My dh loves to grill. Owns a Weber gas and a Weber Performer charcoal. Only uses the gas when he’s short on time. He’s not happy with the smoking performance of the Performer and is considering purchasing either a vertical smoker (Weber Smoky Mountain) or a Kamado-style grill. Can anyone speak to the smoking performance of a Kamado-style grill? If you own either of these, can you share your experience? What do you like/not like? Also, if you have something you love, please share what brand you purchased. Thanks!
I have a BGE and Kamado which I like a lot but I recently got a RecTec pellet smoker and I’m in love. Can control everything from my phone so if I need to shorten or extend a cook I can do it from anywhere. I added to temp controller and got a wifi thermometer for the BGE and Kamado which works pretty well but for a pork butt cooking overnight the RecTec is the best. I also use a smoker tube for extra smoke when needed. The Traeger smoker are similar to RecTec but RecTec is in Augusta near my ranch and have amazing customer service.
Thanks! Can you compare the Kamado and the BGE?
Definitely get the Kamado but you can’t go wrong with either. Also they are insanely heavy so be prepared for that.
My husband is a big time bbq guy and he has a BGE, Pit Barrel cooker, Weber gas grill and he just got rid of pellet grill.
I suggest the BGE.
Uh-oh, I need a tie-breaker 
Ha! He can’t go wrong with either one, just don’t get a pellet grill. Husband thinks that’s like cooking in the oven.
My husband was all set to buy the BGE but after researching a little more and talking to a few friends he ended up with the Kamado. I could not tell you why but can tell you that he loves it.
Do you research and you’ll see both are great but Kamado is a better choice. But the RecTec is super nice on long cooks.
Wow, that is a serious set up! Very nice!
Kamado Joe owner here. Can’t go wrong with KJ or BGE from a results standpoint…both with produce wonderful food. The biggest difference is in pricing. KJ will cost more up front but will contain more features out of the box. To outfit the BGE similar to a KJ will require purchasing additional items and accessories that ultimately will cost more. KJ has also been pushing the envelope, adding useful new features with each new generation, whereas BGE seems to be more content with status quo. Regardless of what he gets, it will be a worthwhile new hobby sure to produce tasty benefits for the rest of the family as well. You can cook anything in a kamado…it’s not just a grill or a smoker.
My DH’s Covid purchase was a Big Green Egg which he’s very happy with. Looks like the Kamado Joe. Then because it weighs so much he got himself what he calls the Baby Egg. Don’t know the brand, but it’s blue which he can put in the back of the car when we go visit the family camp which has an inferior gas grill.
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One of my most prized possessions is a blue Big Green Egg. They only made blue ones for a nanosecond around 2000 and I was able to get one at the BGE headquarters in Atlanta. It is a beauty!
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Kind of depends how serious he is about smoking and grilling. The BGE is great, but it is expensive and heavy. It is also better for long smokes than a quick grill. A good entry point to learn about kamado style grills is the Akorn Kamado by Chargriller. It is metal, not ceramic, so not as heavy and very mobile. Cooks in a similar way to the ceramics since it is insulated. Less than 1/3 the cost of a BGE. Works just as well for a long smoke as it does for quickly grilling chicken, seafood or steaks.
He loves to smoke and grill. Due to the types of meats that he usually smokes, we don’t eat a ton of them. But he wants something that is better at it than what he has. I’ll tell him to check out the Akorn, though I’m wondering how different it is from his Weber. (ie not ceramic)
My husband purchased a Traeger Timberline last year (it’s a pellet smoker). He loves it. He looked at the Kamado but decided he preferred the Traeger.
An Akorn is a kamado style grill that is not ceramic but is made out of insulated steel. His Weber is not insulated so it is less efficient at maintaining temperature and will use more charcoal. It requires more interaction to maintain temp. While an Akorn is better at maintaining temperature over a long period of time using less fuel than a steel cooker due the insulation, it is not quite at the level of a ceramic because it cannot absorb and radiate heat to the same degree as ceramic. The heat absorption and radiation is really what makes a ceramic cooker so good at what it does…maintain an even temperature for long times with little effort required, along with the added benefits of convection and retaining moisture in the tightly sealed dome.
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