Kamado Joe Konnected Joe Is a Charcoal Grilling Marvel

08.05.2024 18:06

Ditch the old kettle-style charcoal grill for this modern-meets-traditional all-star.

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There's something undeniably nostalgic about grilling over charcoal. It screams childhood but dates even further back to our earliest ancestors, who first harnessed the power of fire. We've been perfecting the art of grilling ever since with the best pellet grills, gas grills, smokers, and even portable grills. The best grills of today would shock our survivalist predecessors.

Today's common practice of grilling has evolved from open fires to raised metal containers with a grate to support the best cuts of steak and vegetables. Charcoal grilling—which uses charcoal briquettes as the fuel source—achieves a similar result to cooking over a fire with less hassle while preserving that primal char and smoky flavor.

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After testing a whole bunch of charcoal grills, from portable to the stylish, I found that the Kamado Joe Konnected Joe is the best charcoal grill overall. Equipped with a ceramic, thermal-regulating shell and built-in automatic electric heating element that ignites the charcoal, this refined kamado-style cooker includes an internal fan to regulate temperature, so your smoky grilling session is hassle-free and perfect every time.

Best Charcoal Grill Overall: Kamado Joe Konnected Joe

The Kamado Joe Konnected Joe blends the old-school ceramic egg-style of Japanese kamado grilling with modern digital features, which is why it's our best overall charcoal grill.
Clay Abney

Kamado cooking isn’t new. And while I've cooked on a plethora of grills over the last few decades, this was my first foray—so I had a lot of catching up to do given its historic roots. The earliest kamado grills (going back about 3,000 years) were clay ovens that originated in China. The present-day variety has been refined to become the de facto egg-shaped cooker it is today.

Kamado Joe Konnected Joe Overall Impressions

Unlike many grills that require a lot of assembly upon unpacking, Konnected Joe was unpacked, assembled, and ready for the recommended initial burn in under an hour. The hardest part of the assembly was removing the large ceramic portion from the box—which is a two-person job.

For us charcoal purists, we know the routine of crumpling old newspaper at the bottom of the charcoal chimney, adding briquettes, then lighting and monitoring to ensure the charcoal is indeed lit. Fortunately, Konnected Joe has a built-in automatic electric heating element that ignites the charcoal while an internal fan assists in supplying air for both igniting and assisting in regulating the internal temperature.

To get one of the best grills of your life with the Kamado Joe Konnected Joe, it starts with a simple pile of charcoal.
Clay Abney

This can be achieved via the outside control panel on the Konnected Joe or the Kamado Joe app. Both options allow you to start the grill, set the temperature, and adjust and monitor it while standing nearby or away from the grill. Once lit, the grill preheated to my desired temperature in 10 to 12 minutes (depending on the temperature selected)—significantly less time than I've waited when using conventional charcoal grills utilizing the chimney starter method.

Monitoring the activity while grilling, from either the control panel or the app, was easy and accurate. Typically, when opening the lid of conventional grills, the temperature plummets, then has to re-climb once closed. I saw very little fluctuation as the grill regulated the temperature extremely well, thanks to the insulated ceramic walls.

I cooked a variety of meats and vegetables over the course of a month. Being able to control the temperature consistently allowed me to achieve the desired results time and time again.

Final Verdict

Among the best charcoal grills, this one stands alone. The brand offers a variety of kamado-style grills from the Joe Jr (offering 13.5 inches of cooking space) up to the Big Joe (24 inches) and the 3-tier Divide and Conquer Flexible Cooking System, with 11 options in between.

I’ve been grilling for over 25 years, and this is by far the best experience I've had from the moment this grill was assembled to savoring the myriad foods that have touched its grates. Whether you're an expert griller or a novice, the Kamado Joe's auto-start, fan, digital control panel, and handy app will make the experience seamless and virtually foolproof. Being able to control the temperature range from 225 degrees (low and slow) to 700 degrees (searing the edges over extreme heat) was ideal for creating the ultimate cooking experience with one tool.

Cool features like the Automatic Fire Starter and Digital Kontrol Board brings charcoal grilling into the future with temperature graphing, alerts, and multiple cook modes.
Clay Abney

Pros

While heavy, the grill's wheels allow for easy mobility, and two of them are locking wheels
Efficient heating
Lots of control via the app
Very easy to use
2-Tier Divide and Conquer Cooking System
Minimal fuel usage
Easy assembly despite weight of the ceramic portion

Cons

Price could be a deterrent, though this isn’t the most expensive in the brand’s lineup
Heavier weight requires two people for assembly
Small ash tray
If needed, adding charcoal can be chore
More fragile than aluminum and steel grills

Key Features and Tech

This 18-inch diameter ceramic grill provides over 250 square inches of cooking space. Under the dome, the grill has the potential to utilize the 2-Tier Divide & Conquer Cooking System for cooking various foods at different temperatures. Like a chimney, the Kontrol Tower top vent maintains consistent air setting during dome opening and closing. Despite the grill’s overall weight, the Air Lift Hinge significantly reduces dome weight making it easy to open and close. When necessary, integrated lifting handles make loading and unloading the grill easier, while the heavy-duty, powder-coated steel grill cart comes with two locking wheels for fluid movement with the ability to lock in place.

Grilling up veggies and meats is a snap on the digitally enhanced kamado grill from Kamado Joe.
Clay Abney

Digitally, the grill comes with an Automatic Fire Starter (AFS) button for easy ignition of the lump charcoal. The Digital Kontrol Board provides temperature graphing, alerts, and multiple cook modes while the Kamado Joe app allows you to set temperature and time, monitor meat probes, and discover new recipes remotely. The Kontrol Fan automatically maintains your desired temperature from 225 to 700 degrees. Finally, the grill's Automatic Cook Mode allows for digitally connected cooking or the ability to select Manual Cook Mode for a traditional, unassisted kamado grilling experience.

Cooking area: 250 square inches
Size: 47 x 48 inches
Weight: 216 pounds
Warranty: Limited lifetime on ceramic parts, 5 years on metal parts, 3 years on electronics, 2 years on miscellaneous parts