Aldi is selling a mini ceramic Kamado bbq for $149
Wondering if Bunnings will drop the price of the Char-griller Akorn Mini to match.
GPT comparison
| Feature | Ceramic Kamado | Steel Kamado |
|---|---|---|
| Heat Retention | Excellent – Holds heat extremely well | Good – But loses heat faster |
| Fuel Efficiency | Very fuel-efficient | Uses more charcoal |
| Moisture Retention | Keeps food juicier | Less moisture retention |
| Durability | Fragile – Can crack if dropped | More durable – Won't crack |
| Portability | Heavy & hard to move | Lighter & easier to move |
| Heating Speed | Slower to heat up | Heats up faster |
| Temperature Stability | Very stable | Requires more adjustments |
| Weather Resistance | Won't rust | Can rust over time |
| Price | More expensive | Usually cheaper |
| Best For | BBQ purists, slow smoking, fuel savings | Portability, quick cooking, durability |
Yep great summary. I still wonder if a kettle is better for most people.
Had my Kettle for 4 years and do at least a few cooks throughout the warmer months(pork ribs and lamb shoulder primarily). Definitely recommend it for the price(compared to traditional bbq smokers), simplicity and low barrier to entry, you cannot go wrong there. Chuck in a multi probe thermometer and you'll be churning out some amazing meats with some practice.
I've considered moving on to something like a pellet smoker but after considering a high upfront cost, space on my deck and my style of cooking, I ended up not being able to justify it.
@Easy Money: I was thinking to get a weber go anywhere as my first bbq.
As much as I would like a kamado style, I doubt I have the time with a young family.
@impoze: I personally don't recommend that unless you see it as a novelty purchase and you'll lose interest after one or two cooks. What puts me off the most about smoking meats(on the Kettle) is the prep work required before you even start the smoking and you'll yield a few kg of meat. There is not a significant amount of time savings prepping and starting a fire for a smaller cook so if you're going to yield a small amount(which the Weber Go will), you'll quickly get put off doing future cooks.
@Easy Money: yeah, I was thinking for camping but I'll just stick to a gas stove.
I also don't have enough people to eat a few kg of meat hah, maybe when all the kids are older
I have around 8 different grills and smokers and use my kettles more than anything. They're simple, they work, they're reliable. I would recommend a Weber kettle over anything if someone is just starting out.
Chuck in a fan eg Thermoworks billows and it becomes much more hands off for longer smoke sessions too. Really can't beat a kettle for simplicity.
Good summary - i have the steel kamado myself as a standalone smoker. Its not the best at smoking (because its so damn efficient) but it does the job
Coming from a person having both, ceramic is the way to go. Temperature and quality control is much better. But it's heavy.
Other than the bucket list of points in the table above, from a practical point of view i've had no issues with my akorn jr since i got it 3+ years ago. i havent encountered any rust issues so far. The fuel efficiency has been really impressive compared to kettle style bbqs.
The akorn style bbq has a plus point for cleaning where you can easily take the bottom off where as with ceramic ones you need to get to the bottom of it with a fine ash vac for deep cleaning.
One random thing to consider are the summer fire restrictions in your area. IIRC some areas/suburbs here in WA ban solid fuel BBQs in summer. Gas and electric BBQs are unrestricted.
Is this big enough for a brisket?
Depends how big the brisket is.
wouldn't fit a full brisket no. Brisket portion yes
I wouldn't buy this if you want to smoke brisket.
Smoking small portions of brisket require slightly different techniques and messing around with to get it perfect
Not for a 8kg full sized. I've done super market sized (1-2kg) brisket cuts* on my akorn jr without any issue. I usually smoke for few hrs, wrap and oven bake till done to my likeness.
Too small. This is more for steaks, a roast chook, some skewers.
It's kinda camping sized but to heavy to lug camping. You can have some fun with it but it is no full sized Kamado in performance. Coals very close to grill etc.
It looks very similar to this one which is quoted as having a grill size of 26.5cm diameter so it will be tiny.
https://www.kogan.com/au/buy/vidaxl-2-in-1-kamado-barbecue-g…
Wondering if Bunnings will drop the price of the Char-griller Akorn Mini(bunnings.com.au) to match.
I reckon they won't considering this is a no-name.
ALDI isn't no name.
Yep, So isn't Helga.
they always drop equivalent of Aldi's special buys.
Bunnings version looks a bit more higher end then this one
The Akorn is metal. I have it, it's great.
I reckon they're just able to do that with their "house brand", but probably not with products from other companies. Would be interesting to see if they do though.
There is nothing comparable to this at bunnings. No way it gets pricematched.
Anyone know how it compares to the Akorn? I don't need this so please say it's horrible.
it's horrible
its horrible (i don't kow what i am talking about)
it is horrible .just follow the top 2 above
Just buy it
Perfect for when I’m practicing my Hinokami Kagura
Is this a proper kamado/green egg? Or a knockoff?
Do you mean kamado joe?
A kamado is a style of BBQ grill, with the main difference being its ceramic shell
Yes sorry.
kamado joe and green egg are top end products in this segment. Generally issue free, with a lot of accessories on the market also have solid warranty. (both a fairly overprices as most of the other premium products)
There are fair few options of other komado's around at the different price point. same as any other product … needs a bit of a deeper dive in each alternative for pros and cons
@figlia: One than stands out is the weight, 21.5kg for aldi vs 35kg for Kamado Joe Junior. That probably means heat retention would not be as good but at $149 vs 699 it's worth buying especially if it's your first venture into charcoal cooking. I have a Kamado Big Joe, and I love it, my gas bbq doesn't even get used at all.
Thanks, that always confused me because of the branding.
At $149 - I think you can be pretty certain it is a knock-off. Labour, materials, and production energy costs, combined with transport, I'm amazed there is any margin at all in this item.
They're not knock offs. Kamado's all look similar, with the handles, vent and style, be it a Kamado Joe or BGE.
There are several brands out there that come out of China and look similar (KJ and BGE also come out of China).
Firehawk from BBQ Galore - very similar to this too.
There isn't any other picture or size information available on the product page - only says weight: 21.5kg.
Found this on the Internet and seems like ALDI did a redesign on the appearance https://www.love2bbq.co.uk/aldi-kamado-review/
Nice find. It's possible that's the previous model from a few years ago. And this one is a newer slightly updated model version which is based upon that.
No way it is that big.
It looks like a smaller version of the Firehawk Stringybark 16" from BBQs Galore.
I'd say this is gonna be 13" similar to this one
Doubt there's a heat deflector. without a deflector, smoking is tricky. hopefully theres internal shelving for heat deflector, a cast iron plate works or ceramic pizza
Smoking chicken is underrated. Fast to do, tastes great.
You could fit 2x beef ribs on this. Coles sells them, 3 bone, for cheap and vac sealed.
An easy hassle free way to smoke a large brisket is using liquid smoke. works well with beef in your home oven. not good for pork or chicken ive found.
Seriously, this is going to be like a 13" Kamado. With the ceramic firebox prob only 9-10" of usable grill space. If they had a ceramic heat deflector you might have enough space to fit maybe 2-3 charcoal briquettes in it 😂
I have akorn jr with deflector, but small
This will be smaller than Akorn Jr.
I have Akorn Jr and Firehawk Stringybark 16" (they are similar in size when it comes to usable area).
The Aldi Kamado looks like its going to be noticeably smaller.
Is this a small table top grill?
I'm pretty sure this is just a re-purposed Knights helmet. Or garden pot. Or something.
or bathtub
Looks like this one on amazon. I'd ignore the price though. This link has reviews - https://www.amazon.com.au/London-Sunshine-Ceramic-Kamado-Cha…
It's obviously made by the same manufacturer to the same overall design. And yes it's 13 inches.
Here's one sold on Alibaba. It's just made by some Chinese manufacturer pumping it out left right and centre to any business which orders it for manufacturer to sell.
https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/SEB-KAMADO-13-Inch-Mi…
In my opinion it looks very cheap quality. You can see by the video on the product page on that Alibaba sale.
It's all over Alibaba from various sellers.
https://www.alibaba.com/trade/search?spm=a2700.galleryofferl…
It's essentially just a no name BBQ grill from some Chinese manufacturer which ALDI had manufacture for them. They just custom select the paint colour etc.
Makes me wonder how they can make it so cheap. The manufacturer must have cut corners some where.
economy of scale
And plus it's made in China by some no name manufacturer. And they must have cut corners with the manufacturing quality some where. Heck it's being sold on Alibaba for about $80-90 USD. You got that right this is not an exclusive to ALDI but it's sold all over China by sellers. It's made cheap. It's why the one from ALDI has no brand name on it or even on the front of it as it's basically just a no name BBQ built at low costs.
It's possibly a piece of junk compared to say a good brand name BBQ from say Barbeques Galore or Bunnings.
For example: https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/KIMSTONE-13-Zoll-Kama…
A video link of one being unpacked. It couldn't come any more generic no name. It looks like a very small BBQ too.
90% of kamados are made by Auplex then badged and sold by loads of brands.
It is essentially two flower pots with a hinge, seals and top and bottom vents.
I swear people on here are assigning "brand name" some magical abilities.
Sure, a full size Kamado Joe is really.nicely finished but it's pricey. This this is a small Kamado to have a bit of fun with. Not full capacity by any means.
I have a Kamado from when Costco first stocked them in about 2009 or so. They are pretty simple to use, and you can come up with some deflection etc if needed.
does 5yr vs 1yr warranty give a hint?
The one from ALDI only has a 1 year warranty which is what they legally have to provide in Australia. It just shows that ALDI doesn't think it will last long before breaking. If it was of quality built manufacturing you might think that it should have a longer warranty. But nope this is probably a bit slighty junk and break just after the 12 month warranty is over.
If it has an inherit flaw it will show up on the first couple of heating cooling cycles.
It's not like it's a printer or something. It's pretty simple stuff.
Had one of these, used it a few times. Then got a pellet smoker grill and use it often- so much easier.
looks like a toy. I got a aldi gas smoker and smoke three shelves at a time.I have literally filled it up, turned it on and come back 8 hours later to yummy succulent meat. With this you will have to baby it for hours to get a 1kg of smoked meat.
Is that one of those box smokers with a door and a few shelves inside? I meal prep and don't want to waste my time with a tiny smoker like people say this one appears to be.
yep. I meal prep too. Smoked meat is the bomb when microwave reheated.
Fully agree.
Suggestion - try slashing up some thigh fillets and using Lobo Satay mix from an Asian grocer. Grill the fillets over charcoal then chop them up, pack over coconut rice and add the dipping sauce over the top. 2kgs thighs and 4 packets makes a lot of prepped meals that reheat well.
Same or very similar model was sold under the Pitboss branding at a Bunnings some years ago. They where extremely overpriced and ended up clearing out for as low as $45. I grabbed one but found it an absolute pain to use. Keeping a constant heat was a battle and I ended up giving it away.
https://www.smokefireandfood.com/forum/index.php?thread/5140…
Yes. These are made by a Chinese manufacturer that pumps it out of the factory to whichever business wants it made for them. You buy the same BBQ all over Alibaba for cheap. Even at that $169 was over priced for what it is.
You see the same BBQ which Bunnings was selling is sold over at Alibaba for $85 USD and that's in China. It's totally generic. These companies which are selling it is not the manufacturer but just order a batch if this no name BBQ from this particular Chinese manufacturer.
https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/KIMSTONE-13-Zoll-Kama…
In other words ALDI is not the manufacturer. The only thing ALDI is the name on the product web page and possibly on the product box. Inside the box is a no name BBQ.
Maybe we need to factor in the freight and customs costs if you were to get it imported yourself from Alibaba, it's probably will be around the same if not more expensive to DIY alibaba
Yes due to the weight. Only a deal in China. I was just showing that this is just made cheapest possible so don't expect too much from it. And there's nothing brand name about it.
You're better off going a bigger Kamado frankly. Whether you go a KJ, BGE or some other brand like Firehawk is another question altogether.
I've got a KJ and it gets used a couple of times a month, depending on season etc.
These just aren't practical. You'll be able to do one ribeye and that's about it. If you're camping, you'd be better with something sturdier.
I'm a fan of the ceramic Kamado, they're incredibly economical with charcoal compared to a Kettle but at this size, it's pretty pointless.
Too small for anything other than steaks and maybe a whole chicken, which are much easier on a kettle. Benefit of ceramic is for low and slow and it would be a lot of work to keep it stable in such a small smoker carrying a rather small load of protein. You could use it as a fancy hibachi but there are better options for that. If you really want to dabble in this size you’d be better off with an Acorn Jr.
(Owner of too many smokers including three kamados)
give it 12 months and you'll probably find some of these outside for kerbside council clean-ups etc
I've got a Joe Jnr. This looks pretty much the same. I love my little BBQ. I mainly cook roast lamb on it, and it comes out beautifully. Towards the end of the cook I might throw a few sausages around the roast so everything finishes at the same time. It services a family of 4, although my wife is a vegetarian, so she misses out. I've used it for small parties cooking the same menu. You kind of have to squeeze everything in, but it's very efficient. We have another BBQ (gas Weber Q medium) for vegetables and seafood, and another small gas weber Q for non-fuss meat cooking, so we're not reliant on just the one BBQ
This is way smaller than Joe Jnr, Joe Jnr has a 13.5" cooking surface which is basically comparable to the 16" Firehawk at BBQs Galore, the aldi one is 13" in diameter with a cooking surface of like 9-10".
These things are flat out fitting a single steak on them.
If you aren't getting absolutely perfect, competition level results doing briskets on a Weber kettle - you don't have an equipment issue.
You have a skill issue.
I don't know much about barbecues, are ceramic ones better than metal ones