Costco can be dangerous.

Hungry Joe

First, I've been an Egg owner for 12 years now and own two large Eggs so no need to tell me the virtues of BGE over Kamado Joe.

Did a Costco trip yesterday looking for a few small items like tuna and shampoo and came out with this. I'm giving it to my son and his wife as a house warming gift. I originally had a dealer lined up with a price on a new Egg but after seeing the improvements on the KJ with the gasket and the rack system I thought this might be a little better for a beginner. The hinge is really nice also. The only down side is the hinge is kind of big and it won't be as easy to  put it in a table if my son wants to go that route.

The price was $960 and included all the normal accessories and racks with stones for indirect plus a cover, two boxes of fire starters and a 30lbs bag of KJ lump. 

I also picked up a couple bags of lump for myself.  

VB_egger

I have gone through 2 bags of their big block and really like it. IMO it's not much bigger than their normal lump but it does seem more dense if that makes sense. 

Anyway great price on that!  He will love it!

VB_egger

What were the prices on the big joe, did you happen to look?

Hungry Joe

VB_egger said:

What were the prices on the big joe, did you happen to look?

I didn't take notice but I'll be back there next weekend and check. The wife gave me the OK to get a Joe Jr for myself   and I'll pick up a few more bags of charcoal.

Wolfpack

Nice gift- they will love it. 

WeberWho

What a cool dad you are!

Spaightlabs

That's the problem with Costco.  Go for shampoo, end up spending $1200...

Very thoughtful gift.  You sure your son wouldn't rather have a well-loved egg and you can try th new KJ out?

KiterTodd

I love my BGE and this community, but have seen no improvements or added value over the time I've owned it. So these days I usually point newbies to the KJ. I feel like an *ss advising people to buy a $1000 grill and then telling them they'll need to buy another $700+ in accessories for basic functionality. (stand, cover, plate setter, raised grid, etc.)   With the KJ you get a lot more for your money and I haven't seen anyone note quality differences.  Maybe I should be browsing another forum to see how KJ handles warranty claims.

So I guess...maybe you need to tell ME the virtues of the BGE over the KJ!? 

In any case, that's a great gift.  I pick up several bags of KJ lump whenever I happen to catch the roadshow at my local store.  It's good stuff.  I also always linger at their mini egg and consider purchasing it.

Killit_and_Grillit

Go in for avocados and come out with an aquarium. 

Great gift. 

hoosier_egger

Awesome! My local KJ Roadshow got me this year too. Great lump for long cooks

YukonRon

I thought the big  block lump KJ was pretty good. The only thing I did not like about it was how much it sparked. Unfortunately that is just as important to me as neutral smoke.
I had bought 3 bags to evaluate. Lump from all 3 gave heavy sparks during each cook. It was annoying to say the least. A little sparking is ok, but for whatever reason this lump popped non stop like the 4th of July fireworks.
It did have a good burn rate, minimal bad smoke, very neutral smoke, large pile of ash, great heat. It was the sparking that I did not like. A lot. I am sticking with Rockwood.

lousubcap

Great gift for sure.  Hopefully he is (or will be) into the kamado style cooking as it requires a different approach than "hit the ignitor and we are good to go."
   

Hungry Joe

VB_egger said:

What were the prices on the big joe, did you happen to look?

Price on the Big Joe is $1499 and includes a free Joe JR (regular price for the JR is $399) which is an outstanding deal if you ask me. If I didn't have 2 LBGE's I would be going down that route.

I picked up a junior for myself today along with 6 more bags of charcoal.

Legume

YukonRon said:

I thought the big  block lump KJ was pretty good. The only thing I did not like about it was how much it sparked. Unfortunately that is just as important to me as neutral smoke.
I had bought 3 bags to evaluate. Lump from all 3 gave heavy sparks during each cook. It was annoying to say the least. A little sparking is ok, but for whatever reason this lump popped non stop like the 4th of July fireworks.
It did have a good burn rate, minimal bad smoke, very neutral smoke, large pile of ash, great heat. It was the sparking that I did not like. A lot. I am sticking with Rockwood.

Same here, just cooked on it last night for the first time and found it to be very sparky and smoky - took a long time to clear.

MSUladyegghead

So looking forward to Costco coming to Mississippi,