Aldi Kamado v Green Egg

[Gary Mason]

Hi I’m new to the group and have had an Aldi kamado for the last 2 years. I’ve recently been thinking of upgrading to a green egg and i’m curious to understand if it’s actually worth it apart from the aesthetic perspective. For example does the green egg hold temperature better etc. If anybody has upgraded and has experience of using both types I’d really appreciate your views before I blow my wad :-)

thanks

gary

[hoogl]

I'm not sure if either holds a better temp etc. But I'd imagine that some of the advantages of the BGE:

Lifetime Warranty vs 3 yr Warranty

Greater range accessories that are made specifically for the model.

Probably a bigger size so greater cooking capacity.   

 

I'm not sure if it's fully worth the extra cost but for many it is. I'd say get one if your determined or spend the cash on a fancy Pellet grill (or a different cooker) or a farm full of meat  

[Gary Mason]

Hey many thanks for your reply. So I guess the so kamado performs similarly to the green egg and maybe not worth the upgrade. I think there is somebody now that is selling accessories for the Aldi kamado so I’ll take a look at them. Maybe I’ll just spray paint it green and invest the money in a stack of meat from Bobs Family Butchers :-)

[The Chairmaker]

BGE were probably the first to mass introduce Kamado barbecues. I always think that they are way overpriced. If you want to splash out then Kamado Joe are also pricey, but they are genuinely innovative and have moved the game forward unlike BGE that seem to be selling virtually the same product as 20 years ago. KJ popularised the Divide and Conquer system, a Kamado rotesserie, new metal seals and so on.

Mid price you have your re-badged grills like Pitboss, Costco and so on. These are great grills and IMHO offer a lot of bangs per buck. There's shedloads of accessories becoming available through the likes of kamado.co.uk.

[Ken™️]

Full disclosure: I own a KJ Classic III, which I managed to secure at cost price (still comfortably into four figures, though). I’ve not used the Aldi version, but at the price they are selling I understand why they sell out so bloody quickly every year.

I would say that if you already have a ceramic kamado, think long and hard about what functionality you feel you are lacking before spending money on another one. If temperature regulation is difficult in the Aldi, perhaps look at buying a Tip Top Temp, or upgrading your gaskets. If you don’t have enough cooking surface, look at one of the many grill extenders available. If the ash grate keeps blocking, maybe buy a charcoal basket.

In short, you may find that buying a new kamado is an easy way to spend thousands of pounds on something you could fix with change from a hundred quid.

But of course, if you just won’t be fulfilled until you own a Big Green Egg, then I sympathise and understand - this can be a dangerously expensive hobby if you are a gear collector! (Although personally I would always go for the KJ over the BGE...)

 

[Gary Mason]

Thanks Ken and The Chairmaker. Great words and advice from both of you. I think I’ll definitely hold my horses for the time being and look at getting some accessories for the Aldi cooker. To be fair it performs really well and has never let me down once I got used to cooking on it and bought one of those MEATER probes. 
There is a company called YNNI who offer a divide and conquer cooking system as well as split deflector plates. For £134 it’s probably worth giving that a go. 
Again thanks for the advice :-)

Gary