Kamado Joe Classic Joe Series II 18-inch Ceramic Charcoal Grill and Smoker with Cart, Side Shelves, Stainless Steel Grates and 250 Cooking Square Inches in Red, Model KJ-23RHC

This grill is a game changer! I have been a gas grill dude for a long time because of its convenience and affordability. The problem with a frequent griller is that these consumer metal grills die after a few years even with good cleaning practices and I really missed the smoke/charcoal flavor that you don’t get from a gas grill. Tired of buying replacement parts every year, for the next grill search, I wanted to look into a ceramic style grill because of all the great feedback heard for several years. These aren’t budget grills and are pricey but getting a grill every 5 years adds up and gets frustrating. This time I decided to stop the cycle and spend some money on a high quality unit; the Kamado Joe Classic was my choice.My first thought is wow, I can’t believe how great this grill cooks and it seems the more I cook on it, the more it cures. I’ve cooked brisket, burgers, chicken, sirloin tip roast, baked cornbread, and tons of vegetables. This thing just continues to amaze me and my family is super happy not no have to lie about the char from my past grills.I’m not saying that this grill automatically turned me into a award winning grill master, but the divide and conquer set up gives more options to perfect your cook as opposed to traditional grills where shoving the delicate stuff on the top rack and closing the lid is about your only option.The grill arrives in a crate and is extremely well packed.This is a heavy grill and is simple to set up, however, you need two to three people to lift this beast on to the base.Once on the base, the inside fire box parts and the rest of it goes in really easy.The construction is thick ceramic and has a beautiful red glaze. It’s essentially a giant pottery cooker.Owning charcoal grills back in the day, I assumed that clean up was going to be a fairly dirty affair, however I found that with using the recommended chunk charcoal, there is a lot less to clean up than with briquettes.The Kamado can use chunk charcoal and wood. While briquettes will work as well, I personally will not use them in this grill to avoid that fuel smell imbedding in the grill.There are several chunk coal brands on Amazon that will work great including the Kamado brand charcoal.Lighting this grill is easy as long as you have good charcoal and a good starter. I use the haystack looking starters and food chunk charcoal.The included divide and conquer system is an innovative way to maximize a cook, meaning that it allows for indirect and direct grilling simultaneously.There are other accessories available as well which extends the options of use.The top and bottom vent work together to provide consistent heat through your cook. Once you learn how to work the vents to control heat, you can walk away with confidence that nothing crazy is going to happen. This pottery marvel keeps the heat better than any grill I’ve used.I found the Kamado to keep a 300 degree temp with the vents closed after a cook for about 3 hours. I was blown away. Knowing this, a batch of cornbread followed my last cook.The thermometer works well, but was hard to see, so it was replaced with a more visible model.The ash drawer is a nice addition and helps with cleanup.The side shelves are solid metal and match the metal legs. I like that they fold down and are metal-wood always rots away.The wheels work well. Be sure to assemble the locks to the front the grill instead of the back in case you set up in a corner like I do.There are tons of videos available to help you on your way if needed.I am extremely happy with the quality and versatility of this grill and am confident that this grill will outlast me.I highly recommend this to anyone that is looking for a heavy duty ceramic style cooker!

I love this grill. I previously owned a Big Green Egg, but gave it to my son when I was living in a high rise. Now I'm back on solid ground with a patio and needed a grill. After a lot of research, I decided to try the Kamado Joe. It's not cheap, but given the fact that it comes with plate setters, ash tool, and grill grate tool, it is cheaper than a Big Green Egg which includes no accessories. I was amazed at how fast I got it. Free 2 day shipping with Amazon Prime. There is some assembly required, but that is also simple. You will need someone to help you get it out of the crate, but that's more from bulkiness than weight.I loved my Big Green Egg, so I was a little worried that the Kamado Joe wouldn't have the same quality and temperature control abilities. No need to have worried. This is a well built product that has actually made some improvements over the Green Egg design. I'll compare the two since my dilemma was to buy this or The Big Green Egg:1. The temperature control is as easy, accurate, and consistent as my Big Green Egg. Once the charcoal is lit, you can adjust the dampers to achieve your desired temperature, and it stays right there even on windy days.2. The top has a felt ring around it that holds the cast iron damper cap in place even when opening and closing the grill. This is an improvement over the Big Green Egg which just had the cap sitting on the ceramic. I would have to remove the cap when opening the lid to keep it from falling off of the Egg.3. With the Big Green Egg, you needed a bucket and ash tool, that was not included, to clean out the ash after cooking. The Kamado Joe has a slide in drawer that catches the ashes. The drawer holds enough ash to burn down a full load of charcoal, then you just pull it out, empty it, and put it back in. It would be a good idea to occasionally remove the fire box, etc. and clean around it (also true of The Big Green Egg), but this tray makes it much easier to empty the ash out during every day use.4. You could only cook on the upper or lower level at one time on The Big Green Egg. The Kamado Joe comes with the Divide and Conquer system that allows you to cook all on one level or half the grill on the upper level and half on the lower level (closer to the coals). It also allows you to make half of the grill indirect heat while cooking with direct heat on the other half. This was great for reverse-searing steaks. I could cook them to medium rare with indirect heat then move them to the lower grate with direct heat to quickly sear them.5. The only thing I can think of that the Big Green Egg has over the Kamado Joe is the ceramic cap that you can put in place after using to shut off airflow and put out the coals. Closing the damper on top of the Kamado Joe has the same effect, but maybe a little less efficiently than the ceramic cap.I don't want to take anything away from the Big Green Egg, because it is a quality product and mine is still in use performing like-new after 4 years. I have only had the Kamado Joe for a few months now, so while I can't say how durable it is, I can say that it feels as solid as the Egg and I would expect it to also be performing like a champ in 5 years. Overall, I am very happy with my Kamado Joe, and keeping in mind that I have 5 years experience with the Big Green Egg and only 3 months with the Kamado Joe, so far I would recommend the Kamado Joe to anyone who is on the fence like I was between this and The Big Green Egg.