Primo XL vs Big Joe vs BGE XL

cayenne

cayenne

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Hi folks,

I know...this is usually fodder for a flame war (no pun intended)....but if anyone out there is familiar and cooked on two or more of the choices I'm looking at.

Can you give me some thoughts, objectively...as to the pluses and minuses of each vs the other?

The Primo seems interesting, in that it is oval shaped, not round. I'm particularly interested if there is anything major + or - about that shape vs the traditional round of the KJ and BGE...?

Again...not wanting to start a religious war on this...but looking for some objective differences between them, especially from those that have cooked on two or more of them.

Thanks in advance,

cayenne
 
I have a BGE and Kamado Joe. As far as those two, they are basically identical except for the color. They cook identical in every way. Neither will do anything that the other will not. I have logged untold cooking hours on both and have no regrets buying either one of them. Quaity, performance and operations is indistinguishable. As far as the Primo Oval, I do not have one, but I have cooked on a friends. Again, basically identical to the other two in how it cooks and operates. The one thing I really like about the oval design is it does make it a little easier to cook real long ribs and briskets. This is about its only advantage. They all turn out the same quality of food. If you can cook on one, you can cook on all of them. They run and perform the very same in my experience. If the Primo Oval Jack Daniels edition would have been available when I was shopping for ceramic cookers, it would have been the one bought. For no other reason than I like Jack Daniels and the cooker is cool looking. Again, all of them are great rigs and will turn out identical results. You can't go wrong with anyone of them.
 
I have a BGE. If I could do it all over again I would have bought a primo oval. The primary reason is the shape of the fire box. I've seem dividers you can put in there to help keep a hot side and a cool side. Also, I think the extra length might be better for briskets which sometimes have a hard time fitting on an egg.
 
Here is one last tid bit of info. If you have a BGE or Joe, the accessories from each manufacture is interchangeable. You can use Joe accessories on the BGE and vice versa.
 
Thanks..!!

SGH said:
I have a BGE and Kamado Joe. As far as those two, they are basically identical except for the color. They cook identical in every way. Neither will do anything that the other will not. I have logged untold cooking hours on both and have no regrets buying either one of them. Quaity, performance and operations is indistinguishable. As far as the Primo Oval, I do not have one, but I have cooked on a friends. Again, basically identical to the other two in how it cooks and operates. The one thing I really like about the oval design is it does make it a little easier to cook real long ribs and briskets. This is about its only advantage. They all turn out the same quality of food. If you can cook on one, you can cook on all of them. They run and perform the very same in my experience. If the Primo Oval Jack Daniels edition would have been available when I was shopping for ceramic cookers, it would have been the one bought. For no other reason than I like Jack Daniels and the cooker is cool looking. Again, all of them are great rigs and will turn out identical results. You can't go wrong with anyone of them.
Click to expand...

Thank you.

I think I definitely WILL go check out the Primo Oval XL at the dealership I found here locally. I should at least get prices, etc.

One thing I was thinking however, that might be a disavantage..in that since the Oval shape of the primo is different...that there might be less in the way of 3rd party add-ons and utility pieces available for it....?

Again, thank you for the quick replies and helpful responses!!

cayenne
 
cayenne said:
Thank you.

I think I definitely WILL go check out the Primo Oval XL at the dealership I found here locally. I should at least get prices, etc.

One thing I was thinking however, that might be a disavantage..in that since the Oval shape of the primo is different...that there might be less in the way of 3rd party add-ons and utility pieces available for it....?

Again, thank you for the quick replies and helpful responses!!

cayenne
Click to expand...

There are getting to be more and more aftermarket accessories everyday for the Primo. You won't have any problem in this area. If you happen to buy the Jack Daniels edition, please post a pic of it my friend.
 
Hmm....

SGH said:
There are getting to be more and more aftermarket accessories everyday for the Primo. You won't have any problem in this area. If you happen to buy the Jack Daniels edition, please post a pic of it my friend.
Click to expand...


Well, darn it...I'm getting myself confused again!! I too like the look of that Jack Daniels model (or as we say here in New Orleans....Jacque Daniels).
:)

I'm definitely going to check it out this afternoon. I fear the leading factor on which one I get...may be the one I can make sure and have delivered by or before this weekend so I can PLAY with it!!
:)

One last thing, I'm really wanting the XL of any of them I think. I'm getting to where I'm trying to eat a LOT more vegetables, and grilling out a ton of eggplant, corn, squashes..etc....especially if also grilling meats can take up a good deal of grill realestate..and I like to try to cook as much as possible at once.

That also means I'm gonna need to learn and get whatever accessories to allow me to do two level cooking. With the round ones, I think you almost really NEED the XL model to be able to do this successfully. The primo comes almost built to do that easily.

I'm gonna search now for 3rd party accessories for the Primo oval...see what's out there at this time.

Again, thank you EVERYONE for all the quick and VERY helpful input!! This is a pretty major $$ output and I just wanna get something I'll be happy with for a very, very long time.

cayenne
 
Brother it's simply a vanity issue, but if I were buying one today it would be the Jack edition without question or doubt. Again, nothing to do with performance, I just love the looks of it. Eventually I'm going to add one to my already vast arsenal.
 
I have the xl with the table shown in the above picture. The ONLY difference is the JD medallion on the front. You'll pay 2 to 3 hundred more for that badge. With that aside, I absolutely love it. Just one example, over the weekend I put a 7qt lodge pot full of beans and three full slabs of ribs (in a rack) on at the same time. One thing to keep in mind is that the essentials (deflector plates and firebox divider) are sold as accessories. By the time I was done I burned up(no pun intended) the better part of 2k. I don't think there is any quality difference between Primo and BGE, but the shape of the Primo is a definite advantage.
 
Oh wait... I changed my mind. For only an extra $999.00
 

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yakdung said:
I do not believe that is the case. Everything is À la carte.
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Yes the cart is a separate purchase but IMHO it is worth it. It is solid. I store most of my Primo accessories in the basket underneath. The SS side tables are great and the large castor wheels roll smoothly even over my expansion joints. I can move my Primo all over my patio without fear of it tipping over.
 
I have the Primo XL and the mini primo oval. I really enjoy them, and as stated above, the oval shape allows extra room for things like large briskets and rib racks. Temp is easy to manage. Food is moist. Not quite the smoke flavor of the a sideburner, but the average person would not notice the difference.
 
Question for those of you with large kamado cookers: do you find it replaces your Weber kettle for most uses or do you still break out your kettle frequently?
 
Bob C Cue said:
Question for those of you with large kamado cookers: do you find it replaces your Weber kettle for most uses or do you still break out your kettle frequently?
Click to expand...

I can't speak for everyone, but I use my BGE 99% of the time as opposed to the kettle. This is especially true now that I have more than one ceramic cooker. I'm not saying that it's better, just my preference. You can really hit some insane high temps on the kamados for searing.
 
I've had the BGE and the Primo , can't speak for Kamodo Jo. I cook on my primo 90% of the time. The oval design is a plus / the BGE does have a lot more after market accessories and gadgets available. 1 more important thing to add is that Primo is made in Norcross , Ga. To my knowledge it is the only American made kamado & a damn fine one @ that!
 
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