And believe it or not, temperature is more responsive and easier to control on the Joe Jr than bigger kamado grills. It’s due to its smaller size. There is less space to heat up. You only have to wait a short while until the temperature changes. In fact, this kamado is made of insulated steel. It won’t break when dropped. And because of the insulation, the grill holds heat just as well as any ceramic kamado. In addition to that, the Akorn Jr is lighter and comes at an affordable price. The first thing which is observed in a grill is the material it’s made of. They both are made of the very same material, i.e ceramic. Thus, both the grills will be providing you with the same temperature control technology and flexible cooking system. It’s great to have a lid thermometer for a vague reading on whether it is or is not hot inside your Kamado. Unfortunately, they are neither particularly accurate nor well-placed to tell you what’s going on with your food. Government food agencies provide safe cooking temperatures for all kinds of meat. For our purposes, we refer to the USDA guidelines for safe eating and doneness.

Another great thing about the stand is the place where the grill sits on is quite far from the ground. This is important because the bottom of the grill tends to get hot after cooking for a while (think pizza). If you put the Joe Jr on an expensive table, you don’t have to worry about the heat destroying it or anything. That said, we’d still advise you to put something there to catch the falling ash and hot embers. Handle, Hinge & Gasket With the Minimax, you have to remove everything if you want to add more fuel. Pain in the rear, we’d say! Branded Accessories With that said, if you insist on carrying them by yourself, one handy tip is to remove everything inside the grills before moving. That would reduce the overall weight tremendously. Cleaning & Maintenance BIG4SPACE 180 kamado table is a high quality outdoor table designed to take most big kamado type grills up to 28 in diameter. Its extra strong and durable, made to last years outside.

For all points in between — the roasting to grilling zone of 250 °F to 500 °F — you’re OK to reuse your leftover charcoal. All frame components are E-Coated (electrophoretic cathode metal coating), shelfs and sides are hot-dipped galvanised and powder-coated to protect against heat, frost, corrosion, and any other weather influence. Kamado Joe is known for their constant innovations. They have updated their larger grills three times already. And with each update, they’ve brought better things to the game. The primary material used to make the two grills is ceramic. Though fragile, ceramic holds heat extremely well thanks to its superior ability to store thermal energy (vs steel).

A regular bag of 20lbs charcoal can last you for more than a month (if you don’t have other grills to fire up). And that’s if you cook three times a week. Portability & Size

The one thing that makes this grill stand out is its oval shape. Unlike the round kamados, this allows you to set up the two zone cooking with ease. The Primo Junior also has a larger cooking space compared to the Joe Jr and the Minimax.

However, you have to put everything together from scratch for the Akorn Jr. The part that will frustrate many people is assembling the three handles. They’re a little too difficult to screw in all the way. Material & ConstructionAfter 5 seconds or so, go ahead and open it the rest of the way, though it’s still a good idea to keep your face clear, just in case. As you probably know by now, you can move this grill around with ease thanks to the two side handles attached to the stand. At 68 lbs, one person can handle the weight. But we’d recommend two people if you’re moving it long distance (like down to the boat or something). Besides, ceramic is fragile so you always want to be cautious here. The lid is supported by a spring-assisted hinge. It’s made of powder-coated galvanized iron and allows you to open the lid with ease. Mind you, this is a small kamado. Its lid isn’t that heavy compared to other larger grills. So the spring-assisted hinge just makes sense. This keeps cost down yet still provides a secure and simple opening mechanism. Keep in mind that there is no cap to protect the daisy wheel from the rain. Because of that, water can easily get inside the grill. It’s also easy to rust away since it’s cast iron after all. Fuel Miser