Primo Oval XL 400 All-In-One

The mid-size Primo, and the one most buyers actually land on. The oval firebox is Primo's whole argument: because the grate is a rounded rectangle rather than a circle, you can bank charcoal on one long end and run a true two-zone fire inside a kamado, which a round Big Green Egg cannot do without a divider accessory. Priced here as the All-In-One package, which is how most dealers sell it — grill head, cradle stand, side shelves, ash tool and grate lifter in one box. The Oval XL 400 above it adds 100 sq in; the Oval JR 200 below it drops 90.

The smallest oval Primo: 210 sq in, 100 lbs, and the same 151–850°F range and two-zone oval firebox as the LG 300. Primo also sells a two-piece GO cradle and base for it, which makes it the largest genuinely portable ceramic kamado on the US market. Priced here as the All-In-One package — head, cradle, shelves and tools.

A kamado with no ceramic in it: the body is solid cast aluminum up to 1¼ inches thick, with a hex-pattern stainless steel cooking grid and a hinged grate for adding fuel mid-cook. Because the housing is non-porous metal rather than ceramic, Blaze allows any charcoal, any wood and any lighter-fluid or starter method without risk of absorption or thermal cracking, and covers the whole grill — body, grids, hinge, hardware — under a lifetime warranty. It is sold as a drop-in head for outdoor kitchens, with a separate cart or sleeve as an accessory.

The 24-inch Big Joe in Series II trim: 450 sq in of grate, Kontrol Tower vent, Air Lift hinge and the two-tier Divide & Conquer rack, on a cart with locking wheels. It is the Classic Joe II scaled up by six inches of grid, which is the difference between one packer brisket and two. Series III adds a third rack tier and premium aluminum shelves for about $1,000 more.

The Kamado Joe Konnected Joe is an 18-inch ceramic kamado with pellet-grill convenience bolted on: a push-button electric fire starter lights the charcoal for you, and a WiFi-connected fan holds your set temperature automatically while real lump charcoal does the flavoring.

A kamado cast from iron rather than fired from clay, poured at a Columbus, Georgia foundry that has been in business since 1882. The 20.5-inch cooker weighs 334 lbs on its own and 435 lbs on the handle cart, and uses a one-piece 1-inch-thick cast iron firebox, two tiers of ½-inch cast iron grates, an integral hinge that keeps lid and base aligned without strap bands, and a Tel-Tru thermometer. Sold direct with published prices; the stand-alone head is $1,879.99 and the Trex- or stainless-shelved table carts cost more.