Need input from brethren

[Back9Q]

As I am finalizing design of outdoor kitchen im thinking about adding a new cooker to arsenal. I may or may not be keeping the 23” KK and planning to put something else in its place. Im thinking of one of the following:

Memphis beale street built in pellet cooker ( I had a memphis pro few years ago and loved it)

Primo oval XL

Blaze aluminum kamado

Whats everyones thoughts?


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[jbounds286]

a pellet vs a kamado, I easily vote kamado, there's just no contest between smoke flavor, plus you get the benefit of high heat grilling!

 

[Back9Q]

a pellet vs a kamado, I easily vote kamado, there's just no contest between smoke flavor, plus you get the benefit of high heat grilling!

I should have included this will go next to a pizza oven, blackstone, and 250 gallon smoker. I will rarely if at all use it as a smoker. Mainly grilling steaks and chicken

With my memphis pro and direct flame insert i had amazing sear as it was over direct flame. Beale street has same insert and will achieve higher than the 550 it says.


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[jbounds286]

i guess it would depend on what you consider to be most convenient, i know a lot of people like the ease of use of the pellet and can get a great sear, for me at least, i will always choose charcoal over pellets, if just using in grill mode, i would assume its faster than a charcoal setup???

 

[sudsandswine]

About the only thing I could see the pellet grill having an advantage over the kamado on is startup time/effort for grilling, however I don't consider the startup of my Primo to be very difficult lighting it with a MAPP torch. It seems like your 250g offset can easily handle your smoking duties, and even if you only use the kamado for grilling, I believe it to be superior to a pellet grill for grilling. I use my kamado for grilling all the time, even when running at 450-500* I can throw a chunk of wood in there and get great smoke flavor and a nice sear.

 

[Back9Q]

About the only thing I could see the pellet grill having an advantage over the kamado on is startup time/effort for grilling, however I don't consider the startup of my Primo to be very difficult lighting it with a MAPP torch. It seems like your 250g offset can easily handle your smoking duties, and even if you only use the kamado for grilling, I believe it to be superior to a pellet grill for grilling. I use my kamado for grilling all the time, even when running at 450-500* I can throw a chunk of wood in there and get great smoke flavor and a nice sear.

Agree. My struggle is I have had both a memphis and a komodo kamado, and loved both. Memphis I used in comps but either now would be used 85% grilling. Im torn because they are both fantastic


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[jbounds286]

About the only thing I could see the pellet grill having an advantage over the kamado on is startup time/effort for grilling, however I don't consider the startup of my Primo to be very difficult lighting it with a MAPP torch. It seems like your 250g offset can easily handle your smoking duties, and even if you only use the kamado for grilling, I believe it to be superior to a pellet grill for grilling. I use my kamado for grilling all the time, even when running at 450-500* I can throw a chunk of wood in there and get great smoke flavor and a nice sear.

ill have to agree with this, i use my grill gun on my kamado and its up to temp in about 5 min

 

[rwalters]

Personally, I wouldn't touch a Memphis grill anymore with their production now being in China. That, and the fact their pricing has only gone up along with the number of gripes I see from new owners. Obviously up to you, but I wouldn't do it. If I wanted simple grilling without much fuss, I’d pick a nice gasser before I would a pellet muncher. If you want easy grilling plus versatility, pellets are tough to beat, IMO. Of course the same holds true for a nice charcoal grill... just a bit more hassle.

100% depends on YOUR priorities

 

[1MoreFord]

I second Robb's thoughts. Memphis Grills are not what they were.

Also I would not spend Kamado money on a grill as long as Weber is a good choice.

 

[rwalters]

I second Robb's thoughts. Memphis Grills are not what they were.

Also, I would not spend Kamado money on a grill as long as Weber is a good choice.

100% agree! As a former Kamado Joe junkie (2 Big Joe’s, a Classic, and Joe Jr.), I will be the first to say the 26” Weber kettle is way more enjoyable to grill on, to me, than my KJ’s ever were. No more flashbacks (those are no joke), way more even heat, no more cracked ceramic, no more jacked-up hinges/bands, etc. For me, smoking is more accessible and cleaner tasting as well, with an SnS.

Just one dude’s experience

 

[jrTheSmoker]

I looked at the Blaze kamado before I purchased the 23" XL Platinum Saffire due to the metal vs ceramic durability. I was looking for do-all smoker, grill, etc, and the smaller size of the Blaze put me a little off of it, plus I read comments about temp swings on the aluminum during rain storms, which lead me to the Saffire for a do-all. My dad has an old Treager and I didn't like the flavors off of it compared to charcoal with wood chunks, chips, or even pellets mixed in as other mentioned. I wish I went with the Blaze, as I live in Florida and constant moving of uneven and multi-level concrete slabs always made me worry about tipping the Saffire and breaking it. I sold the Saffire and now have a 26" Weber Kettle with SNS for my hot-and-fast cooks like steaks and burgers. I actually think I got better flavor, moister meat, and faster cook times off of the kamado due to cooking the steaks direct above the coals the entire cook versus sear then move to cool zone to finish. between what you listed, I would defiantly get the Blaze as it will look good, easy to clean, tough, and put out better flavor, quicker, than the others in my experience.

 

[rwalters]

I looked at the Blaze kamado before I purchased the 23" XL Platinum Saffire due to the metal vs ceramic durability. I was looking for do-all smoker, grill, etc, and the smaller size of the Blaze put me a little off of it, plus I read comments about temp swings on the aluminum during rain storms, which lead me to the Saffire for a do-all. My dad has an old Treager and I didn't like the flavors off of it compared to charcoal with wood chunks, chips, or even pellets mixed in as other mentioned. I wish I went with the Blaze, as I live in Florida and constant moving of uneven and multi-level concrete slabs always made me worry about tipping the Saffire and breaking it. I sold the Saffire and now have a 26" Weber Kettle with SNS for my hot-and-fast cooks like steaks and burgers. I actually think I got better flavor, moister meat, and faster cook times off of the kamado due to cooking the steaks direct above the coals the entire cook versus sear then move to cool zone to finish. between what you listed, I would defiantly get the Blaze as it will look good, easy to clean, tough, and put out better flavor, quicker, than the others in my experience.

If you want to cook steaks direct, start to finish, on your kettle, add a few GrillGrate panels over the fire. Semi-direct grilling with flavor bombs steaming back up onto the food is good stuff. I semi-direct grill on my 26’er with great results and little to no flare-ups.

 

[jbounds286]

its windy here in joklahoma
this is exactly why i got the weber kamado, it survived, small dent!

 

[rwalters]

its windy here in joklahoma
this is exactly why i got the weber kamado, it survived, small dent!

Impressive! If I were to return to kamados, it would definitely be the Weber as I am convinced that it resolves several of the shortcomings that nagged me with my Joe’s.

 

[jbounds286]

the weber holds temps ROCK steady, loves running exactly at 275, eats almost no fuel, survives falls, and when i do overshoot the startup temp and its running at 450F, only takes like 20 or so min to come back down to 275

 

[sudsandswine]

its windy here in joklahoma
this is exactly why i got the weber kamado, it survived, small dent!

To be fair....if that were made out of ceramic, it probably wouldn't have blown over at all. Your house would probably blow over first. :grin:

 

[jbounds286]

To be fair....if that were made out of ceramic, it probably wouldn't have blown over at all. Your house would probably blow over first. :grin:

you are probably right lol
the weber weighs about 180 lbs i think. the issue was the cover, turned into a sail and just yanked it...i dont cover it anymore lol, but falling is my fear ...so i could never get the ceramics

 

[Cookb4]

I vote for the oval xl, but I believe charcoal is superior to pellets.

 

[1MoreFord]

To be fair....if that were made out of ceramic, it probably wouldn't have blown over at all. Your house would probably blow over first. :grin:

To be fair ceramics fall over when you try to move them and sometimes when you think about moving them.:doh:

 

[Smoke Dawg]

For me, built in would be a griddle, pizza oven, a Kettle, a couple gas burners (if not just a gas stove / oven), and a Santa Maria. I would have space for a pellet grill and a stick burner. All bases covered except the smoke house which would be separate.

Must haves but not discussed are refer, sink, counter / cutting space, place to grind, stuff ETC. Hot / cold running water with a hose connection and a floor drain. Kegarater is optional if you have enough refer space.