Green Egg vs Kamado Joe vs BBQ bastard
All are top end of the price BBQ, but which one is better?
Any one has any experience between those three:
You missed off Monolith and Alpinofen off your list.
TBH there isn't much between them in terms of quality and function the same as all Kamado style grills do. I'd just go for the cheapest of the branded grills you can find.
I’m currently looking for a ceramic grill too.
There seem to be quite a few blogs that say the quality between the BGE, Joe and Mono are similar, but you get more for your money and more features with the Joe and in particular the Mono. However, a German bbq forum seems to be alluding to quality problems with the Mono.
Monolith had some quality issues early on, namely that there was no expansion crack in the ceramic. This and many other problems seem to have been fixed now.
So far found these prices:
BGE 61cm: 2400CHF
https://en.toppreise.ch/index.php?se...en+Egg&sRes=OK
Kamado Joe 61cm: ~ 2000 - 2400CHF
https://en.toppreise.ch/index.php?se...do+joe+big+joe
Or ~ 1190CHF from:
http://www.alpinofen.ch/de/produkte/grill/
BBQ bastard : Could not find in Switzerland
Monolith 57cm: ~2050CHF
Don’t forget you aren’t comparing apples with apples (or eggs with eggs) here. The BGE will need various accessories like a stand, deflector etc
Have you checked Germany? If they refund the VAT it's probably cheaper buying from there.
True!
This seems to be excellent value for the money:
Quite a lot smaller though isn’t it? The grill diameter is 47cm.
A lot of Swiss places will do free delivery and in some cases for the BGE assembly. No chance of getting that from Germany, which I suspect will offset any VAT arbitrage.
Not true. Just like every furniture shop along the border are the outdoor and bbq shops prepared to ship to Switzerland, refund the tax and make all customs stuff for you... I have been to the one in Waldshut, but bought my Outdoorchef in the end in Switzerland (due to availability of the model I wanted).
Downside: the shops along the German border know full well about their position and are pretty expensive for German standards...
I should have been more clear - I meant the online retailers, which gives you the chance to see the prices without having to visit. The one you link doesn’t seem to stock the brands being discussed here.
German online retailers may also ship directly to Switzerland and take off the VAT up front, so it’s worth checking out. And also, don’t balk at the price, of all the man toys I’ve bought over the years I’ve regretted a Kamado grill the least. So quick to heat up, bbq all year round, can do pretty much anything on it (did the Xmas turkey on it a couple of years back). A worthwhile investment if ever there was one.
I just got an alpinofen, L size.
You'd be right in saying it's quite small with the grill diameter only at 47cm, but then that's pretty standard with kamados. It's the same size as the L size BGE and the Kamado Joe Classic. Kamados are generally smaller than kettles for reasons that become obvious.
I'll post a quick review here:
+ it was a good price. I got it in the sale at 850ish from Coop.
+ it's generally very good quality, including the handles, the felt seal, side tables, stand etc. The two halves fit together perfectly and the lid is cantilevered and damped. It feels and looks expensive, even though I think Alpinofen import them from China.
+ it works like any other kamado and is superb for either low-and-slow or nuclear grilling temperatures.
+ whilst the grill diameter is small, relative to a Weber kettle, it's only used for one zone cooking, so is relatively bigger than my 47cm Weber kettle set up as a 2 zone.
+ the cast iron, 3rd party grill from my Weber fits, as do other Weber 47cm accessories.
+ it comes with pizza stone and riser, indirect cook deflector stone, a reasonable quality stainless steel hinged grill and a cover. It's very good value at the price I bought and even at the non-sale price.
- like any other kamado it's not so good for 2 zone cooking. Even though there are kamados out there with accessories for 2 zone cooking, I can't see how they can possibly work. The walls are too thick to have a decent difference in temperature between zones. 2 zone cooking is the opposite of kamado cooking, in my opinion and you'd be better off with 2 grills. I have 6
- The top vent is good quality, solid cast iron, but the design isn't great. I've changed it for a 3rd party, Smokeware top vent, which gives better control.
- the temp gauge is the only cheap and nasty thing on the grill, like all other cheap and nasty standard temp guages. I checked it in boiling water and it reads 25c out. However there's no calibration mechanism as with BGE and KJ. I'll probably change it at some point as it's a quick job. It doesn't annoy me too much as I use a Weber iGrill2 with multiple inputs, so I know the internal temperature accurately from that, but I'll still change it.
- You don't get as many dedicated accessories as with BGE or Kamado Joe. That said, you don't pay their inflated prices if you can find a 3rd party accessory that fits. What accessories do you need? Pizza stone was supplied. The only other things I aim to get are rib racks and a chicken stand, and both these are available cheaply from 3rd parties.
- the instructions are in only German, French and Italian and are not very good. However, if you read up on instructions from other brands, the pieces are fairly similar - grill, deflector stone, pizza stone and riser. It's not that complicated.
In summary, I'm pretty happy with it, but whilst I have a reasonable amount of experience with other charcoal grills, I don't have direct experience of the BGE and Kamado Joe. I saw the online comparisons of both and the alpinofen seems to be on a reasonable par at a much better price.
Update - turns out Kamado Joe Classic accessories fit the alpinofen fine, as do 3rd party accessories made for the KJ (and probably big green egg large size), so that's no longer a minus.
Get the Primo and don't look back! Primo is the best kamado ever!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOC8-j5g5SI
The only Oval Kamado and made in USA not China or Mexico
He's right. Of all of these, Primo is the best!
Had a 'proper' Green Egg that got broken when we moved a few years back. It's replacement came from Landi, going strong. Was 499 when bought - https://www.landi.ch/shop/holzkohleg...22-73-cm_64309
I ended up buying a Monolith LeChef with the BBQGuru adaptor and fan built in from Grillkontor. They‘ve updated/improved the design in the meantime, but sell the upgrade parts separately. So I have the Pro series Smart Grid System.
I still think it‘s the best option on the market because of the compatibility with BBQ Guru (I use the UltraQ) and the door to add wood chips/pellets without disturbing the cook, which I also use for blasting the coals with a Looftlighter if I‘m trying to increase the heat quickly.
The only problem I‘ve had has been through my own negligence. The bamboo side tables and handle aren‘t very weather resistent and I just left it with them extended and uncovered. I re-varnished them twice, but in the end just bought replacement parts and now treat it with more respect, including putting the cover on after use.
I had an everdure 4k and returned it after the electronics fell apart after the first use... nice design and terrible manufacturing.