terms of value for money Kamado Joe has the edge, but it’s still a close call.
Conclusions
After evaluating both brands and comparing their top-of-the-line grills, we’ve come to the conclusion that Kamado Joe is the better choice. Kamado Joe stands out in our opinion due to the original and innovative nature of their accessories, as well as the fact that their grills come with so much more.
When you buy a BGE, you’re getting a great grill. But if you get a Kamado Joe, you’ll receive a great barbecue with all the bells and whistles. Is there anything else we can say?
Regardless of whether you get a BGE or a Kamado Joe, you are likely to be impressed by their cooking ability and overall construction quality.
