I ditched my gas grill for this Kamado Joe — and I'm never going back

I love cooking alfresco, but I'll admit that charcoal grills have always intimiated me. Unlike gas grills, which allow you to adjust your heat instantaneously, charcoal grills have a bit of a learning curve.

When I first tested a kamado grill, I immediately overshot my intended temperature and flailed desperately trying to lower it, opening and closing various vents while flicking frantically through the instruction manual. And once you've overshot, there's a knack required to bring your heat back down to low-and-slow smoking levels.

So when I heard about the Kamado Joe Konnected, I was cautiously optimistic that it could be the perfect middle-ground for a nervous griller like me. Combining the authentic design of a kamado grill with the smarts of some of the best grills on the market, it claims to be app-controlled, self-monitoring and super versatile.

I spent a week testing the Kamado Joe Konnected, and I slowly grew in confidence as I did. Ahead of my full review, here's why this Kamado egg persuaded me to part ways with my trusty gas grill.

Kamado Joe Konnected Joe 18 in. Digital Charcoal Grill and Smoker: $1,999.99 at The Home Depot

At $2,000 (or £2,000 in the U.K., where I'm based) the Kamado Joe Konnected isn't the most affordable grill on the market, but its smart features, such as its Automatic Fire Starter button and app compatibility, justify the higher price.

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Why I'm switching to the Kamado Joe Konnected

1. App control is smart, but accessible

As a Homes Editor, people love to tell me all about their favorite gadgets, and I have multiple friends who love to nerd out with an authentic charcoal grill. They'll brine, marinade, smoke overnight, and one even records their temperature variations on a spreadsheet.

While I'm more than happy to enjoy the fruits of their labor, I've never been the smart gadget type myself. I've got a pet peeve for unnecessary apps, and few things enrage me more than a tedious 'smart home' setup process. For something that's meant to make life easier, app-compatible appliances often cause more drama than they're worth.

With the Kamado Joe Konnected, that's not so. First, the app has a heap of recipes to choose from, each of which comes with a handy video to help you visualize the more involved terms like "indirect grilling" and "heat deflector".

The app also allows you to check on your grill's temperature remotely, and will pair with your temperature probes seamlessly to ensure your food is never over- or under-cooked.

Best of all, if you don't want to use the app, you actually don't have to. A lot of this gadget's smarts are on-board its smart display which shows the temperature trend over time, allows you to auto-ignite and choose a desired temperature without your phone handy.

2. Heat stabilization is seriously impressive

Once I hit my stride, I decided to test some smoked meat recipes. This is so totally out of my comfort zone, but the app recipes gave me the confidence to try a rack of smoked ribs, a spatchcock chicken and some buffalo wings.

One obvious issue is that you'll need to set the grill at one temperature to cook all of these things, so I got a head start with my ribs so I could cook them for longer, and at a lower temperature.

Although I'd always thought of smoking as intimidating, I was able to achieve an immense smokey flavor with some wood pellets and a low base temperature. And no matter how good a gas grill is, they've never been able to rival the smokey flavor of charcoal-grilled food.

The Kamado Joe Konnected allows you to set a desired temperature, such as 250°F, and it will both auto-ignite your charcoal and keep your temperature stable with zero assistance on your part.

All I had to do was baste the ribs every half hour and wrap them in foil for the final hour. The grill took care of the rest. This absolutely healed my temperature-control trauma from my first time testing a kamado grill.

Confirmed: this grill is totally newbie-proof.

3. It offers serious versatility

I cooked everything from slow-smoked ribs to flame-grilled steaks on the Kamado Joe Konnected. Let me tell you, this grill can do it all. The temperature range spans from 225°F to 700°F (107°C to 370°C), which is about as versatile as grills like the Spider Grills Huntsman.

One of my favorite features is the removable ceramic plates, which act as heat shields and allow you to directly flame-grill on one side of the grill, and gently roast on the other.

I did this with some flame-grilled chicken breasts while I let some salmon fillets cook indirectly, and while I got a great smokey flavor on the chicken, the salmon was cooked perfectly without any toughness or burning.

The only downside of how excellently this grill insulates heat is that it takes ages to cool down. I was desperate to cover it overnight to prevent it from getting rained-on or damaged, but it was simply too hot to touch until morning.

My full review is still in the works, but if you're looking for the perfect grill to convert you to the joys of charcoal cooking, I'd look no further than the Kamado Joe Konnected.

More from Tom's Guide

• I spent a week cooking on the Spider Grills Huntsman, and it's the only grill you'll ever need
• 5 things I wish I’d known before buying a smoker
• I spent a week cooking on the new Weber Smoque, and it makes smoking feel simple