Kamado Joe

Some brands copy the kamado formula; others rewrite it with every generation. Kamado Joe belongs squarely to the second camp. Since it was founded in Atlanta, Georgia, in 2009, the company has fixated on the frustrations every ceramic-cooker owner knows by heart: the firebox that cracks, the single grate that forces you to choose between roasting and smoking, the airflow that runs wild the moment you lift the lid. Much of what now counts as standard at the premium end began as this brand's answer to those headaches.

Origins and philosophy

Kamado Joe was built on an unromantic but honest premise: a kamado shouldn't demand a degree in thermodynamics to perform. The brand grew quickly, passed through Masterbuilt, and since late 2021 has sat within the Middleby group, industrial backing that shows up in quality control and in a parts network few rivals can match. That matters: a kamado is a fifteen-to-twenty-year purchase, and knowing the gasket or the deflector will still exist a decade from now is part of the value.

What sets Kamado Joe apart

Engineering is where the brand breaks from the pack. The multi-panel AMP ceramic firebox solves the kamado's historic weak point: instead of one piece that fissures with heat, several plates expand and contract without splitting. Above it, the cast-aluminium Kontrol Tower holds its setting even as you open and close the lid, so you recover temperature without guesswork. And the SloRoller, the hyperbolic diffuser Kamado Joe developed with Harvard engineers, moves smoke and heat in rolling, enveloping waves and cuts hot spots: on long smokes that evenness shows up in the bark.

Our verdict

We haven't cooked across the whole range — our only ceramic at home is a Big Green Egg Large — so we judge from the specifications, the user community and that daily reference. With the cards on the table, the 18-inch Classic is the sweet spot for a Mediterranean household: by grate diameter it takes a coastal-style lamb, holds a low smoke for hours and doesn't take over the terrace. The 24-inch Big Joe III is the pick for those cooking for crowds or serious about low-and-slow whole cuts; the 13.5-inch Joe Jr is, on paper, the most sensible way in.

A word apart for the Konnected Joe, with automatic ignition and digital airflow control: its promise — leaving a brisket for eight hours without babysitting the fan — is exactly the kind of automation a classic Egg doesn't offer. Against our Big Green Egg Large, Kamado Joe bets on more built-in engineering (split grates, Kontrol Tower, SloRoller) where the Egg bets on simplicity; neither philosophy is the one right answer. Still, be plain: if you only fire up the grill four times a year, this isn't your brand, and that's fine.

What you'll find from Kamado Joe here

We've gathered the full family, from the Joe Jr to the Big Joe III by way of the KettleJoe hybrid, alongside the ecosystem that genuinely unlocks them: the SloRoller for silky smokes, the JoeTisserie rotisserie for chickens and rib racks, the SoapStone and the reversible Half Moon griddle for improvising a kitchen over the coals, and the pizza stone and peel. Rounding it out are the official covers against coastal salt air and Big Block XL lump charcoal in 9.1 kg sacks, the fuel that lets this ceramic perform as it should.