Kamado Joe Pellet Joe Review

Kamado Joe excels at making perfectly insulated ceramic egg-shaped or kamado grills. The company’s grills are pretty similar and instantly recognizable for that red color and compact build; they’re also known for using charcoal as fuel. That’s why their Pellet Joe pellet grill is interesting and worth reviewing.

Compact, easy to move around, and highly efficient, this might be the grill you’re looking for in the pellet smoker category. This grill brings many common features among pellet grills; it is Wi-Fi-controlled and comes with multiple features to control temperatures. Most importantly, this is a pellet grill, and that means it is efficient, low-maintenance, and fairly easy to clean. 

The best part? The Joe Pellet Grill is compatible with most Kamado Joe’s add-ons, including their DōJoe and Karbon Steel Griddle — it’s super versatile. Here’s what you need to know about the Kamado Joe Pellet Joe Grill. 

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Main Features

The Joe Pellet Grill looks and feels like other grills in Kamado Joe’s lineup, but this one’s different. It makes use of a forward-facing pellet hopper and a set-and-forget smart system to grill for long sessions while you monitor the grill and the food’s internal temperature on your phone. 

In terms of size, the Pellet Joe Grill has the same grilling surface as the brand’s Classic Joe Grill and the Konnected Joe Digital Charcoal Grill, so choosing this one over the others is just a matter of preference — charcoal or hardwood pellets. These are not very large grills, but they’re comfortable for casual home use. Here are the main specs of the Pellet Joe: 

• Width: 46.65 IN
• Height 48.2 IN
• Depth: 30.1 IN w/ cart and shelves
• Grill Weight 201 lbs.
• Heat Range 225°F to 600°F (goes up to 700°F)
• Cooking Surface 18 IN Diameter
• Total rack area: 250 SQ IN
• Pellet Hopper capacity: 10 lbs. (14 hours at smoking temps.)

The Looks

The Pellet Joe Grill looks very similar to the other grills from the brand, and they’re all gorgeous. Unless you’re distracted by the grill’s bright color, this grill will look great in any setup — it certainly becomes the center of attention. The height is adequate, and the two aluminum side shelves are large enough to hold everything you need for your cook. 

The top vent, known as the Kontrol Tower, is not only efficient for keeping ventilation consistent, but it’s also an attractive feature crowning the pimpled ceramic dome. The pellet hopper is front and center, but is a bit hard to fill. Other than that, this grill looks the part. 

On the inside, the heavy grill has a decent sized cooking surface along with a drip pan that covers most of the grill. I did find the drip pan pretty difficult to insert and remove. The lid is spring loaded and opens pretty high, so it’s easy to check up on your food. A frontal control knob lets you adjust the temperature intuitively while also allowing you to connect the temperature settings to the app. I do wish there was a digital readout, though. 

The Build

From the bottom up, the Joe Pellet Grill sits on a heavy-duty steel grill cart with locking wheels. The ceramic grill itself sits on a robust steel frame built around the hopper, which is also made of stainless steel. The shelves are made of aluminum, so they’re lightweight but strong.

The hopper is worth discussing, as it is the main feature of this unit. It holds ten pounds of wood pellets, which burn slowly because of the grill’s fantastic insulation. Two pellet agitators on each side of the chamber allow the pellets to circulate into the central auger that carries them to the fire chamber, helping to prevent jams. I’ve been using this grill for over 3 months and haven’t had any issues with jams.

The hopper door is sturdy and doesn’t rattle. It beeps when you open it, stopping the agitators and auger immediately to prevent accidents. The grill lid’s airlift hinge is also well made — you can lift the dome with one finger; it seals tightly thanks to a compression gasket that fills all the gaps. 

Grilling & smoking on the Pellet Joe

Using the app is a no-brainer, as you can adjust for precise target temperatures. It also makes it super easy to track the food’s internal temperature using the provided two meat thermometers.

If you prefer to control the temperature manually, you can do that as well. The control knob allows you to control the grill’s temperature with three settings: Smoking, for temperatures between 200-300°F; Roasting, for temperatures between 300-450°F; and Searing, for high temperatures between 450-600°F.

With modern grills, reviewing mobile apps has now become necessary. In the case of Kamado Joe, the app is clean, intuitive, and easy to use, with large numbers and comprehensible dials for time and temperature. Set your target temperature and monitor the meat’s core temperature on the same screen. I did have an issue with the grill not connecting to the app no matter what troubleshooting tips I tried, but a quick disconnect and reconnect solved the problem.

Cleaning The Grill

Cleaning the Pellet Joe Grill is easy. Once you’ve finished your cook, you turn the dial to the off setting and wait until it’s completed its cooldown phase. You can then either clean the grates directly on the grill or remove them for alternate methods. The diffuser is also fairly easy to remove, giving you access to the firebox. I use a small shop-vac to vacuum out the ashes in the firebox. 

The pellet hopper cleans itself with the pellet movement; there’s little residue left here as long as you use high-quality pellets with no dust. 

Pros and cons

Pros

• Quick setup. Connect the grill from the back, setup the WI-FI connection, plug in the probes, fill the pellet hopper, turn the nob to the desired temp, and wait about 10 minutes. 
• The app is easy to install and connect, with a stable connection even after long hours. It’s also easy to use. 
• The grill looks and feels fantastic, and it’s well-built. 
• Once you hit the target temperature, they remain surprisingly stable. 
• It’s very easy to clean.
• The Pellet Joe Grill is compatible with most of the brand’s accessories, but not with the Joetisserie or Divide & Conquer cooking systems.

Cons

• The Pellet Joe is small for a pellet grill, with only 250 square inches of cooking surface compared to the average 500-800 SQ IN in other pellet grills like the Woodwind Pro.
• When setting a target temperature, the grill seems to go fairly higher before lowering back down, which is odd. Nevertheless, once at the chosen temperature, it is pretty accurate. 
• Feeding the pellets feels weird since the chamber is small and faces forward. Filling the scoop is also an issue unless you have a big bag with a large opening.
• The probe alarm beep on the grill is quiet, so you might miss it if you’re playing loud music or far away from it. 
• Expect a lot of startup smoke! It could just be in colder months as I haven’t tested it in warmer weather yet.
• Not a con, but a suggestion: it would be nice for the grill to have a screen so you don’t have to check your phone every few minutes. Other people could check on the time and temp as well. 
• The temperature reading on the dome thermostat isn’t very accurate, so they recommend you use the app. This could be an issue if you’re not tech-savvy as you need to trust the grill is at the desired temperature.

Final Thoughts

The Pellet Joe grill was designed to bring together the same pleasure you get from cooking on an egg-shaped ceramic grill and the convenience of using pellets. It does just that. 

The app and Wi-Fi connectivity are a big plus, making this the perfect grill for set-and-forget sessions. On the other hand, if you are more into getting your hands dirty and manipulating the grill’s temperature manually, you might struggle a bit with this unit. Nevertheless, this might be the finest ceramic pellet grill in this price range. 

I wasn’t expecting the grill to produce a lot of smoke flavor since kamado style grills are known for retaining a lot of heat, however the Pellet Joe might’ve produced the most smoke flavor out of all the pellet grills I’ve tested.

I do think the size will be the biggest issue for most people. A lot of pellet grills are much larger and allow to you to cook more food at once. The Grill Expander definitely provides more room, so I recommend purchasing this accessory with the Pellet Joe.

If you’re still undecided if the Kamado Joe Pellet Joe is right for you, check out my review on the Camp Chef Woodwind Pro. It’s definitely one of my favorite pellet grills at the this time of writing.

I’m excited to learn about your experience with the Pellet Joe. And, as always, let me know what else you’d like me to review!