Big Green Egg vs. Kamado Joe: Who Makes the Better Grill?
By Greg Baker,
8 days ago
Both brands bring the heat.
Food & Wine / Nick Simpson; Russell Kilgore
Kamado grills originated in China over 3,000 years ago as clay cooking vessels that could produce intense heat. By way of Korea, the kamado arrived in Japan , where its design evolved. Over time, people added vents, allowing precise heat regulation, and the kamado grill as we know it today was born. The grill design migrated to America after World War II, and today, two names dominate the U.S. market: Big Green Egg and Kamado Joe.
Each has a fiercely loyal following among those who want a grill capable of high-heat cooking or slow smoking, in addition to excellent heat and moisture retention. Big Green Egg brought kamado grills to the mainstream, while Kamado Joe sought to refine an already excellent grill. Fandom aside, which brand is better? We tested two models from each manufacturer head to head to find out.
Key Specs
Easier to Use: Kamado Joe
More Accessories: Big Green Egg
More Size Options: Big Green Egg
More Innovative: Kamado Joe
Better Value: Kamado Joe
Our Overall Pick: Kamado Joe
What We Love About Each Brand
Big Green Egg started making clay kamado grills in 1974 in Atlanta, Georgia, eventually changing materials to ceramic for a longer lifespan. The precise temperature controls, heat and moisture retention, and fuel efficiency soon drew a crowd of devotees. A Big Green Egg became more than a grill: a smoker, a pizza oven, and much more, thanks to a growing number of accessories.
Also Atlanta-based, Kamado Joe came onto the market in 2009, seeking to tweak, tune, and perfect the kamado grill. Its grills offer excellent temperature control, heat and moisture retention, and fuel efficiency. It also launched a full line of accessories like a rotisserie and pizza oven and its standard configurable grate and heat deflector arrangement that allows multi-zone cooking without the charcoal needing to be arranged in specific ways.
Assembling the Big Green Egg (BGE) was time-consuming (about an hour) but relatively easy. Three manuals cover different portions of the grill, so make sure you reference the proper one for the part you’re working on and have a second set of hands for lifting the grill into place. The entire assembly seemed sturdy when finished. There was plenty of cooking space between the grates and the firebox to avoid scorching, and the cooking area was large enough to accommodate 20 chicken wings without them touching.
The BGE was fuel efficient, requiring two additions during our testing. The first was one-quarter pound to maintain heat during the 1 minute, 40-second cooking time, and the second was a pound to build the temperature to 600°F for final searing. Slow-cooked chicken wings took about 75 minutes to cook at 225°F, and a steak took 9 minutes to reach 100°F before searing. The dampers were easy to use, and the grill was very responsive to temperature adjustment.
The Kamado Joe (KJ) was even easier to put together than the BGE, requiring far less time, but it also needed a second person to lift the grill onto the stand. Once together, the KJ was a solid, stable grill to move and work on. The two grills have a difference of 2 square inches of cooking space, so we could fit all 20 wings on the KJ without them touching, as well. It took the KJ about 5 minutes longer than the BGE to stabilize at 225°F, but after that, it cooked the chicken wings in almost the same time. We didn’t need more charcoal during the low-heat tests and only added a pound to raise the heat to 600°F. The KJ’s lid features a latch for extra airtightness, and opening and closing the lid was a simple task.
Kamado lids are part of the body design and share the body's ceramic construction, which means they are heavy. A strong handle and hinges are necessary lid components. Both grills offer a wide handle for two-handed opening and closing. Both have assisted hinges for smooth opening and closing while avoiding damage or injury from the heavy lid slamming down.
Gasket System
Kamado grills are efficient because of their heat-retaining properties. Each grill has a gasket to help seal its lids and keep the heat and moisture inside. Big Green Egg’s gasket is a ribbon of felt surrounding the perimeters of the lid and cooking area, while the Kamado Joe has one made from wire mesh.
Firebox Design
Both grills are very fuel efficient, thanks to their firebox design, which creates bottom-to-top convection. Big Green Egg offers a separate deflector for indirect cooking, while direct grilling is the default. The Kamado Joe provides a multi-tiered system grate and deflector arrangements for dual heat zones. The Big Green Egg’s ash management consists of opening the bottom vent and scraping the ashes into a collector pan, while Kamado Joe has a built-in collection pan that catches the ash as it falls and is overall neater.
Vents
The critical feature of kamado grills is convection from top to bottom, which vents on each end facilitate. The bottom vent controls how much air enters and crosses the coals. Heat naturally rises, so the top vent controls how rapidly hot air escapes the grill. Big Green Egg recently updated its top vent design to keep the adjustment portion cool to the touch. Both grills show excellent heating and responsiveness qualities, so we don’t see a particular advantage in one over the other.
Included Accessories
One of the distinct differences between the two grills is the accessories included with the purchase. The starting price for the two grills is within a couple of hundred dollars of each other, with Kamado Joe being the more expensive of the two. But the Big Green Egg is designed for use on a stand or table, which is separate from the purchase price. The cheapest upgrade package, which includes a metal stand, heat deflector for indirect cooking, grill gripping tool, ash tool, and a bag of charcoal, increases the price by about $500 just to get to the point of usability. The Kamado Joe comes with all of the above, plus built-in side tables on the grill stand and minus the charcoal in the base price.
Warranty
Purchasing a kamado grill is a substantial investment, and one hopes that the grill will last for many years. Life happens, however, and even ceramic grills can break. Both companies offer generous warranties: lifetime on the ceramic parts, five years on metal components, and stepping down from there on minor parts.
The Verdict: Which Brand Is Better?
Declaring a winner came down to fuel efficiency and included accessories. The Kamado Joe required a quarter-pound less charcoal than the Big Green Egg to complete testing. It also comes ready to use at a single price, whereas the Big Green Egg requires accessory purchases. These are small differences, but the Kamado Joe Classic Joe Grill has the advantage.
Who Makes the Better Small Kamado Grill?
Kamado Joe KJ13RH 13.5 inch Joe Jr. Charcoal Grill
The Joe Jr. is a miniaturized version of the Classic Joe, with a few exceptions. They share the same thick-walled ceramic construction, mesh lid gasket, and air-lift hinge system. The grate arrangement is more straightforward, lacking the multi-tiered dual-zone system. In this case, it’s a flat, hinged grate for easily adding more charcoal and a heat deflector. It’s heavy at 77 pounds for a portable grill, but that’s to be expected for a ceramic and cast iron construction. Just know that it will probably take two people to move easily.
As for performance, it took 30 minutes to stabilize the temperature at 225°F and 75 minutes to finish cooking 16 chicken wings. The Joe Jr. couldn’t fit the full testing load of 20 wings. We didn’t have to add fuel during the low-temperature portion of the test; we only added a pound to raise the temperature for searing. These times and fuel loads are in line with its larger sibling’s.
The MiniMax is also a smaller version of a larger model. It has many of the standard features of the Large Egg, such as vents, gaskets, handles, and hinge arrangements. It’s cumbersome for a portable grill at 88 pounds, though that’s just 11 pounds heavier than the Joe Jr. The assembly took about 45 minutes and required considerable attention to detail.
Performance-wise, it had a smaller cooking area and could only hold 13 wings without overcrowding. It took just under 20 minutes to stabilize at 225°F and required some additional fuel about a half-hour into cooking.
While both grills are too heavy to be the perfect portable option, the Joe Jr. had better fuel efficiency than the Big Green Egg MiniMax, was easier to assemble, and held a couple of more wings. The Kamado Joe Joe Jr. with Cast Iron Stand was the winner here.
How We Tested Kamado Grills
We performed the same tests for both grill sizes. The first test measured the time and difficulty of each grill’s assembly process. From there, we moved to functional testing. We started by lighting the grills and timing how long each took to stabilize at 225°F for smoking chicken wings. We added the wings, noting the ambient temperature as measured by a remote probe thermometer and comparing that to the grill’s built-in thermometer, noting any discrepancies.
As the wings cooked, we tested the exterior temperature of the grills in several different spots, like around the vents, the gaskets, and the bodies. We also noted if the grill needed more charcoal or wood during cooking. Finally, we recorded how long the chicken wings took to cook.
After cooking the chicken wings, we added a ribeye steak and cooked it using the reverse-sear method . After the steak reached 100°F internal temperature, we removed and rested it while adding more fuel and increasing the grill’s temperature to 600°F. We recorded the time it took for the steak to cook and the time it took to reach searing temperature. After the grills reached 600°F, we seared the steak for two minutes, turned it over, and then seared it for another minute. We recorded the finished temperature and visual impressions of the sear.
Finally, we cleaned the grills, noting the ease or difficulty of the task. With all that complete, we rated each grill on design, performance, ease of use, and cleaning.
More Products We Love
Kamado Joe Konnected Joe : This is the Classic Joe with smart features, including WiFi integration and app controls for the grill. Starting the grill involves loading the charcoal, selecting the target cooking temperature, and pressing a button for the automatic ignitor to kick in. The smart components of the grill start and stop a fan that keeps the charcoal burning at an even temperature. The app keeps you posted on the ambient and current food temperatures and gives historical information about your cooking session. W-Fi connectivity allows you to move away from the grill without dropping the signal, as Bluetooth connections are prone to do. Without electricity or WiFi, the Konnected Joe works in analog mode like the Classic Joe, and it performs similarly.
Big Green Egg Stainless Steel Fire Bowl : This accessory from Big Green Egg solves the after-cooking cleanup dilemma. The grill’s design calls for pushing small amounts of ash through the bottom into the collection tray and then scooping it into a pan with the ash tool. The Fire Bowl sits at the bottom of the egg. You add your charcoal, light it, and when the cooking is done and the fire cools, you simply life the bowl and all the ashes out of the grill for easy cleanup.
Big Green Egg EGGniter Electric Fire Starter : Firestarters or charcoal chimneys are fine, but if you have electricity near your Big Green Egg, the EGGniter is a quick and easy alternative. The EGGniter applies intense heat to your charcoal, and once a small section lights, the EGGniter’s fan spreads the fire to the remaining unlit charcoal.
The Last Word
As our testing shows, the two kamado titans have comparable cooking times and fuel efficiency. Each brand appeals to a segment of the market, and based on these results, there’s no wrong brand to choose, though Kamado Joe has a slight price and fuel efficiency advantage.
Our Expertise
Greg Baker is an award-winning chef, restaurateur, and food writer with four decades of experience in the food industry. His written work appears in Food & Wine, Serious Eats, and other publications.
Greg loves cooking over fire any chance he gets, and has a veritable arsenal of grilling equipment.
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