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

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rdstoll

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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.
 
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
 
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
 
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.
 
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CakeM1x said:
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.
Click to expand...

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/
 
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!
 
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!
 
Take out all the stuff inside. I had two helpers, was still heavy as sh.t.
 
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.
 
rdstoll said:
Success! Big Joe came home tonight. Now just have to figure out how to get it out of my truck. Weighs a ton!
Click to expand...

Congrats! Yes, heavy is an understatement... Enjoy your new toy!
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
LYU370 said:
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.
Click to expand...

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.
 
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
 
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!
 
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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
 
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