they say a picture is worth a 1000 words, how the market is trending for mature kamado grills makers......

pellet grills are taking a chunk of the kamado market and entry level (big box kamado grills) are taking a chunk from the mature kamado grill makers.  

each puts green in a precarious growth position.....

ever wonder how many kamado style brands have been offered in the US over the last several years?  

t

I heard KJ 'invented' improved version of KAB?

edit: ... and improved version of Pizza-Porta

SciAggie said:

But will it boil water?

It can generate steam like a combi oven, without boiling the water 

I think its interesting.  I didn't think my pellet grill infused enough smoke into my cooks, I am not sure how an insulated cooker with low draft requirements could do better.  I suspect it would do worse.  But I will watch this one before I form an opinion.  It could be interesting.

Also I don't get people having any butt hurt over KJ innovating.  I am glad there are two power players in the market at this price level now.  My eggs cook really really well.  My two KJs cook just as well, although I feel the quality they offer is a little lower than the BGE.  We can argue over the fords and chevys of the world, but the Audi/BMW/Rolls/Merc/Bentley Komodo Kamado has innovated far beyond the rest.  Its priced that way too.

my thoughts exactly @cookingdude555.  I tried salmon on my traeger (got it for free) the other night and it tasted like it was in the oven. I couldn't tell any smoke had gotten to it.  Used it once and I'm switching it out for a medium bge.

HeavyG said:

TEXASBGE2018 said:

Kamado Joe is the RTIC of Kamado's, rip off someone else's design and claim its "Bigger, better, faster, better quality, can cure cancer, etc...." Then again the same could be said about BGE and ripping off CGS. So there is that.

Whose design did KJ ripoff??

Almost everything they have done is a rip-off of someone else. They ripped off CGS to create their divide and conquer rig, the cooker itself is a rip off of a BGE which is a rip-off of imperial Kamados. They have their own controller which ripped off a bbq guru, the Pizza attachment is a rip off of a pizza porta. The only thing they have done that is marginally innovative is the hyperbolic insert and that even could be argued is a rip-off of The Weber summits metal plate setter. Do I need to keep going?

One thing that BGE and KJ have in common is they both have crappy lump. 

HeavyG said:

TEXASBGE2018 said:

HeavyG said:

TEXASBGE2018 said:

Kamado Joe is the RTIC of Kamado's, rip off someone else's design and claim its "Bigger, better, faster, better quality, can cure cancer, etc...." Then again the same could be said about BGE and ripping off CGS. So there is that.

Whose design did KJ ripoff??

Almost everything they have done is a rip-off of someone else. They ripped off CGS to create their divide and conquer rig, the cooker itself is a rip off of a BGE which is a rip-off of imperial Kamados. They have their own controller which ripped off a bbq guru, the Pizza attachment is a rip off of a pizza porta. The only thing they have done that is marginally innovative is the hyperbolic insert and that even could be argued is a rip-off of The Weber summits metal plate setter. Do I need to keep going?

In so many words, everybody copies everybody else so everything is a ripoff of something. Kinda makes calling something a ripoff a pointless exercise at some point.

Only you would point out semi-flawed logic

NorthPilot06 said:

I will say, my high end BBQ store used to dedicate most of its floor space for charcoal grills to the BGE. It was all green. 

Now you walk in and it’s 50/50 KJ vs BGE.  I was surprised given the area of town that it’s in but they say the KJ product really moves!

A store in my area was given a choice, stick with BGE or Go KJ.  The owner told the BGE rep to send a truck to pick up any and all product for refund, because the dealer support was crap!!! His words not mine, he said the distributor basically makes up their own rules and no one can stop them.  

The problem with BGE isn’t the product, or lack of innovation, it’s that you have to depend on a third party to take care of you.  I’d prefer to deal with the manufacture myself.  

The FirstBuild folks (GE) that made the Opal pellet ice maker are currently working on an indoor pellet smoker.

  https://firstbuild.com/products/indoor-smoker/

ewyllins said:

In my opinion this is pointless. BGE vs KJ vs Pellet, its all about the end result regardless of which tool you use. Our cookers are a tool and the people we feed dont care about the tool, more so about how well the food came out. Just my 2 cents.

I like cooking with primitive devices. Namely my BGE and WFO. To me, I find as much enjoyment in the cook as in the end product - but you’re right, my wife and others don’t care about the cooking technique, just the end product. 

littlerascal56 said:

After 15 years of pellet cookers that break down (during a big cook), I am seeing lots of the neighbors move back to Weber kettles/charcoal.  We seem to have power outages every weekend, so the pellet grills are not dependable.  Quite a few have got rid of the pellet pooper, and went back to gas.  Pellet grills are hi-maintenance!

You can run a pellet grill off an inverter/car battery so if your power goes out frequently (what's up with that??) it's worth having that combo as a backup.

I thought the big selling point of pellet grills was the automatic temperature stability.  It is basically an oven with smoke.  Why pay for extra for the ceramic if it holds its temp steady already? 

So what is smoke flavor really? How much of what we recognize as the superior flavor profile and bark of a brisket smoked in an offset actually from soot? Soot, or some other particulate matter that was deposited on the surface of the meat due to a less complete combustion process? 

I'm asking for a friend.