In 2018, Masterbuilt and Kamado Joe joined forces as business partners to provide a wider range of outdoor cooking and grilling products as well as other related accessories. This move generated a lot of excitement and provided more surprising news for consumers that like to grill and cook outside because it means there are more reasons to bring family and friends together.
Masterbuilt is known for producing smokers, grills, fryers, and accessories that are exceptional in quality and very user-friendly. Their desire is to continue expanding their line of products to provide a very comprehensive family of cooking and grilling products in the marketplace.
Kamado Joe has established itself as a leader in modernizing the style and design of the classic grill. Like Masterbuilt, their customer is their priority so they will carry on with efforts to expand their product holdings and look to become the driving force in outdoor grilling appliances in the days ahead.
This makes the second business combination for Masterbuilt in the last two years. In 2017, they acquired the Smoke Hollow brand from Outdoor Leisure Products. You can read more in our article about the Masterbuilt and Smoke Hollow business combination.
Who Owns Kamado Joe?
Kamado Joe was founded by Kerry Coker and Bobby Brennan in 2009. They put together an exceptional brand that dedicates all its efforts to the outdoor grilling space by making highly innovative and quality products. In a short period of time, Kamado Joe has grabbed a substantial stake in the market, thanks to its hallmark blaze red kamado grill and a huge customer base that is very loyal to their brand.
In addition to making revolutionary ceramic grills, Kamado Joe also provides relevant grilling accessories.
Their Kamado style ceramic grills and related products are designed, marketed and distributed by Premier Specialty Brands, LLC, an international company that has partnered with a private equity investment firm by the name of Dominus Capital L.P.
Dominus likes to invest in companies that are recognized as a market leader in their respective industry and Kamado Joe certainly fits that description. Over the past three years, this makes the third acquisition by Dominus in the outdoor products arena. The other two investments in this space include the Masterbuilt and Smoke Hollow brands, who are also known as market leaders in the outdoor products space.
Kamado Joe’s founders work closely with Masterbuilt and Dominus management. Bobby Brennan credits their tremendous growth to the partnership and refers to this relationship as the turning point to Kamado Joe becoming a leading lifestyle brand.
Masterbuilt’s CEO and President, John McLemore is ecstatic about the business relationship with Kamado Joe. According to him, the state-of-the-art products made by Kamado Joe are key in securing business with international distributors and consumers alike by providing tools that take their cooking and grilling experience to the next level.
You can learn more about the investment Dominus Capital made in Kamado Joe by visiting the public news release.
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Is Kamado Joe Worth the Money?
The personal choices we make in life can be significant. So when it comes to buying a new grill, the choice we make can be significant too. But just because something is good for one person doesn’t mean it is good for another person.
That being said, we believe the Kamado Joe charcoal grill is one of the best, if not the best ceramic charcoal grill on the market. It truly has everything you are looking for in the ideal outdoor grill.
The Kamado Joe is amazingly versatile and it’s innovation and support are first class. Some consumers might think the grill equipment is a bit pricey, but we are of the opinion that every single penny brings the value expected.
All products under the Kamado Joe brand are made from premium parts, which lends itself to their robust construction. Each grill is an egg-shaped unit made of 1 1/4 inch thick ceramic construction, having a heat resistant ceramic coating on the outside.
The pricing of each grill includes the ceramic grill body itself, each of the heavy-duty parts that are connected to the body and the cast iron stand or cart accompanying the unit. There are also stand alone units that depend on ceramic feet attached to the ceramic body rather than a stand or cart.
Each ceramic grill comes with a basic package of Kamado Joe accessories that contains a gripper tool for lifting the cooking grate, a tool for leaning ash out of the body, and heat deflector plates that allow you to cook with indirect heat. For other competing outdoor cooking brands, these accessories are sold separately.
Check out our article about Kamado Joe grill accessories to find out more about the basic accessories package that comes with each Kamado Joe grill.
You will find that the higher end Kamado Joe grills incorporate other attachments in the basic accessories package such as flexible cooking rack system, accessory shelves, half-moon cooking grids for multi-level grilling, half-moon heat deflectors.
The accessories and attachments that come with a particular grill will depend on which unit you purchase, so be sure to look closely at the details and specifications of the grill before purchasing.
As you compare pricing, think about the extras that you want to have, where you will set your Kamado, what type of conditions will be used under, and whether you will use it more as a grill, a smoker, an oven or all three of these.
There is a lifetime warranty on all the ceramic grill parts, while other parts come with a warranty of anywhere from one to five years depending on which part it is.
The Kamado Joe grill is oftentimes compared to the Big Green Egg. To learn more, check out our article on Kamado Joe Grill vs Big Green Egg to see who the winner of this battle is.
How Much Does a Kamado Joe Cost?
Once people find out all that these grills can do, they are eager to know about the Kamado Joe price. With these ceramic charcoal grills, you will find the Kamado Joe Joe Jr grill on the low end and the Kamado Joe Pro Joe grill on the high end of pricing, and a broad range of other grill selections between these two units.
While not a complete list, the following table provides some details about the most popular Kamado Joe charcoal grills:
| Image | Description | Height * | Weight | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Kamado Joe Joe Jr | 2’3″ | 68 lbs. | Check Amazon |
 |
Kamado Joe Classic I 18 inch | 4’0″ | 200 lbs. | Check Amazon |
 |
Kamado Joe Classic II 18 inch | 4’0″ | 232 lbs. | Check Amazon |
 |
Kamado Joe Big Joe II 24 inch | 4’6″ | 372 lbs. | Check Amazon |
 |
Kamado Joe Big Joe III 24 inch | 4’6″ | 487 lbs. | Check Amazon |
 |
Kamado Joe Pro Joe | 3’8″ | 507 lbs. | Temporarily Out of Stock |
| (*) Height listed is the measurement in the cart or stand (except Kamado Joe Pro Joe which is the measurement from the ground). |
Are Masterbuilt Charcoal Grills Any Good?
As with a Masterbuilt smoker, a Masterbuilt charcoal grill is a very solid and very dependable outdoor cooker that receives high marks from people who have used them.
Masterbuilt makes several grill options available ranging from charcoal to pellet to electric heat sourcing. Each of these grills have their own uniqueness and are suitable for most any need.
Always remember that whenever grilling, you want to cook the meat to its safe internal temperature. You can find out more on our safe meat temperatures page.
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The Masterbuilt Gravity Series Grill is their newest model. It is a charcoal grill and smoker combination that possesses some of the latest technology that makes it easy to automate your cooking experience.
The Masterbuilt Charcoal grills are a very solid wagon-type cast-iron grill that has some adjustable features but requires monitoring like a traditional grill.
The Masterbuilt Smoke Hollow Wood Pellet grill and smoker combination uses an auger-fed hopper to feed wood pellets into the body of the grill while cooking.
The Masterbuilt Electric Veranda grill is a smaller grill for people that have limited outdoor space or that prefer to use electricity to cook rather than charcoal or wood pellets.
The Masterbuilt Charcoal Bullet grill is a small portable charcoal grill that is great for the person that likes to camp, or that has limited outdoor space.
A great complement to each of these grills would be a wireless digital grill thermometer for grilling and smoking that will enhance your ability to monitor the progress of the meal.
Conclusion
The business partnership of Masterbuilt and Kamado Joe is a winning combination for the consumer and translates into occasion for fun-filled gatherings of family and friends. For the future, you can be sure that there will be plenty of opportunities to have state-of-the-art products to take your cooking and grilling to a whole new level.
While the Kamado Joe grill is a bit more of an investment than your typical Weber grill, the quality and versatility of the grill, along with the results you get with the food, does not even compare.
If your budget is more limited, you will want to consider the Masterbuilt grill and smoker options.
Both the Masterbuilt and Kamado Joe products are very reputable in the marketplace. Each one offers highly innovative grill and smoker options that are built to last and provide years of outdoor cooking enjoyment.
You will have to decide for yourself which one works best for you.
But whatever you choose, you will need to have some great cooking ideas for your family and friends. Be sure to check out the cookbook we recommended on the Masterbuilt smoker recipes page. This cookbook contains some of our favorite recipes.
