Kumado vs 1250

[somemayo]

So I have a 1250 that I like it’s been solid at getting to temp and been easy to use. I have a friend who got a Kumado Joe konnected Joe, which has the ability to remote control and dial in temp compared to normal Kumado’s from my understanding. He swears by the flavor and smoke profile that he gets on the Kumado, wanted to see if anyone has compared pellet vs Kumado.

 

[Motodad1776]

You are going to get more smoke flavor from charcoal over pellets.......just that simple. So you have a lot of convenience with good smoke flavor, vs less convenience with more smoke flavor.

 

[somemayo]

You are going to get more smoke flavor from charcoal over pellets.......just that simple. So you have a lot of convenience with good smoke flavor, vs less convenience with more smoke flavor.

What would you say is more is more versatile cooker?

 

[Gonefishin]

off the top of my head I don’t know of anything you can’t do on both. It still boils down to what Motodad said.

To me, having both is the ticket. Add a Billows to your Thermoworks and even controlling charcoal gets fairly easy.

 

[somemayo]

off the top of my head I don’t know of anything you can’t do on both. It still boils down to what Motodad said.

To me, having both is the ticket. Add a Billows to your Thermoworks and even controlling charcoal gets fairly easy.

Well I guess what I am wondering is if you had to have one grill which would it be? I have a bullseye as well as the 1250 but would a Kumado replace both

 

[Mozekian]

Well I guess what I am wondering is if you had to have one grill which would it be? I have a bullseye as well as the 1250 but would a Kumado replace both

Given that this is a from of recteq owners I think you can safely say

1) Most people would stand by their RecTeq cookers

2) Anyone who is on a grill forum probably doesn’t have just 1 grill and surely doesn’t want to decide on keeping only 1

Personally I like my versatility with my 1250, have a Weber charcoal if needed, and a flattop griddle when needed. A Kamado, although cool, is expensive, heavy, and a little dirtier than I want to deal with. There is nothing I can’t do on my grill lineups that I would need a ceramic kamado.

 

[Gonefishin]

If I had to only have one grill it’d be a gasser but many here are happy with just a recteq. Of the 2 choices you pose I’d go with the Kamodo, I don’t care for the ”grilling” use of the Recteqs and grilling is what I do 3 out of 4 times.

As you alreado have the 1250 I’m guessing the question should be do you sell the 1250 and get a Kamodo? Still goes back to Motodads answer.

 

[Beach Bum]

Well I guess what I am wondering is if you had to have one grill which would it be? I have a bullseye as well as the 1250 but would a Kumado replace both

We like to cook for our friends. Having the 700 plus 380X and the trusty Weber Summit is a pretty decent arsenal. I would not give up the two RT's for that Kamado. I believe the total cooking space would be a fair bit less.

 

[BNeal]

I have both. They're two different grills in my opinion. I use the Kamado for steaks, wings, etc. I have smoked on it, but it's way more work for longer cooks. I would not want to be without either as both have different strengths. Yes, both will do the same thing - kinda. So, hard to exact which is better overall. Probably boils down to personal preference.

 

[Greg Jones]

I have more outdoor cooking devices than anyone needs, but on my deck I have a gas griddle, a PK charcoal grill, and my main pellet grill. Wouldn’t want to be without any of these three, but if I could have only one it would be a pellet grill. I gave my 15-year old Big Green Egg to my son-in-law when I got my first pellet grill, the RT-700.

 

[somemayo]

We like to cook for our friends. Having the 700 plus 380X and the trusty Weber Summit is a pretty decent arsenal. I would not give up the two RT's for that Kamado. I believe the total cooking space would be a fair bit less.

No I wouldn't give up both either I was just reference does a kamado do the job of both. I know a lot of people will have say the 700 and only smoke on it and have the 380x to sear. Didn't know if that's were the kamado difference is that it does both in one unit.

 

[somemayo]

I have more outdoor cooking devices than anyone needs, but on my deck I have a gas griddle, a PK charcoal grill, and my main pellet grill. Wouldn’t want to be without any of these three, but if I could have only one it would be a pellet grill. I gave my 15-year old Big Green Egg to my son-in-law when I got my first pellet grill, the RT-700.

Thanks for the insight. I knew people on here would have experience with both.

 

[somemayo]

I have both. They're two different grills in my opinion. I use the Kamado for steaks, wings, etc. I have smoked on it, but it's way more work for longer cooks. I would not want to be without either as both have different strengths. Yes, both will do the same thing - kinda. So, hard to exact which is better overall. Probably boils down to personal preference.

Thanks for the insight. I guess that where the connected Joe is trying to bridge the gap with the fan controller, I agree that I would not want to be messing with the grill all the time I do like the set it and forget it.

 

[Pacman]

I got to play with the Kamado Joe Konnected Joe last summer. It has a WiFi controller that controls a fan, igniter, etc., that makes it essentially similar to a pellet grill in terms of ease of use. I didn't cross check with a third party temperature probe to see how accurate the temp control was, but it seemed pretty good for a charcoal cooker. We did some steaks one night and a rotisserie chicken on it another night. No complaints. The Kamado Joe is definitely a different kind of cooking, but there is definitely some crossover between it and the Recteq. My only issue is that the cooking space in a Kamado is fairly limited compared to a 1250.

 

[ToeJam]

I couldn't imagine trading/replacing my RT-700 and newly acquired 380X. I do also have a weber 22" charcoal kettle grill that I swore by for doing mostly steaks on, but with the new 380x, I could see retiring it in the future. The 380x comes close to the flavor of the weber grill, but much more handy, as in not having to load charcoal every time, dousing with starter fluid, and then waiting for the coals to get just right to begin a cook. I can sit in the comfort of my house and remotely turn on the 380x, set it to temp, then go out when its ready. My first cook on the 380x was reverse seared ribeyes that turned out absolutely great!

 

[Greg Jones]

My gosh, if I can offer one piece of advise-loose the charcoal starter fluid! Or any charcoal that comes with ‘pre-treated’ charcoal fluid on it. A charcoal chimney is the only way to go. Nasty stuff!

 

[Jim6820]

It kinda boils down to whether or not you are a one-tool person. There are some tools that will do a lot of different things, but none of them really well. As I keep saying, you can drive a nail—sorta—with the back of a pipe wrench.

Oh, and pay heed to @Greg Jones ‘s advice about charcoal “starter fluid.” Petroleum products make a lousy marinade.

 

[RattleR]

Oh, and pay heed to @Greg Jones ‘s advice about charcoal “starter fluid.” Petroleum products make a lousy marinade.

 

[Motodad1776]

My gosh, if I can offer one piece of advise-loose the charcoal starter fluid! Or any charcoal that comes with ‘pre-treated’ charcoal fluid on it. A charcoal chimney is the only way to go. Nasty stuff!

Oh yes, chimney starters are awesome. When I had the need for one, all I took were a few paper towels dabbed with a bit of cooking oil.......beautiful clean flames with practically no ash leftover, got that charcoal rolling in no time flat!!

 

[O C]

I have an Akorn kamado, Akorn Jr, and recently acquired Deckboss 590. I'm very happy with that arrangement. I also have a temperature and fan controller that works with both Akorns. Can the Konnected Joe be operated without the controller? If not, a regular Joe + separate controller might be a more versatile option.
I've had the Akorn a little over 7 years, will keep it until it falls apart. Which it might one day, but its holding up pretty good. You could probably find one used or on clearance pretty cheap to see how you like using a kamado.
The 590 is more convenient and less messy. It will be my primary grill, and use the Akorn for steaks and burgers, although it does a good job as a smoker. I did cook some bratwurst on the 590 and was pleasantly surprised by how well it crisped them up, so I'll give it a chance with steaks and burgers at some point!