12 hours ago, rustwood said:
I think it would give some useful perspective if you could share more info on what sizes/types of smokers and grills you already have.
I have a standard 18" Vision (similar to the classic Kamado Joe and BGE) and although I've often thought it might be nice to add a smaller kamado, I haven't done it because I just don't see the point. If I am going to do a long smoke, I want plenty of room. If I am just grilling, if anything I tend to wish I had more room - especially with veggies. Most of my grilling is l for just two of us. I start a half chimney of charcoal while I am prepping the food and my only concern is getting back out to it before it gets too hot. As soon as I am done I close the vents and the fire goes out - little to no wasted charcoal.
I used to think my gas grill was convenient for quick grills, but I gave it up long ago and I don't miss it.
I think it is very easy to clean out the ash even though I don't have an ash drawer. It isn't necessary to get out every last bit of ash. Unless there is a lot of ash built up, I usually don't clean it out for a short grilling session. I have stainless steel grates that are easy enough to clean, but I always use GrillGrates when I grill - flat side up.
I currently have a 22 inch Weber kettle grill and a 18 inch Weber water smoker (Smokey Mountain model).
The kettle is very easy to clean but is still large and I have to roll it out to the patio, uncover it, prep a bag of charcoal, and I think everything is bigger than it needs to be for 2 people cooking 16 oz (or 1 lb) of meat only.
- I thought a smaller model would make my life easier.
The Weber smoker is large like a barrel and I have to mount a pot of water on top of the charcoal. It burns a lot of fuel and it not as easy to clean up. You have to take it a part in 3 pieces and its a lot of work overall and not worth using unless you plan to smoke like 10lbs of meat - an entire brisket, etc. - and this happens rarely for me.
This smoker is recommended by so many but there are air gaps in it that never completely seals and you can't shut out the fire completely so it's going to burn that remaining charcoal all night.
It's not worth burning a 1/3 bag of charcoal for a 1 lb steak or 3 lbs ribs
But I thought a kamado would save on fuel and would be easy to clean owing to its small size. I read that you can hold a torch directly over the charcoal and light it that way (which is easier than a chimney and saves on fuel).
I might check out the electric models Barrytm mentioned and might end up getting the Kamado Joe Jr. Thanks for the info.
