Kamado Joe Jr review: when it comes to versatile outdoor cooking, this little titan takes the brisket

Welcome to T3's review of the multi-faceted Kamado Joe Jr, a portable egg-shaped barbecue that uses the amazing heat retention properties of ceramic to grill, sear, roast, bake and smoke all types of foodstuffs to succulent perfection.

If ever there was a charcoal-based do-it-all barbecue that deserved a lofty position in our guide to the best barbecues, this is it. Aside from being one of the most attractive barbecues you could ever have on your patio, the mere fact that it’s portable to some degree makes it a shoo in for use both home and away.

I’ve recently been putting this handsome shiny red titan through its paces so read on for the low down.

Kamado Joe Jr review: price and availability

The Kamado Joe Jr retails at £499, which is great value considering the quality of its fit and finish and length of warranties. If you live in the UK, you can purchase this commendable barbie direct from Kamado Joe International (£499), Amazon (£472), Bell lifestyle store, (£419), Robert Dyas (£499.99) and Appliance Centre (£415). If you live in the USA, try Kamado Joe direct ($499) and Amazon US. 

Kamado Joe Jr review: set-up

The Kamado Joe Jr arrives in a large box with ample packaging to protect its fragile ceramic internal structure. Since the product arrives almost entirely assembled, it’s a welcome relief to receive a BBQ doesn’t take half a day to build. In fact, all you need to do is heave the Joe Jr out of the box, remove the various pieces of polystyrene protection, unwrap the plastic tape covering the accompanying cast iron stand and carefully, very carefully lift the Joe Jr and place it into the stand. I would definitely recommend an extra pair of hands when lifting it out of the box and again when placing it in the stand because its luscious red finish feels slippery and the last thing you want to do is drop it even an inch or the ceramic could easily crack.

Once the Joe Jr is in situ you can start placing the various ceramic inserts into position followed by the cast-iron charcoal grate (an optional stainless steel charcoal basket is also available for easier cleaning). The Joe Jr also ships with an accessory rack that holds the stainless steel grilling grate and, for indirect grilling and smoking, a circular ceramic deflector that sits just below. And that’s about it.

Kamado Joe Jr review: how it works

Egg-shaped ceramic cookers were first brought to the West after WW2 when US soldiers discovered the superior cooking properties of Japanese earthenware products over traditional outdoor systems. Ceramic has amazing heat retention properties and this makes it a perfect material for smoking meats low-and-slow for hours at a time on a single batch of charcoal. And yet it’s also an excellent option for searing steaks at ridiculously high temperatures and general grilling duties. As a result of their thick insulation properties, Kamados are notoriously heavy to lift and should always be handled with the utmost care when moving them from one area to another or there is a chance of cracking the ceramic – and that would be a bad thing.

A ceramic barbecue works in exactly the same way as a standard kettle-shaped grill. Charcoal is placed on a raised wire rack or cast iron plate with ventilation holes at the bottom of the grill so burnt ashes can drop through to the base of the unit. Placed several inches above this is the grill grate on which you put the food. So far so simple.

Before lidded barbecues from the likes of Weber were created, food was often grilled directly – brazier-style – over flaming-hot coals. This method of grilling is fast and furious and requires constant monitoring lest the food starts burning before your eyes. A lid promotes a much more gentle type of indirect grilling whereby convection currents bounce around inside the enclosure cooking the food more evenly, rather like an indoor oven. The lid also keeps the charcoal subdued to prevent flareups.

However, there’s no point in having a lid on a barbecue unless the fire has access to oxygen and that’s where a pair – or series – of vents come into the equation. Take the Kamado Joe Jr for instance. This model has two vents – one below the charcoal bed and another on top of the lid. Careful balancing of the vents is paramount when managing internal grill temperatures so if, for instance, you’re searing a steak, you’d leave both the lid and all vents wide open to encourage oxygen flow and therefore a raging furnace.

If smoking meat at lower temperatures (around 105˚C), close the lid and partially close both vents to starve the fire and therefore lower the internal temperature so the meat cooks slowly. The Kamado Joe Jr also comes with a ceramic deflector and this should be used for larger cuts of meat, whole chickens and when smoking low and slow. If just grilling sausages, burgers and drumsticks you can get away without the deflector for more direct cooking. But still keep the lid closed as much as possible to promote even grilling and reduce the burning of ingredients.

Where a standard kettle barbecue loses a lot of heat through the thin side walls and every time you open the lid, a heavily-lined ceramic barbecue retains heat much more effectively which means it requires a little more practice and patience when balancing temperatures. Also, since ceramic takes longer to heat up (up to an hour if searing), it’s essential that you wait until the outer surface of the unit feels radiator hot and the lid-mounted gauge is at your preferred temperature before adding food. Also bear in mind that too much white smoke signals that the coals aren’t yet ready to cook on. The coals should be a uniform grey. 

Kamado Joe recommends making adjustments to the vents about ten degrees before target temperature to allow the ceramic time to warm or cool down. In a nutshell, expect quite a long delay in temperature changes – up to 10 minutes – when adjusting the vents. Unlike most barbecues, a pre-seasoning burn in isn’t necessary with this grill since most factory impurities will burn off during the initial ignition phase. 

Now you know the brief ins and outs of Kamado cooking, let’s get down to the meat and two veg.

Kamado Joe Jr review: design and features

I’ll start with the livery. If you love a tactile texture and the colour red, you will positively drool over the look of this grill. In fact you will likely be drawn towards it on many occasions during the first few days of ownership just so you can run your hands over its smooth, glossy porcelain surface, replete with pitted Van-Gogh-style finger swirls. It really is a thing of beauty that will almost certainly attract a lot of attention among guests at your inaugural BBQ bash.

Now, I should forewarn you that this thing is heavy, as in 31 kilograms of heavy. I managed to get it out of the box alright but found it really tricky fitting it into the cast-iron stand without dropping it the last few inches. Once in position the whole package can be lifted using the two sturdy handles on the side of the stand. However, I advise you have an extra pair of hands to shift it because it’s very awkward for one person to carry.

The Kamado Joe Jr sits at 69cm in height when on the stand so it will require some crouching when using it. However, since there’s an excellent 13cm of clearance between the base of the unit and the floor, you could place the unit on a wooden table without fear of scorching it. Alternatively, invest in the wheeled Joe Jr Cart which raises the BBQ to a more practical 31 inches.

Heading inside the dome, the Joe Jr is equipped with full ceramic lining in the main bowl and inside the heavy and beautifully sprung lid. It also comes with a removable ceramic fire bowl and a ceramic sleeve that’s placed above it. A lot of ceramic, in other words.

At 50cc in width and with a stainless-steel grilling grate that measures 33cm in diameter, this is a perfect sized barbecue for two or a small family. However, it’s also perfectly feasible to entertain up to six guests or more on this grill if cooking larger cuts of meat like brisket, leg of lamb, a side of pork or a whole chicken. In fact the domed lid provides loads of space to accommodate a range of tall ingredients, including a beer can chicken.

Ventilation is carried out using a simple sliding steel door at the bottom of the unit and a tactile dual-action daisy wheel on top of the lid. A clearly legible thermometer marked in both Celsius and Fahrenheit readings completes a highly accomplished package that looks like it will last for decades. In fact, Kamado Joe Jr offers a lifetime warranty on all structural ceramic parts (within reason, of course), a five-year warranty on metal parts and a three-year warranty on the ceramic heat deflector.

Naturally you will need to clean out any burnt charcoal ashes and coal before each cook and this can be a bit of a hassle since it ultimately involves removing the delicate ceramic fire bowl. For this reason I would recommend purchasing a wire Kamado Joe Jr charcoal basket which will catch the majority of cinders and ash for much easier disposal. I would also suggest purchasing an official Joe Jr Grill Cover to protect it from rain and other elements.

Kamado Joe Jr review: performance

Having recently grilled and smoked on a number of smart connected barbecues that take care of all temperature management and free the user up to entertain guests, it was actually a refreshing change going back to a good old-fashioned, hands-on method of grilling.

While I didn’t get a chance to smoke some baby back ribs (an ingredient perfectly suited to the Joe Jr, albeit with a little manipulation so they fit the width of the grill), I did try some direct grilling of a batch of chicken wings and drumsticks but ate them all before I could photograph the evidence. I can report that they were cooked perfectly well with just the right level of skin colour and plenty of crispness. 

My second test involved roasting a whole chicken using the deflector plate. I was hoping to replicate the hugely successful roast chicken I once pulled off on the Traeger Ranger pellet grill. After about an hour and 20 minutes and a few lifts of the lid to check how it was going, my essential Meater probe told me it was well and truly ready. And it certainly was. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that this thing made a better roast chicken than my Miele oven. Yes, there was a bit of juggling required with the vents to hit the sweet spot but I think I pretty much nailed it in the end. A little experimentation never goes amiss.

Aside from the slightly awkward cleaning regime, I only have good things to say about this grill and I’m amazed it took me so long to call one in. I shall now try searing some teriyaki fillet steak kebabs and, if you don’t hear from me, you’ll know it all went tickety boo.

Kamado Joe Jr review: verdict

If you’re in the market for a small premium charcoal grill that will last a lifetime if well looked after, you might not find a more perfectly formed model than this. The Kamado Joe Jr is superbly built and the finish is exemplary. At a shade under £500, it’s also much cheaper than its nearest rival, the Big Green Egg MiniMax which I compare the Joe Jr to in my Big Green Egg vs Kamado Joe face-off feature. 

Fear not if the Joe Jr is too small for your needs, because there are plenty of other Kamado Joe models on the market, including the Classic Joe and its behemoth brother, the Big Joe. Whatever you chose, I can almost certainly guarantee it’ll put a big smile on your face while you dig into that juicy brisket you always wanted to have a go at making.