Kamado Joe Kettle Joe 22-Inch Charcoal Kettle Grill - KJ15040320

Very early - only 3 cooks in : immediate and obvious concern is that this thing leaks really bad, literally so much so that it cannot extinguish the coals. It leaks from the top vent, the dome, and the slo roller. It also makes a huge mess, dripping from the dome - had to put cardboard under it to stop staining the concrete! I own the Big Joe III and another high end kettle ... I do not expect the KettleJ to do Kamado Joe perfection, but not being able to seal up as good as an existing kettle seems problematic. The smokes were pretty good, especially for a 'kettle' ... the brined chicken and pulled pork were perfect but the ribs seemed just a bit on the dry side. As stated, it leaks bad - during shutdown of my first cook, it stayed > 200 degrees until all the coal was fried. During start up on the second cook, with the heavy smoke I had completely closed all the vents and lid to see what was happening, and the smoke was coming from EVERYWHERE ... the rims of the slo-roller, the top vent, etc. I tried loosening the hinge part to make sure the dome was positioned as tight as I could get it - no help. Another effect of the leaks, a bunch of the moisture was dripping from around the edges of the dome, making a huge mess on the concrete. A little wind and I am guessing the goo would run down the sides of the kettle. The fact it was leaking so much moisture makes me think the meat was losing some of that (could that be the problem with the ribs???) Again, for short (low and slow) cooks, it turned out OK. The smoke was good but it made a big mess on my driveway and you lose any fuel left over at the end. I have to guess that with all that leaking I am losing a lot more heat, so I am a little worried for brisket I end up having to keep shoveling coal in there to finish the cook. I should put a caveat on my scoring and "Recommend to a friend" : my line of thinking is you want to use this for smoking - lean hard for a Kamado (even the II) vs this grill. If I compare the Kettle-J as a regular grill against my other one (which is cheaper), it is no contest : my old kettle wins hands down if for nothing more than the thing seals tight and makes no mess.

JUST BROUGHT THE GRILL FOR THIS WEEKEND. I CANNOT SAY ENOUGH. THIS GRILL IS AMAZING AND IS SO WELL BUILT. I WOULD ADVISE ANYONE LOOKING FOR A KETTLE GRILL" LOOK NO FURTHER. THIS IS IT"

Just installed and therefore had no heat in it yet. Have to go with Scottie11 comment about the lacking paint job. The metal tabs are also not painted well. -example pictures attached- others with real sharp edges (cooking grates).

There a lot of paint defect on each parts maybe beacause of quick production.Dont buy if you stay on a place with a lot of wind beacause is hard to keep température.A lot of leak after multiple ajustement with the cover.Try to do something with the claim center and they close the ticket.They tell me to open a another one and no answer since...

17 of 18 found this review helpful

I've done 3 cooks on this in the short time I've had it and I love both the grilling and smoking aspects of this. I have had the Joe Jr. (which I also love) for a while now and needed something a bit bigger for larger gatherings. Temp is very easy to control and maintain, very efficient with fuel. Great addition to the family!

I'm really happy with this purchase. I've been making great spoked food and the flavors have been exceptional. Had to get help from the internet re leveling the hood when closed, but after a simple hack, it's no longer a problem. Love the ceramics and basket idea. Nice size grilling area. I wish it had it's own accessories (I had to search the internet for proper fitting items).

Good grill/smoker but definitely could be better. The paint job is lacking. If you over tighten a screw slightly the paint will chip. The metal tabs are also not painted well. Would like to see the next version to have a similar body and lid style as the ceramic grills and use the divide and conquer system like the ceramic grills have. Eliminate the separate slo roller ring. There is too much play in the hinge that will cause gaps if you don't have the lid and slo roller set perfectly.

Jump into your grilling game with style!! This Kamado Joe Kettle Joe came for keeps & came to have fun with its sporty look while making you king or queen of the cul de sac. Some nifty features that set this kettle apart from the rest is that the lid has a hinge, it easily flips open, also the Kettle Joe comes equipped with the Divide & Conquer system for different cooking zones, the hyperbolic sloroller which gently adds layers of smoke and flavor & a ceramic firebox. That ceramic firebox retains heat for those long low n slow cooks using less lump/charcoal. Also the ceramic petals can easily be removed so you transport your kettle to your campsite or favorite spot by the lake. The cooking real estate is generous with 22", that size can feed a crowd pretty easily, from brisket to pulled pork to hot dogs & wings! The price point for all that you get in one fun package is pretty decent. I set up the divide & conquer system and made some really great steaks, also quick burgers using direct heat, I had a little fun and made kimchi fries! All you'll need is a pair of tongs & your favorite beverage! Party time!

1 user found this review helpful

If you think you want a ceramic kettle grill, but can't stomach the price, this Kettle Joe is the grill for you! If you gotta have the best of the best, Kamado Joe has that too. The ceramic plates hold the heat in so it's a piece of cake to maintain a steady temperature, and once it's up to temp it'll stay there with very little fuel burn. It actually gets to temp faster than I expected it to. I like using lump charcoal, it seems to burn longer and just works great in this grill. Even after the charcoal runs out, the grill holds the heat in for a while. I'm very impressed with how evenly it cooks and how easy it is to maintain a set temperature. I like the swivel casters, it's very easy to store this grill in the garage and roll it out for use, they lock easily to hold it in place while you cook. Adding the Slo roller for smoking is a piece of cake, the lid hinge is easy to adjust and pin in to the higher setting.

My first kettle grill and so far I'm loving it. Assembly instructions were clear and straight forward but some parts are cumbersome if doing it alone. A helping hand will speed up assembly though. So far I've used the SloRoller for some beef ribs and have done several direct grilling cooks. All have turned out excellent. The grill heats up fast and holds stable temps. I love the split level cooking ability and the fact that I can use my Big Joe deflectors for doing half indirect cooking. I've also discovered that my KJ Classic grates fit perfectly on top of the fire basket for a third level of extra high temp searing. This grill seems to be very fuel efficient from what I expected. I use both lump and briquettes, depending on what I'm cooking and I've yet to need to add more fuel to finish a cook. I did a reverse sear the other night and went from 275 to 600 degrees in about 5 minutes with only a full chimney of lump charcoal. This is a very fun but capable grill that can cook anything you throw on it.......and the best part is that most existing 22.5" accessories on the market will fit it. Add in the SloRoller, adjustable hinge, ceramic firebox panels that can be easily removed to lighten the weight of the grill for transportation and this makes for a kettle for the modern age. As with any new product, I can see some areas for improvement but they in no way make me regret owning this grill. I love to tinker and try to improve things, so I added a felt gasket around the lip of the lid to see if it woulld improve anything. So while I had no problems maintaining 225-250 out of the box (BTW, this grill seems to love 240. it almost settles there on its own) adding the gasket did seem to make it even easier as I dont have to choke the vents down quite as much. It does not need the gasket to maintain stable temps though and thats why it still gets 5 stars. Anyone looking for a feature rich kettle that stands out from the pack of old fashioned kettles will love this grill. Its also a great introduction to Kamado Joe as a sort of hybrid budget friendly grill. I can see this as being a gateway grill to the kamados and also a great sidekick for multitasking more than one grill. Very happy griller.

3 users found this review helpful