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Pros:
- Incredibly easy to light.
- The ash drawer makes cleanup a breeze.
- Ceramic body maintains heat really well.
- The divide and conquer system allows you to cook over direct and indirect heat at the same time.
- The grill can be used in both manual and digital modes.
- The Automatic Fire Starter automatically maintains your selected cooking temperature.
- Kontrol Tower top vent keeps consistent air setting while lid is being opened and closed.
Cons:
- Your outlet needs to be able to handle the 5 amps of power required to use the Automatic Fire Starter.
- The wi-fi app has limited range.
- Like all ceramic cookers, it is heavy, but the cart and side handles improve its portability.
The Skinny:
- 18-inch or 24-inch Wi-Fi ceramic grill with 250 or 450 sq.in. of cooking space
- Kontrol Fan automatically maintains your desired cooking temperature from 225°F to 700°F
- Kontrol Tower top vent maintains consistent air setting while the lid is open
- Air Lift Hinge significantly reduces dome weight for easy opening and closing
By: Christie Vanover
I’ve been testing out the new Kamado Joe Konnected Joe, a fully automatic charcoal grill that lets you set and monitor temps from your phone like a pellet grill. As an award-winning competitive pitmaster, my goal is to help anyone who’s interested learn how to grill and that’s what I love about the Konnected Joe — it’s incredibly advanced, but still easy to use! This grill revolutionizes Kamado cooking like I’ve never seen before. Kamado grills have been around for thousands of years, but adding the digital capabilities brings it to a whole new level. It’s truly one of a kind, combining the tried-and-true effectiveness of Kamado cooking with the digital conveniences modern-day grillers expect and enjoy.
Quality
If superior heat retention is what you’re after, look no further.
For starters, the Konnected Joe keeps heat inside the grill where you need it most. The thick ceramic walls provide strong insulation so almost all the heat is captured and used to cook your food before exiting the grill. This also makes the grill incredibly fuel efficient.
Depending on which version you get, it has either 250 or 450 square inches of cooking space and a two-tier divide-and-conquer cooking system. This allows you to cook various foods at different temperatures. And with the addition of the heat deflectors, you can cook using direct and indirect heat.
Performance
You don’t have to be a professional pitmaster to use this grill, but when you pull your food off, everyone will think you are.
One of the best things about the Konnected Joe is its flexibility — you can use the automatic functions, or you can forgo the technology altogether and use it manually.
To use the automatic mode, simply add your coal, turn the power on, close the bottom vent, and push the automatic fire starter button.
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To set your temperature, push the thermometer button, spin the dial to your desired temperature, and push the thermometer button again to lock in your temp.
The heating element on the bottom will light your coals in about 15 minutes. Then, the grill will regulate itself to peak at your desired temperature. I found it takes about 30 minutes total to reach 250F degrees.
Throughout the cook, the grill will continue to make internal adjustments with the Kontrol Fan to keep your heat steady, so you never have to worry about opening and closing vents.
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Digital display with thermometer settings on screen
If hands-on grilling is more your style, don’t worry! You still have the freedom to cook on the Konnected Joe without power. Just add your coals, light them with your favorite fire starter, and control your heat with the top and bottom vents just like you would with any other Kamado grill.
Features
Kamado Joe combines traditional kamado style grilling with digital technology for a revolutionary cooking experience.
Now let’s walk through the basic features. The Konnected Joe comes with three ports for temperature probes located next to the Kontrol board. The grill comes with one meat probe, but you can purchase more. Simply insert the probe into the port, then run it up and under the grill lid and insert it into the meat. You’ll be able to see when your meat is ready without opening the grill. The Kontrol board’s timer can also count down or up for added convenience.
Two lift handles sit beneath the removable side shelves, which make placing the grill on the included cart a breeze. The cart has great heavy-duty wheels, including two that lock. There is also a shelf on the bottom that is large enough hold all of your favorite grilling accessories.
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The part that took me the longest to figure out was how to add the legs to the cart. There is a section in the middle of each leg that slides into the frame. Then, that gets screwed together. From there, you screw on the bottom shelf and add the wheels. If you really want to kick it into high gear, the Konnected Joe supports popular Kamado Joe accessories such as the JoeTisserie Rotisserie System and DoJoe Pizza Oven Attachment.
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Assembling the cart before installing
But the Konnected Joe doesn’t stop there. Not only does the digital Kontrol board control your settings, but you can also adjust and monitor your grill’s temperature from the Kamado Joe app. It connects to the grill via your home wi-fi and Bluetooth. With the app, you can adjust the grill temperature, monitor internal meat temperatures, track the full cook and set the timer. The app even includes a collection of recipes. Again, I’m Christie Vanover from Girls Can Grill. I hope this review of the Kamado Joe Konnected Joe has been helpful.
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