Buying a Kamado Joe
For me, the process of buying anything of significance is a long long process. I research the absolute hell out of the topic until I feel comfortable enough to take the leap and get my wallet out. In this instance, it was probably 4 months of turning the internet inside out. I watched lots of YouTube videos, pretty much every review on any style of non-gas BBQ you could think of. When I started the journey I was not aware of just how many styles of BBQ’s there was. It seems that pretty much every major culture from around the world have some form of BBQ. Sometimes it is just the ingredients that make it unique to the area but more often it is the style of the BBQ itself.
From the open fire style seen in South America – known as “Asado” to the traditional Hangi from the Pacific Islands the primal desire to cook food on or with fire has shaped cultures for millennia and to this day is still shaping cultures. The modern version is the BBQ competition culture that is expanding around the world. The choices seem endless.
If spending a reasonable amount of cash on a BBQ, I certainly need to get value for money and cover as many different styles of cooking as possible. For me the main styles I was looking to cover where: Pizza, Low and Slow, Smoking (hot and cold), Hot and Fast grilling, baking. The order is pretty close to my order of preference/priority. The only other pre-requisite was to be fuelled by charcoal.
Why Charcoal?
A part of it was just because I hadn’t cooked with charcoal before. My BBQ history is with gas BBQ, with a little bit of cooking on a wood fire, think bush camping. The other driving reason was the research I did and the overwhelming comments of the layers of flavour that was imparted by the charcoal. I was sold. But it is not only the charcoal aspect, it is the addition of the smoking wood to the charcoal that adds an additional layer of flavour. The combinations are endless, the flavour profiles of single woods are amazing, let alone when you mix different smoke producing woods to the fire.
So once I decided on the fuel, and the styles of cooking I wanted to try the task of narrowing down the choices of equipment begun. I joined a couple of forums, facebook groups and watched another ton of YouTube videos and eventually narrowed my selection down to the kettle style BBQ or the Kamado style BBQ. Even when I narrowed it down to this level the choices seem to be endless. The brand names, the cheapies, the specialist suppliers and the big box store products. Even options and models within a specific brand’s range can be overwhelming.
The Quality
I continued to face a mental battle over how much to allow in the budget. I am a really big believer in the theory that the “poor man pays twice”. Meaning that if you buy the cheapest thing going, then as a general rule you will buy it more than once. So with this theory ringing in my ears, I dismissed the cheaper brands based on my perception of quality. I say perception because all you have to go on when you do not have your own direct experience is what people decide to share in public forums and groups. You do need to be wary of taking in too much or allowing yourself to be convinced be a limited amount of reviews. After all, it is human nature to speak the loudest about problems.
Brand Selection
The 3 brands that I narrowed my selection down to where the Weber, Kamado Joe and Big Green Egg. Unfortunately, the business strategy of the Big Green Egg company or its distributors here in Australia ruled them out from any further research, plus 4 months later I am still waiting for a return email from them.
The Weber is available through a pretty wide network of distributors. Here is the list of distributors in my local area – Brisbane Australia. The Kamado Joe is exclusively sold by Barbeques Galore.
As I continued to research, it became apparent that the versatility of the Kamado Joe was going to meet all of my needs. My focus had narrowed and the hunt was on for my first Kamado Joe.
New vs Secondhand
This is an age-old debate, purchase new and get the benefits of warranty but pay a higher price or purchase secondhand and get the benefits of a lower price, without the comfort of the warranty protecting your investment. Either way, it is a big decision. My personal thought process involved analysing whether I could afford the full price and the risk of buying secondhand. In the end, I figured the quality of the original product and the fact that Kamado Joe has a lifetime warranty on the ceramic that it would be a good compromise and the risk of having issues would be minimal. My decision was to buy second hand at the right price. I was looking around for a good quality Kamado Joe for sub $800, it took a couple of months to find one, and I now know why – they are an investment and once you buy one you are hooked for life. I was fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time as the guy I purchased from was moving to New Zealand and didn’t want to take it with him. His loss, my gain…
And that’s how I became a Kamado Joe owner and when the obsession started.
Finally an Owner
Now I am certainly not the subject matter expert on all thing BBQ – FAR from it. I am a mere apprentice to this lifestyle, but I am finding that it drives a passion inside of me that I don’t think has been there with any previous activities/hobbies and I have had a few.
The abilities of the Kamado Joe amaze me each and everytime I fire it up. I have fallen in love with the smoke aspect of cooking, and am super keen to dive deeper into the are of smoking meat.
Recommendation
If you are in the market for a new BBQ, I can not recommend the Kamado style cookers highly enough. There are many brands to choose from so align one with your budget and the level of quality that you can accept and just go for it. You will not be disappointed.
Joe On !!
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