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This roundup was updated by Arricca SanSone, who has been grilling since she owned her first tiny hibachi in college. She’ll grill anything, but her favorite food to grill is homemade pizza with veggies and herbs from her own garden. She is a health and lifestyle writer for Prevention, Country Living, Veranda, House Beautiful, PureWow, and many others. A handful of Kamado Joe-brand accessories, including the JoeTisserie rotisserie attachment, will fit the Big Green Egg. Many kamado users also love the addition of a ceramic surface to deflect heat. This allows for indirect cooking, and many cooks use it to turn their grill into a smoker or outdoor oven. Both Big Green Egg and Kamado Joe have their own version of this ceramic piece, and you can use them interchangeably between both brands. Scoring a mighty 96/100 overall, it’s safe to say that our expert was thoroughly impressed by this charcoal cooker. Let’s find out why. The pros We tasked our Lab's Editorial Project Manager John Somerall with putting this new release through its paces. John has more than 10 years of professional culinary experience and is a year-round griller who fires up a grill at least once a week. After using it consistently for over a month, he's a fan: "I'd never used a smart charcoal grill before, but if this is the future of charcoal grilling, then the future is looking very bright!" Specs aside, the performance is impressive. We threw everything at the bluey that we did the egg, with excellent results. Temperature control was easy, and with both direct grilling (prawns and steak), and a slow, indirect cook (pork shoulder), it was on par with the Egg’s efficiency and held temperature just as well. The final smoky flavour was a shade less subtle than the Big Green Egg’s, but it was very close – if the meals hadn’t been side-by-side we’re not sure we could have told the difference.
As with all charcoal barbecues, there wasn't too much maintenance to be done with this grill, but the next time it's in use you should rake over the coals so that they fall into the lower part of the Kamado, and you can remove them and start afresh. How does it compare to similar BBQs? Of course, one question remains – is it worth the hype (and the investment)? Our experts at the Good Housekeeping Institute put the classic large Big Green Egg to the test to find out. Let’s take a closer look at this rising BBQ star and find out why it’s the ultimate alfresco must-have. What's special about the Big Green Egg? Kamado grills are popular for smoking for several reasons. First, thanks to their superior heat retention, they're able to smoke for a long time using just a small amount of charcoal. Further, they seal in moisture better than many other smokers, which keeps your meat from drying out. Their round shape also encourages smoke to circulate within the cooking chamber, infusing lots of flavor into your food. Overall, this grill is remarkably accurate when it comes to regulating a preset temperature, and we think the experience could only be improved with a few updates to the Konnected Joe Kontrol Board's firmware and the Kamado Joe app. There’s no getting away from the fact that this is an investment level outdoor cooker. But if you’ve been eyeing up Big Green Egg for some time, this little one is a fantastic gateway into the world of egg cooking. Don’t let the name fool you, it’s still big enough to cook joints of meat and get to grips with this style of cooking for 2-4 people.
Kamado barbecues are based on Japanese cooking urns that are believed to have originated 3,000 years ago. They are usually made of ceramic and are designed to last a lifetime. Plus, it comes with a lifetime warranty and self-cleaning abilities, both perks that help it stand out from the BBQ crowd. Why is the Big Green Egg so expensive? One issue we had when grilling the steak was that the internal temperature registered by the grill's external wired-probe thermometer (plugged into the Kontrol Board) only updated when the lid was opened and then closed. The temperature displayed on the Kontrol Board was not a "live" recording of the steak's internal temperature, which is problematic. We went ahead and inserted an additional wired-probe thermometer into the steak to monitor the internal temperature—something we'd recommend to be on the safe side. Foodies love them for the superb-tasting food they produce and the versatility of how they can be used. The only downer is the price, although a high-end gas barbecue doesn't cost much less. It’s made of shuttle-quality ceramic that’s treated with a protective green glaze, and then baked at 1,300C for several hours. The brand is supremely confident in its craftsmanship, hence the lifetime warranty.
Danielle Centoni is the author of five cookbooks and a writer and product tester for The Spruce Eats. She also tested one of the most popular kamado grills on this list. Ease of use is where this grill really shines. The automatic starter is a game-changer and the temperature-regulating features—Kontrol Fan that automatically maintains temperature and Kontrol Tower top vent for consistent air setting during dome opening and closing—make this a super accessible option for beginners. When one of our testers brought this home for more long-term extensive testing, he noted that his wife, who is relatively new to grilling, found that this model eased her anxiety, and it's made its way into weeknight use because of the efficiency factor.Cast iron ventilation cap which helps to control the airflow and therefore the internal temperature. Our expert found it to be just as good as a quality, traditional smoker. It did take eight hours to smoke our pork, but such is the nature of smoking meat. The reward for their patience? Tender, melt-in-the-mouth pulled pork with a lovely oak flavour. A real BBQ game-changer.
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