Kamado Joe "Big Joe" on sale at Costco for like $1199

[rdstoll]

Was at Costco last night and they have a sale going on with Kamado Joe units, including the "Big Joe" at $1199 I believe. Lake Zurich, Illinois.

I've always had my eye on one of these things to add to my arsenal. Told wife a while ago that the days of spending big $$ were behind me after I got my Shirley unit but this is waaaay tempting.

[Big Swole]

It's only money.

Buy it !!

[sturev]

They must be having a road show... that's the cheapest you're going to find them unless it's used. BUY IT NOW!!! And make sure to stock up on their lump; it's the best/cheapest you'll find it also. Enjoy the forgiveness process after :-P

[LYU370]

Roadshow until next Sunday. That's exactly where I picked mine up my Big Joe last Sunday. Joe Jr. $399, Classic $799, Big Joe $1199

[CakeM1x]

Sometimes they throw the jr in for free if you buy the big joe. Also load up on the coals, cheapest you'll see for that lump.

[Chrisc133]

Sometimes they throw the jr in for free if you buy the big joe. Also load up on the coals, cheapest you'll see for that lump.

They only throw the Jr in free if you get the floor model...so only one person gets that deal.

I have the same size Shirley as you do coming October and have a Big Joe, Classic and JR. Sometimes you just want a set it and forget it cook and the BJ is perfect for it. I'd highly recommend it.

And yes the lump is awesome. Check out the size of it from my recent bag of it:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BJYx97sBLEJ/

[fnjay]

Yup....got mine at a road show a couple months ago for that price. Also got a free cover and two bags of charcoal thrown in with the deal. Not bad at all!

[rdstoll]

Well now I'm fired up - have been strategizing all day as to how I'm going to try to get this one past the goalie. Would seem to complement the Shirley and very ugly UDS!

[rdstoll]

Success! Big Joe came home tonight. Now just have to figure out how to get it out of my truck. Weighs a ton!

[LYU370]

Take out all the stuff inside. I had two helpers, was still heavy as sh.t.

[kennyd0118]

If they would come to NH I would have one in my backyard. As much as I love my LBGE I am lusting after a Big Joe to sit beside it.

[sturev]

Success! Big Joe came home tonight. Now just have to figure out how to get it out of my truck. Weighs a ton!

Congrats! Yes, heavy is an understatement... Enjoy your new toy!

[BBQ_MAFIA]

Congrats on the new cooker. You will love cooking on it.

[fnjay]

Yah, it's a beast! Me and my wife tried to wrestle it out of our dodge caravan.......really bad move. It fit snug so no way to take stuff out before unloading. Shoulda took the truck. Enlisted our neighbor for a portion of the unload since my wife wasn't feeling strong right then. Lol.

[rdstoll]

Took four guys at Costco to get this in my Expedition. I was hoping that me and one other guy could sort of tip it on its side and slide it out directly into the base but might have to enlist one other just in case.

Any quick tips from Kamado experts out there? I've already learned about the "burp" on these things. All ears for any other tips before I really get cooking on this thing. Am looking to do a brisky tomorrow or Saturday depending on when I get it set up.

[LYU370]

If you tip it, be extra careful. They tipped it on it's side when they were loading the first one on my pickup, the weight shifted and the brackets that hold the table broke through the box, got caught on the tailgate and got bent up. Made them get me another one. The second one, the KJ sales guy showed them how to properly load it.

The box comes apart in pieces search youtube for KJ setup or unboxing.

[rdstoll]

If you tip it, be extra careful. They tipped it on it's side when they were loading the first one on my pickup, the weight shifted and the brackets that hold the table broke through the box, got caught on the tailgate and got bent up. Made them get me another one. The second one, the KJ sales guy showed them how to properly load it.

The box comes apart in pieces search youtube for KJ setup or unboxing.

Yeah they completely unboxed it already to load it in the back of the truck but left everything that's inside. Since I can barely open the lid inside the truck I was going to see if I could gently tip it on its back, open the lid and take stuff out but it sounds like that's a risky venture so maybe I'll just look for some extra help.

[bosco0633]

Set the nest up at the back of the truck. Two people is all it takes to lift it. I have moved several of them with friends. They say not to, however, I have always used the side table brackets to lift it into place. You may lift the bands a bit however, you can readjust if that is a problem. But lifting it out of the truck onto the nest is a very quick task.

tips for running the KJ

Keep sauce and juices off of the gasket or it will fuse the top and bottom gasket.

I prefer doing a burn in. They say it is not necessary, however, it helps seat the gasket prior to cooking any food.

Treat the bottom damper like a three speed transmission to start. 1/4 open low and slow, 1/2 open grilling temps, fully open high heat.

Top damper, well you just need to play with it to figure out what is good. Make note of temps at certain settings, and you can repeat those temps all day every day.

cover your deflectors in foil. When grease gets on them they get very smelly. You can high heat burn on them but it adds thermal street and increases the odds of cracks.

To avoid fire bowl cracks I follow this simple rule.

Low and slow cooks (200-275) deflectors in the lower position

Grilling temps (350-4500) place in the x rack so the deflectors sit higher

For high heat i.e. pizza cooks, place deflectors on top of the grills, add a spacer and the pizza stone on top. I use copper T fittings between the deflectors and the pizza stone.

There really is no need to go past 650. Because it can should never be an excuse to cook at crazy temps. There is no avoiding physics. Thermal expansion of heat will create excessive wear and tare and you will inevitably crack a fire bowl. Lucky for you the warranty is top notch. But if you can avoid it that is best.

I take my top vent a treat it like my cast pans. I coat it and bake it to season it once every few months. Keeps it from rusting up

My favourite cooking on the big joe was creating a two zone set up. I would stack the two deflector stones on the left side with the cooking grate above in the top position. then I would drop the cooking grate on the right side into the lowest position. This gave me the best set up for grilling with a hot and cold side. This is how I did 80% of my cooking.

Invest in a smoking pot. It is a technique that I learned about on the komodo kamado forum. Basically take a 2 quart dutch oven and drill three 1/8" holes in the bottom. Very tiny holes directly in the middle within an inch of one another. Fill the pot with chunks and place into the pit once it is at 250.

The pot will heat up and the wood will begin to smoke. They theory is that the white smoke forces itself through the small holes into the fire. The fire burns off the VOCs before the smoke begins to rise. The result is the cleanest wood burn in a kamado that you will ever have.

Trust me it works!

If you have any questions along the way feel free to ask. Perhaps a peak over at the kamado guru page as it is dedicated to Kamado cooking. Lots of great Kamado specific information

[rdstoll]

Thanks Bosco! Already started looking at 'that other forum' - good stuff about these units on there.

So taking care of the heat deflector was my #1 question and it seems that you prefer to cover the entire thing in foil? Seems to be some debate on this but given this is a brand new unit I want to do this right from the get-go. I was just going to use a drip pan with some of those copper T fittings to keep the pan off the deflector but sounds like I'd just be better off wrapping these deflectors in foil. Best to do both? Wrap deflectors in HD foil AND use a drip pan?

Where do you stick that dutch oven/smoking pot? Right on the grate? Will have to investigate this. I was just planning on mixing some wood chunks into the charcoal like I do with the UDS. EDIT: found the post you referenced and understand how it works now. Thanks!

[bosco0633]

Yeah place that Dutch right into the fire. Works like a charm.

Foil or foil pan whatever works. You need shallow pans as the space is not all the big.

Trust me great on the deflectors smell bad and that can transfer into your food. Spend the extra few minutes and cover them up. You won't regret it

[rwalters]

Bosco is da man... you can take his advice to the bank!

In addition to that, another solid resource is right here...

http://www.kamadojoe.com/getting-started/videos/

[fnjay]

Took four guys at Costco to get this in my Expedition. I was hoping that me and one other guy could sort of tip it on its side and slide it out directly into the base but might have to enlist one other just in case.

Any quick tips from Kamado experts out there? I've already learned about the "burp" on these things. All ears for any other tips before I really get cooking on this thing. Am looking to do a brisky tomorrow or Saturday depending on when I get it set up.

Foiling the meat may be a waste unless you are trying to impart a flavor (like a Dr Pepper pork butt). Don't bother wrapping the brisket till you pull it for a rest. I've done ribs, brisket, and butts on mine all without wrapping and all come out moist and tender.

That kamado guru site is quite good.

[rdstoll]

I normally wrap a brisket in foil and put a mop in there. I'm intrigued by the idea of just skipping the whole foiling step and going nekkid the whole way.

Do you put a water pan in the Kamado to help with moisture or is the very design of the cooker sufficient to keep moisture?

[fnjay]

I normally wrap a brisket in foil and put a mop in there. I'm intrigued by the idea of just skipping the whole foiling step and going nekkid the whole way.

Do you put a water pan in the Kamado to help with moisture or is the very design of the cooker sufficient to keep moisture?

No water, the cooker retains moisture well enough without it. I do however place a pan beneath the grate and meat, on top of the deflectors on X-rack. I do this to catch drippings and make cleanup easier. I do it this way rather than foiling my deflector plates like Bosco suggests.

Here is a pic of how I set up to run naked all the way.
http://i.imgur.com/xYMdnTTl.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/1k6V26Ll.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/qzygEKZl.jpg

[rdstoll]

So got two other guys to help unload the pit. Got it out no problem, in the base. All set up nice. Then started removing stuff from inside so I could get the styrofoam out and guess what happens? One of the half moon deflector dishes slips out from what I was gripping, falls on the cement and splits one of the corners. :sad::oops::doh:

Hoping I can sweet talk the dealer at Costco to replace it otherwise I'm out $60 for a replacement.

Good news is it was just a corner that broke off so if I do have to order a new one I can still manage to cook with it this weekend.

[LYU370]

Ask him to swap out the deflector from the one they messed up loading on my truck on Sunday. :wink:

[Big Swole]

Got me wanting a Big Joe for my collection as well. Dang!

[LYU370]

Got me wanting a Big Joe for my collection as well. Dang!
Perimeter 09/23 - 10/02 6350 Peachtree Dunwoody R, Atlanta, GA 30328-4527 :becky:

[Big Swole]

Perimeter 09/23 - 10/02 6350 Peachtree Dunwoody R, Atlanta, GA 30328-4527 :becky:

You're saying they will have them at the 1199 price?

[LYU370]

Yep. 25% off nearly everywhere else. Along with a free cover & a box of fire starters. You could try to talk them into some free charcoal too. I wasn't successful there.

[sloandsteady]

Just added one myself. Looking forward to the additional space that will complement the Large BGE

[Big Swole]

Yep. 25% off nearly everywhere else. Along with a free cover & a box of fire starters. You could try to talk them into some free charcoal too. I wasn't successful there.

Dang!! Sounds hard to pass up!!
After watching some vids, I see why folks chose a Joe over the BGE.
Adding a Big Joe to my old non-bge Egg handed down from my Grandfather (bought in late 1970's), my BGE Mini, my OC offset, and my LSG IVC on order, I'd say I'd be set for Life! lol

I think I have a problem...lol

[LYU370]

You know you want one... Pictures just don't do it justice. It's bigger than it looks. Picked mine up last Sunday.

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff373/LYU370/IMG_20160821_173311.jpg

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff373/LYU370/IMG_20160821_181704.jpg

[Big Swole]

Is Red the only color? Thought I saw a black one in a vid.

I might just have to do it... Problem is, I broke my wrist Sunday night and would have to have them load it for me and some friend or two to help me unload / assemble.

[marbque]

Love my Big Joe's, great purchase their

[marbque]

Is Red the only color? Thought I saw a black one in a vid.

I might just have to do it... Problem is, I broke my wrist Sunday night and would have to have them load it for me and some friend or two to help me unload / assemble.

Here is the black ones I own… can't figure out how to post pics from my phone :( They don't sell black at roadshows though. I hear some dealers may still have some

[Big Swole]

Here is the black ones I own… can't figure out how to post pics from my phone :(

sent u a pm

[Big Swole]

Here is the black ones I own… can't figure out how to post pics from my phone :(

Here they are...Thanks!!!


http://i929.photobucket.com/albums/ad137/BigSwole1255/Misc%20Pics/Misc%20Pics%202/AE11F4B6-2327-41CF-BAFD-2449B179BCDF_zpsxxtgjuee.jpg

http://i929.photobucket.com/albums/ad137/BigSwole1255/Misc%20Pics/Misc%20Pics%202/DCA6651C-A4F6-48F1-8E8A-675D97168DD4_zpskrpbdvli.jpg

http://i929.photobucket.com/albums/ad137/BigSwole1255/Misc%20Pics/Misc%20Pics%202/79EBF80B-26A6-4FF8-A7CC-7FD19E274480_zpsy0remw6u.jpg

http://i929.photobucket.com/albums/ad137/BigSwole1255/Misc%20Pics/Misc%20Pics%202/130FF875-504D-4FAD-B714-94BDA5E3DA8D_zpsreyysulq.jpg