Kamado Joe Joe Jr

Is the Kamado Joe Joe Jr worth buying?

Yes, the Kamado Joe Joe Jr is worth its £339.99 for one or two cooks who want a ceramic kamado they can still shift, with 958 cm² of grid, a 4.8 average from 764 owners and a Blaze Red glaze on the outside. It is the wrong buy for anyone who regularly cooks for six or more, because the 13.5-inch ceramic body tops out well short of a family grid.

What you are paying for is the shell rather than the surface. Thick ceramic walls hold smoke and moisture through a low and slow cook, and the cast-iron air vent at the top plus the bottom vent give the two-point airflow control a long smoke depends on. The built-in thermometer takes it from 110°C for ribs to 400°C for a sear, and the dome gets there without a second fuel load.

What does 958 cm² of cooking area actually fit?

The grid is 958 cm², which is 148.5 sq in, enough for a small joint, a spatchcocked chicken or six to eight burgers at one go. Divide the £339.99 by that area and you get £35.49 per 100 cm², so every 100 cm² of ceramic grid costs more than a third of the price of the whole grill.

Put that rate next to a cheaper shape and the trade is clear. The Char-Griller AKORN Jr covers 1,000 cm² for £169.99, which works out at £17.00 per 100 cm², so it hands you 42 cm² more grid for £170 less. What the Joe Jr gives back is ceramic rather than triple-walled steel, and a sealed shell that keeps moisture inside instead of drying a brisket out over six hours.

What comes in the box and what is it like to live with?

The box holds the 13.5-inch ceramic grill, a heavy-duty cast-iron stand, a 304 stainless steel cooking grate, a ceramic heat deflector, a grill gripper and an ash tool, so a first indirect cook needs nothing extra ordered. Assembly is required, and the stand is cast iron rather than a wheeled cart, so choose the spot before you build it.

The grill measures 19.8 cm deep, 20.8 cm wide and 27 cm high, and it weighs 34.3 kg, which is light enough for one strong pair of arms but heavy enough that you will not carry it far. Kamado Joe lists spare parts as available for 5 years, and the ceramics carry a limited lifetime warranty, which covers the part most likely to crack if you drop the dome.

Where does the Kamado Joe Joe Jr fall short?

It weighs 34.3 kg and sits on a cast-iron stand with no wheels, so it is a two-hand lift and realistically a patio fixture once built. There is one rack and one cooking level, which means no half-moon two-zone cook and no way to sear on one side while a joint finishes slowly on the other.

The 958 cm² grid is 42 cm² smaller than the £169.99 Char-Griller AKORN Jr, so a 13.5-inch ceramic costs £170 more and gives slightly less cooking area. A single burner count and a single rack also mean that feeding eight people takes two rounds rather than one, and the ceramic body plus cast-iron stand leave little room for a side table.

How does the Kamado Joe Joe Jr compare with the Classic I and the AKORN Jr?

Against the Kamado Joe Classic I, the Joe Jr is £424.16 cheaper and 510 cm² smaller: the Classic I carries 1,613 cm² across two racks and a Divide & Conquer system for £764.15, against 958 cm² on one rack for £339.99. Buy the Classic I if four to six people are normal at your table; stay with the Joe Jr if two plates are the usual order.

Against the Char-Griller AKORN Jr, the Joe Jr costs £170 more and carries 42 cm² less grid, 958 cm² against 1,000 cm², on steel rather than ceramic. The AKORN Jr is the pick for a tight budget or a grill that travels at 16.2 kg, and the Joe Jr is the pick for a sealed ceramic shell that holds smoke and moisture on a long cook.