Alphonse
Got Wood.
I have been cooking on the new Kamado Joe Kettle Joe and thought folks may be interested in my impressions.
The overall concept of the Kettle Joe is quite interesting. It successfully integrates the merits of a high-end kettle grill and a kamado. It comes with a ceramic lined firebox and Kamado Joe’s SLŌROLLER technology. The cooking grates and firebox cage are all stainless steel. The SloRoller is an insert that can be taken on and off depending on how you want to use the grill. The hinged lid is adjustable to accommodate using it as a kettle grill, sans SloRoller.
I am quite impressed with the performance of the SloRoller. It functions far better than I imagined and the ceramic lined firebox makes this pit relatively fuel efficient and responsive. While I have used the grill strictly as a kettle grill, most of my cooks have been focused on using it setup with the SloRoller. I have used it with a PID control system and found that it will track the setpoint spot-on. One of my first cooks was a big batch of wings, and to my surprise they cooked consistently across the grate. The ones in the center were the same as the ones near the periphery.
The integrated cart is robust and the locking casters work very well. The vertically adjustable hinge is equally robust and very well made. It allows you to swap from kettle mode to kamado/SloRoller mode lickity split. At 22” in diameter, it opens up the universe of accessories for this size grill. Flipside, it is not hard to imagine that the SloRoller insert may eventually become available as a separate purchase since it should fit on other 22” grills.
It will be interesting to see how sales on this grill develop. I do think KJ has landed a very innovative design with the Kettle Joe and at its price point of $499, you get a lot for your money. It is an extremely versatile cooker with good materials of construction that should prove to be durable. I think it could be called the “Swiss Army Knife of Kettle Grills”.
The overall concept of the Kettle Joe is quite interesting. It successfully integrates the merits of a high-end kettle grill and a kamado. It comes with a ceramic lined firebox and Kamado Joe’s SLŌROLLER technology. The cooking grates and firebox cage are all stainless steel. The SloRoller is an insert that can be taken on and off depending on how you want to use the grill. The hinged lid is adjustable to accommodate using it as a kettle grill, sans SloRoller.
I am quite impressed with the performance of the SloRoller. It functions far better than I imagined and the ceramic lined firebox makes this pit relatively fuel efficient and responsive. While I have used the grill strictly as a kettle grill, most of my cooks have been focused on using it setup with the SloRoller. I have used it with a PID control system and found that it will track the setpoint spot-on. One of my first cooks was a big batch of wings, and to my surprise they cooked consistently across the grate. The ones in the center were the same as the ones near the periphery.
The integrated cart is robust and the locking casters work very well. The vertically adjustable hinge is equally robust and very well made. It allows you to swap from kettle mode to kamado/SloRoller mode lickity split. At 22” in diameter, it opens up the universe of accessories for this size grill. Flipside, it is not hard to imagine that the SloRoller insert may eventually become available as a separate purchase since it should fit on other 22” grills.
It will be interesting to see how sales on this grill develop. I do think KJ has landed a very innovative design with the Kettle Joe and at its price point of $499, you get a lot for your money. It is an extremely versatile cooker with good materials of construction that should prove to be durable. I think it could be called the “Swiss Army Knife of Kettle Grills”.
