The control tower top vent is a double-edged sword. It solved some problems seen on many other kamado-style cooker vents, but has introduced a couple of issues of its own. If you like the sound of it, but you are questioning whether you need something so big, then you may prefer his smaller brother, who is essentially a mini-me of Big Joe, the Classic Joe III. Or perhaps even a Kamado Joe Jnr, the smallest of all three available sizes, if you’re never likely to cook for more than 2 people? Conclusion

If you’re going to dive in to the world of kamado grills, here are a few of our favorite tips for how you can get the most out of your Kamado Joe.

The new 3-tier Divide & Conquer cooking system, combined with the new stainless steel charcoal basket, make it easier than ever to cook at different temperatures inside your kamado grill. Very little clean up – all grease and spattering are absorbed by the Kamado and eventually burn off. Some would say Kamado Joe (KJ) was already the King of ceramic BBQs, and that was before 2019 saw the release of the new Classic Joe III and the Big Joe III.

For the same innovative technology but with more space for grilling, Kamado Joe created the Big Joe III, expanding their range to meet the needs of larger groups and families. Patented Hyperbolic Insert - Teflon Coated Cast Aluminium - Engineered to slow cook at temperature of 65c-260c KamadoJoe Half Moon Laser-Cut Stainless Cooking Grate, perfect for cooking those more delicate items and dishes, such as bacon wrapped asparagus, without compromising that beloved BBQ taste. The amount of grilling space is also impressive. The Big Joe III offers KJs biggest amount of space to date. You can potentially cook on over 850 square inches of space. You can feed a large crowd from that.

It’s a great little feature because you never need to use an ash vacuum to clean out your grill. After cooks, simply shake the charcoal basket, slide out the ashtray, and empty the ashes into a bin. I find this feature truly does make clean up so much easier. You will learn to love it! Kontrol Tower Top Vent You can see the pain on my Kontrol Tower has somewhat peeled, sadly. When it comes right down to it, most pitmasters will be satisfied with the Classic II or, if they need a little extra cooking space, the Big Joe II. On the topic of temperature levels – the Big Joe II is designed to be able to steadily maintain temperatures of 225°F to 750°F. That’s an incredibly wide temperature range, and affords you the ability to smoke meats low and slow, sear, grill, roast, and even bake Neapolitan style pizza all on the same cooker.

Performance-wise, it’s amazing. It grills, smokes, roasts, and bakes superbly. It has many innovative and user-friendly features, is easily controllable, holds a steady temperature incredibly well, is fuel-efficient, and easy to clean. It’s hard to clean! You cannot clean it like the rest of the grill, using a ‘high heat burn’ as it will melt. And if you use any hard, abrasive cleaning brush or pad, you will take off the paint. I recommend using a drip tray to help with this. Design quality is spectacular and so were the materials used for construction. Zero corners were cut, and seemingly every single square inch of this cooker is well thought out. Please note that these charges are due to courier surcharges and are unfortunately not something we can build into our overall pricing structure.After the first use and a gentle clean, some paint came off the top plate. Paint has further come off on the other sections since. It’s made from aluminum, so it will not rust. Therefore I’m not overly bothered, but I feel KJ should have used a better, longer-lasting paint. I highly recommend calibrating your thermometer when it first arrives, after which it is perfectly usable, accurate enough, and does what it’s supposed to do. The Big Joe II also features a multi panel fire box, wire mesh fiberglass gasket, folding side tables, and stainless steel latches. Each of these features contribute to an overall ease of use and great user experience with the Big Joe II. Not everything about the Kamado Joe Classic III and Big Joe III has radically changed. Some of the things that pitmasters love about these grills have stayed precisely the same, including: The Kontrol Tower

I’ve owned a Kamado Joe Classic for 6 or 7 years now, and for a long time, it was my favorite grill. Until I got my hands on a Kamado Joe Big Joe III, that is! The Kamado Joe Big Joe III is a taller grill than the preceding version 1 and 2 models, which now accommodates a 3-tier cooking system rather than the older two-tier. While other kamado grills expect you to awkwardly sweep out ash that collects beneath the fire box, our Classic, Big Joe and Stand-Alone models integrate a first-of-its-kind drawer that takes the hassles and mess out of emptying your ash. Most of all, I like the versatility. You can grill, smoke, sear, roast and bake on this beauty, and it does all of those things well. So if this guy is in your budget range, then we absolutely recommend it if you need the grilling space. You might never want for another grill with its versatility, and no matter how big your family gets, the Big Joe always has room at the Inn for hungry pilgrims.Divide and Conquer flexible grilling system – You can insert different cooking surfaces at different heights to cook foods at different temperatures. Temperature is controlled by the use of a lower vent sliding door and a Kontrol Tower turning top vent on a chimney. There are a couple of implications if this two tiered, removable grate system. First, it allows for you to set up multiple heat zones in your grill – so you can cook some food with direct heat and some with indirect heat simultaneously on the different layers.