Ive been using my Joe Jr since my wife got it for me last Fathers Day. The learning curve hasn’t been too bad and your videos have been a huge help. Simple things like burgers were easy, pizza came out amazing just not at the temperature you were using. I’ve done a roast and spatchcock chicken which have all come out great. Beef ribs and homemade bacon will be my next 2 on the Jr. Keep up the great work!
Thank you so much for this video. I did exactly what you said and my beef ribs turned out really well. Incredible instructions that were clear and simple. Very glad I found this video
Would love to see more videos dedicated to the Joe Jr. and its specific needs/techniques for a variety of foods. Details are important and you are very good at giving helpful advice and solid info. One thing I'm looking forward to trying is smoking a duck. How about a video on that?
James, I followed your recipe on my Classic II and I have to say those were some of the best ribs I ever tasted in my 47 years. My wife and son were absolutely blown away. Thanks so much!!
@@SmokingDadBBQ James, I was wondering if you could cook some white fish, either grouper, mahi-mahi, or seabass. I am looking for suggestions to try something new!
Another stellar effort. James, one of the things I like about you is that you're as much a gourmand as a gourmet -- and that's a compliment. You really seem to enjoy digging in for a taste after the cook and, when it goes well, you moan and groan just like the rest of us do! Good stuff. I could never truly trust a guy who didn't really like to eat!
Traveling to the Catskill this weekend, Jr in type of course, and have a prime rack of Creekstone farms ribs to go on, thank you as always for the great advice.
I love your video's in which you show sooo clearly how to use the kamado's. Hope you try to use cheap cuts and your opinion on that also. Greetings from the Netherlands.
Hello. I just bought my Joe Jr and I can't wait to start cooking on it. I plan on smoking Beef Ribs as my first cook. You mention that you had to thrown in some more wood chunks at around the 5 hour. I'm assume that you had to pull out everything to thrown more chucks in correct?
Those types of fire starters burn from 10 to 14 minutes usually. I have a supply of the KJ branded ones and can usually cut them in half and get them to work perfectly. I like the 'light and walk away' option with the starter cubes. When using a torch like the one you lit the cube with, I can usually give that about 30 seconds in one spot and then start my temp controller and be good to go. The blue propane canisters for those torches are cheap and they work for a LONG time. And.. good lookn' beef ribs! Beef ribs are my favorite of all the bbq meats....
Smoking Dad BBQ yes I forget the exact dimensions you can probably Google it but it was huge Hopefully kamado Joe comes out with one of those eventually the ultimate party grill. Check it out
The Masterbuilt little square fire starters work great. And about the cheapest I found on Amazon. Those came out good not mushy. I heard tell that beef bullion in the rub adds even more of that awesome beefy caramelized flavor to the bark. ?????
Of all things holy, sacred and good in this world - we now have James with Jr and the Ribs. Sounds meatacular! BTW. Link to your outdoor lights? They look fantastic.
Nice videos, though one thing I wanted to share, which I’m doing with my charcoal. I empty the bag in a big 60 liter plastic see through box. So I can hand pick any piece I want. Instead of holding a bag with dust over my bbq’s. Benefit, when there are any ‘too’ large pieces, you pick em out easily and you can chop them with an axe in two or three pieces. Benefit, less rubble and dust in the bottom of the grill and possible in the air vents. ;-)
Don't have such a small grill, does look great though. Looks like total time is around 8 hours? Here in Mexico, I have never seen beef ribs like that. I will have to look around. Thanks for the video.
Wonderful video. I appreciate the love for the Jr. I will be testing this out myself. 1 question I have for you is in regards to smoking wood. Once I have smoked a spatchcock chicken, I like to take out the reflector and get the temperature up to blacken the bird a bit and cook some veggies. I find that the taste of the wood at the higher temperatures ruin the taste of the vegetables. What would you recommend I do? Remove the smoking wood? Cheers
Thanks so much. I would only use one small piece of smoking wood and run the grill hotter like 425f so that your wood is all burnt up by the time it comes to do the veggies. What brand of charcoal are you using?
Hi James, just tried this out yesterday and it was great!! Very proud of my Joe Jr!! I do have a couple of questions that I’d love your input on 1- to decide when to remove it from the heat, if there’s bits that are already peanut butter and pieces that are close but not there yet, what do you recommend? Keep it going a bit more or take it out? 2- in regards to the rest, i saw on your KJ Classic 3 Aarons Franklyns smoked ribs video you used a very different technique especially in regards to the rest (15mins unwrapped vs 2 hours wrapped). What’s the rationale behind it? Big debate with a friend of mine on this one… Thank you for your help and tips!! :)
Thanks Pedro, planning for a rest is important ... only reason to slice up is if you ran out of time and need it for dinner, otherwise a 1-2hour min rest goes a long ways to improving the tenderness and texture. for the done / not done section. its best if you see this happening early to try and rotate the meat vs. going to this stage where one part is perfect and another part is underdone as you risk overdoing the good area to bring up the underdone area
Bought a Joe Jr. because of you! Thanks James for all of the great videos. Question specific to Joe Jr. Beef Rib session. As your screenshot of Meater probe, also shows the meat get to around 180F after 3 hours, but seems to be holding at 180~185F for like 3 hours. I have tried this same setup Kudo to all the settings it's a piece of cake to keep the Meter external temperature to around 225F while the Joe Jr. thermometer shows about 275F. I have tried this twice without enough faith that the beef won't dry out too much externally. at Internal 185F for about 30 minutes without raising, I got worried and open the bottom vent a bit to try to raise the temperature. Where the Meater to show up to 275F and dome temp. shows around 325F. Do this for another hour which is 4 hr total and internal temp doesn't seem to raise. I worry my meat is going to be too dry even I do the hourly spray. Start to hear some grease sizzling sounds from the dripping plate. My question to you is my next Beef rib session, should I trust the system and do full 6 hours at low temp 250F on the Meater probe. and will the internal eventually reach 200F? as the 3+ hr internal temp trend simply not trending and sometimes has a slight down trend when open and spray some water. Thanks again for all of your great videos.
@@SmokingDadBBQ James! Have done beef ribs for about 8 times now on the Joe Jr. Interesting experience. 0. Experience had been 3-6 hr for internal to reach 203F. 1. Joe Jr. keep moisture in the dome quite well, either 3-6 hours, dome temp. < 325F, the rib stays moist without any spray. 2. The internal temp. from 180F to 203F phase is interesting to study as the temp raise curve sloped down significantly compared to lower than 180F. It seems like my setup has only a small portion of charcoals in the center burning with 2 finger air inlet width, and the top vent holes 3/4 open. Dome temp raise very slowly in the 3-6 hour cook time on the Meater+ ambient temp. while dome meter raise from 225~325 in this time. 3. the 2 modes I found was when setup so that ambient temp raise steady maintaining around 60~70F above internal temp keeps the curve steady with minimal delay to Meater+'s estimate. (Sometimes Meater+ estimate ETT will stay around 1hr, from 3rd hour to 4th hour, and finally start to reduce to 5x minutes) Still testing out if environment temperature, and relative windspeed in the backyard does impact the charcoals lit and dome temp stabilities. But overall, your video is awesome! After a few tries, it's a walk in the park for cooking tender, juicy, sweet beef ribs!
James will the smoking wood ignite properly if you place them under the charcoal basket of the Joe Jr? I remember one of your other videos had the smoking wood placed in the ash catch and you got a great smoke result.
Great video James. Wanted to ask if you have ever tried putting the wood chunks in the ash tray section (mid cook) instead of having to remove the meat and deflector and adding them direct to charcoal? Would be a lot less faffing. Any thoughts?
thanks. I have been ordering peach and oak from Dickson online - dicksonbbq.com/collections/charcoal-wood/wood-chunks otherwise I grab large bags of apple, hickory and pecan from Home Depot when I see them there. I think they are Weber brand woods
Smoking Dad BBQ excellent thank you. And once again. Excellent video. The link to your high heat gloves stopped working to amazon. It just takes me to the home page
I just walk around the neighbourhood where good hardwoods grow after strong storms in the fall and pick up scraps and bring them home, an axe is your friend. It results in mostly maple and apple but they're two of the best. (there are lots of decorative non-producing apple trees in cities, and for smoking, apple is apple)
Great vid as always! How long do you have to wait for the white smoke to turn blue? Is the time it takes to hit temp enough time or do you often wait longer? Thanks!
thanks Jon. good question. one of the benefits of building your fire this way is often the time it takes for the dome to overshoot your temp and then install everything and adjust your vents the white smoke is gone by the time your ready to throw in the food. only exception is if the grill was very messy form a previous cook which is why I often burn it off at the end of the cook vs waiting to next time
I don't use a mesh screen door, just the included metal draft door to control temperature. Knock on wood, never had an issue with anything falling out of the grill during a cook... ever
Great video James; you are definitely an educator, love the detail you go into. I’ve also used the jr as a searing station and haven’t had gd “luck” using it for low and slow. Used a flameboss3 but still overshot and flameboss3 never kicked on bec temp was too high. I see how you start the fire with the heat deflector and grill outside. Do you leave the lid and bottom vent fully open for 10 min and then close the lid? Appears that you adjust the bottom vent and daisy wheel after the temp has gotten to the desired temp (~270) + added the cooler deflector, metal and meat. But prior to making that adjustment are the smaller holes on the daisy wheel and bottom vents fully open till you got to 270? Lastly is the 270 stable for some time before you make that 1 finger bottom vent + daisy wheel adjustment and add the deflector + meat?
thanks James. i keep the dome closed while warming up as heat in the dome helps with keeping temps stable. i hit target temp and then install the deflectors and go down on the bottom vent. as the temp starts recovering i slowly move the daisy wheel into position so that the grill settles on and holds 270
After you get it started and it's been on the grill for a while HOW do you go back and add wood to the fire?? Do you have to take everything off the grill to do that?
I know this is a video about the junior. However, do you think the Classic III is worth the extra money over the II? I already have the junior and love it, but I need a bigger grill.
Smoking Dad BBQ do you actually see a big difference with the slo roller? I also appreciate the junior love! There’s hardly any videos on UA-cam of junior action. I absolutely love mine.
I have a Big Joe classic and a Joe Jr. I absolutely love the Big Joe, but have struggled with the Joe Jr. For some reason. I feel that airflow is an issue with the Joe Jr.
Where did you get the feet for your Joe? I don't see those on the website. I'm building an outdoor kitchen with a platform so I wont be using the stand. Great channel dude!
Thanks. my local BBQ store had them. This looks the same - www.bbqguys.com/kamado-joe/classic-series-classic-replacement-red-ceramic-kamado-grill-feet-set-of-3
Maybe a stupid question.... how did you add more smoking wood during the cook? I assume you were using the heat deflector. Is there enough room to get some more wood in, or did you have to take things apart and quickly reassemble? Thanks for your videos. I just bought a Jr., my first kamado.
ive found adding some wood chips in the bottom draft door is the easiest way of adding more smoke mid cook. use the ash tool to push them in the middle where hot coals are falling down
@@SmokingDadBBQ Thanks! I'm jealous, I can only seem to find ones around 1 kilo/2lbs. Would you halve the cook time in that case? Sorry to keep pestering you, I'm new to this 😅
the MEATER has a max temp of about 211f internal temp and about 500f ambient range. at around 200 I more concerned with probe feel than the number so I take out the MEATER for both reasons
I was wondering if you would have to add more smoking wood, and then you mentioned that you did. I'm always afraid of not getting enough smoke flavor, but today I know it was over-done. I did chicken legs for my 2nd smoke on the new Classic II. Since I still have a bunch of pellets from using the propane smoker, I used them and wrapped in aluminum foil. The chicken was a little on the bitter side, but I still ate them. I love the smoke flavor!
sreihart poultry is sensitive to smoke especially if cooking at lower temps as the skin can get rubbery. For chicken I’d do one or two larger chunks of wood on the bottom grill grate and then add charcoal and cook at 425-450f with the bird as high up in the dome as you can get. I often use the grid extender accessory. This helps get some smoke without sacrificing skin
Yes I did, they turn out so good I don't bother going anywhere else. I have always had good luck getting them when I want (usually last minute lol). Albeit I often pick them up towards the weekend
Hi...me again. I have the classic ii, 18" and just ordered the Joe jr because I want something smaller. I have been trying to find something that I can put the jr on to roll it around. I can't pay 700 for a cart but googled some options and found where several people showed pics and everything where they bought the classic ii stand that is on wheels and then put the jr with its stand on the classic stand and they it works perfectly...have you tried this...you have both of these would that round part of the jr fit inside the classic? Thanks for any help...
I should have tried this before installing my classic. I think it’s easy enough to just build something simple to your needs. would likely be less expensive and look better
Thanks! Will do! I have spent the last two weeks cooking exclusively with it and am making a video to showcase all the different meals we pulled off. but happy to do more, love this little guy
Killer cook using the little guy. Looks like it is very fuel efficient. Those were so juicy! What would be an advantage or disadvantage to using beef stock instead of water for the spritz? Thanks!
Brisket on a stick, beef ribs are great and those look awesome James! That little kamado does really well, impressive cooker for sure. Have a great weekend brother!
sorry not out yet. just a small clip as part of a two week challenge I did to cook exclusively on the Jr and the pork but was one of the meals we did. I can do a full video this summer
@@SmokingDadBBQ I agree with you, the audio quality is excellent in this latest video. I'm trying to source a Kamado Joe for myself, and enjoying your channel. Keep it up!
Hi James - love your videos. A lot of my recipes are based on your videos. One question - I added a small chunk of pecan wood for smoking ribs and I added it at the bottom of my coals as you mention, and it produces white smoke for a while. I let it burn for 45 minutes and it seems like it still produces the white thick smoke. Does it usually take this long until you get past the thick white smoke and get to the thin blue smoke? any other tips on using smoke wood?
@@SmokingDadBBQ i am using the KJ lump charcoal. used large chunks for the low and slow cook so didn't seem like the air flow was a problem. Is the idea of putting it at the very bottom so that the whole wood chunk is on fire starting from the get go?
I’ve been impressed with these and just ordered 4 more boxes. they don’t extinguish easily and burn long enough to get the coals going - amzn.to/31gmLH9
if you are going to use a rotisserie then I am not aware of an option half as good. as a general probe? Its got one of the best apps but I am not sure I have setup the cloud correctly as I thought I should be able to leave the house. I can see it fine in the 80% of the house but not all areas so I am not sure why... same issue with other wireless probes I have BTW. I also don't love the size of the hole it leaves, lots of juices can escape when removing it. All in all, I like it... I have other options but they too have their short comings and have let me down so I find myself grabbing this one almost exclusively
Hey James, big fan of your videos. I have a question about the meater + if you wouldn't mind giving your opinion. I recently bought one and have used it 2 or 3 times. I have noticed that each time the meater ambient temp has been about 40° lower than the dome temp. How do you find the accuracy on yours? I had considered that the temp of the meat is pulling the ambient temp probe down which would be pretty disappointing. Keep up the good work 👍
thanks Adam. the MEATER is how I discovered my dome temp was off. I put the dome probe in boiling water and sure enough it didn’t read 212f. you will get slight differences between grill and dome temps based on your indirect setup and where the hot air is but 40f is likely a sign of your dome temp needing to be calibrated
Hi James - absolutely love your channel and more importantly your great very informative advice .. I am eagerly learning how to use my kamado and to date very happy with my progress mainly thanks to your good self .. one item that I would have a particular interest in is how could I cater for mixed meals ie my better half ( wife ) isn’t really into ribs or beef she loves chicken based meals so my question is how can the Kamado be used to cook more than one types of meal ie chicken and say beef ribs etc at the same time ? Mixed meal theme or utilisation I would a particular interest to many folk I would think ? Best wishes and thanks again for your very informative expertise... john in N Ireland
I have some of my favourite JR accessories on these two lists www.amazon.com/ideas/amzn1.account.AFS3OMG3CU2G5HLKT3RMIE2QBCGQ/4QDS27VOXUG2?ref=idea_lv_lole_&type=explore and www.amazon.com/ideas/amzn1.account.AFS3OMG3CU2G5HLKT3RMIE2QBCGQ/1WHL0TDSF9YCQ?ref=idea_lv_lole_&type=explore
@@SmokingDadBBQdidn’t see anything other than the Pellet tube that may work and not sure that it would have enough air to stay lit. Can you be more more specific about which accessories will actually work?
Hey James hope all's well, I spoke before about getting a classic and a jr, the jr arrived, still waiting on the classic, practice time for the big stuff. Anyway, I ordered some beef ribs to practice with but mine seem to be quite small compared to yours (just over a kilo or 2.2lb for yourself) what weight are yours in this video if you can remember?
Amazing, I have to try this on my non-kamado smoker :) What a great value at $500, and I'm surprised these little jobs are actually portable! New sub, nice channel, cheers.
@@SmokingDadBBQ Hey, I got into a WSM two years ago, thinking I'd really not use it all too often. Wrong. I've made some great stuff on the WSM, but I really wish I'd been aware of this little guy, I think I'd have been happier. And I even love the colour :D
Another great video, thank you. Looking to buy a grill soon and thanks to your vids KJ looks like the way to go (I'm greedy for the Big Joe 3 though!). I'm new to using Meater, and wonder if could you please pin the Meater settings (meat cuts, temp in F or C, etc) you use for your various cooks? These would be great as a quick reference point for all of your cooks! Thanks!
I am a totally new owner of the Kamado Joe Jr. although I basically don't even eat meat (am in Northern Germany) - I thought I could use iot for guests. However, I did an awesome Brook's Chicken (from a restaurant in Oneonta, upstate NY) and used your information. It was juicy, flavorsome and I messed up the oven because I didn't have a plate to catch the drips - live and learn.- However, I would really like to learn a bit about doing fish, baking bread and dong vegetables on the KJJ. Any possibility o videos on that? If you buy small kiln stilts (they come in many sizes) and add an extra ceramic shelf (also from kiln suppliers), you can do a double layer. They are resistant to about 1300 to 1400°°C.
Ive been using my Joe Jr since my wife got it for me last Fathers Day. The learning curve hasn’t been too bad and your videos have been a huge help. Simple things like burgers were easy, pizza came out amazing just not at the temperature you were using. I’ve done a roast and spatchcock chicken which have all come out great. Beef ribs and homemade bacon will be my next 2 on the Jr. Keep up the great work!
thanks and good luck on future cooks!
Thank you so much for this video. I did exactly what you said and my beef ribs turned out really well. Incredible instructions that were clear and simple. Very glad I found this video
Would love to see more videos dedicated to the Joe Jr. and its specific needs/techniques for a variety of foods. Details are important and you are very good at giving helpful advice and solid info. One thing I'm looking forward to trying is smoking a duck. How about a video on that?
thanks so much. Love that idea
@@SmokingDadBBQ how did you put the extra wood chunks in mid cook? Do you have to remove the heat plate etc?
James, I followed your recipe on my Classic II and I have to say those were some of the best ribs I ever tasted in my 47 years. My wife and son were absolutely blown away. Thanks so much!!
Fantastic! So glad to hear this
@@SmokingDadBBQ James, I was wondering if you could cook some white fish, either grouper, mahi-mahi, or seabass. I am looking for suggestions to try something new!
Good info on the bottom vent setting. Controlling heat has been a bit of a humbling experience on the Joe Jr., but I do love it.
Right on
Yesss!!! I looked everywhere for low and slow on the jr and couldn’t find it. Thank you!!!!!
Glad I could help!
Not sure if you had added the link for the drip tray @7:25
Another stellar effort. James, one of the things I like about you is that you're as much a gourmand as a gourmet -- and that's a compliment. You really seem to enjoy digging in for a taste after the cook and, when it goes well, you moan and groan just like the rest of us do! Good stuff. I could never truly trust a guy who didn't really like to eat!
thanks John. when it all goes to plan, you’d have to be dead inside not to have even an involuntary reaction to the flavours 😂 so good 😊
Traveling to the Catskill this weekend, Jr in type of course, and have a prime rack of Creekstone farms ribs to go on, thank you as always for the great advice.
forgive auto correct
It gets me every time lol
That little grill is a powerhouse! And ooooh that slicing action!!!🤤🤤🤤
So good. Thanks so much
I love your video's in which you show sooo clearly how to use the kamado's. Hope you try to use cheap cuts and your opinion on that also. Greetings from the Netherlands.
Glad you like them! Happy to do that
Does the kick ash basket fit the Kamado Joe Kettle Joe? Some of the classic Joe size accessories fit the kettle Joe.
Excellent content. I just un-boxed my Joe Jr. and did a break in burn. I appreciate you doing episodes on the Jr.
Thanks and congrats. Glad you like them!
Hello. I just bought my Joe Jr and I can't wait to start cooking on it. I plan on smoking Beef Ribs as my first cook. You mention that you had to thrown in some more wood chunks at around the 5 hour. I'm assume that you had to pull out everything to thrown more chucks in correct?
Question: How do you add the extra pair of woodblocks for the second smoke period?
just saw your other comment, check out this ua-cam.com/video/966akTvQEAM/v-deo.html
@@SmokingDadBBQ thanks!
Those types of fire starters burn from 10 to 14 minutes usually. I have a supply of the KJ branded ones and can usually cut them in half and get them to work perfectly. I like the 'light and walk away' option with the starter cubes. When using a torch like the one you lit the cube with, I can usually give that about 30 seconds in one spot and then start my temp controller and be good to go. The blue propane canisters for those torches are cheap and they work for a LONG time. And.. good lookn' beef ribs! Beef ribs are my favorite of all the bbq meats....
thanks John. I am with you, love beef ribs myself and 100% been happy with these fire starters
More cooks on the JR I’m getting one soon as long as the road show doesn’t cancel again. Looks good
I have a few more things planned for the Jr in the next few weeks
Smoking Dad BBQ just went to green acres and seen a huge green egg I hope Kamado joe will make one that size!!
Frank Da tank even bigger than the big joe you mean? The big joe is large. Can’t imagine the bge 2xl lol
Smoking Dad BBQ yes I forget the exact dimensions you can probably Google it but it was huge Hopefully kamado Joe comes out with one of those eventually the ultimate party grill. Check it out
@@frankarmitage776 check out the pro joe , it’s huge
The Masterbuilt little square fire starters work great. And about the cheapest I found on Amazon.
Those came out good not mushy. I heard tell that beef bullion in the rub adds even more of that awesome beefy caramelized flavor to the bark. ?????
Of all things holy, sacred and good in this world - we now have James with Jr and the Ribs. Sounds meatacular!
BTW. Link to your outdoor lights? They look fantastic.
thanks so much. these are the Costco brand outdoor lights if you have one in your area. otherwise these look similar - amzn.to/3i1hQzX
@@SmokingDadBBQ - Legend. Cheers James.
Nice videos, though one thing I wanted to share, which I’m doing with my charcoal.
I empty the bag in a big 60 liter plastic see through box. So I can hand pick any piece I want. Instead of holding a bag with dust over my bbq’s.
Benefit, when there are any ‘too’ large pieces, you pick em out easily and you can chop them with an axe in two or three pieces.
Benefit, less rubble and dust in the bottom of the grill and possible in the air vents. ;-)
right on. I do have to remove a few after I dump them in
I couldn’t find the firestarter link. But I’m due to buy more and would like to try your suggestion. Thanks for another helpful video.
thanks. let me see if it’s broken
Does the daisy wheel move when you open the top up
yes, which is why i like the smoke ware vent cap .. especially since i have a save 10% code now on that and its rain proof
@@SmokingDadBBQ Thank you
Hello James, I was wondering if the juices left in the drip tray could be used to make a sauce
After attempting to use my chimney for the first time I said screw it and used the mapp torch as well, why use anything else?
Can’t wait to make these! Going to the farmer’s market today!!
Hope you enjoy as much as we did
Don't have such a small grill, does look great though. Looks like total time is around 8 hours? Here in Mexico, I have never seen beef ribs like that. I will have to look around. Thanks for the video.
Thanks for watching. yes 8 hours total
Wonderful video. I appreciate the love for the Jr. I will be testing this out myself. 1 question I have for you is in regards to smoking wood. Once I have smoked a spatchcock chicken, I like to take out the reflector and get the temperature up to blacken the bird a bit and cook some veggies. I find that the taste of the wood at the higher temperatures ruin the taste of the vegetables. What would you recommend I do? Remove the smoking wood? Cheers
Thanks so much. I would only use one small piece of smoking wood and run the grill hotter like 425f so that your wood is all burnt up by the time it comes to do the veggies. What brand of charcoal are you using?
@@SmokingDadBBQ I use K Big Lump. I have been putting larger pieces of pecan so that might be my first mistake.
James, do you think it would fit two of those ribs, if you stock them, like you did chicken wings?
Thank you 🤝 🙂
Hi James, just tried this out yesterday and it was great!! Very proud of my Joe Jr!! I do have a couple of questions that I’d love your input on
1- to decide when to remove it from the heat, if there’s bits that are already peanut butter and pieces that are close but not there yet, what do you recommend? Keep it going a bit more or take it out?
2- in regards to the rest, i saw on your KJ Classic 3 Aarons Franklyns smoked ribs video you used a very different technique especially in regards to the rest (15mins unwrapped vs 2 hours wrapped). What’s the rationale behind it? Big debate with a friend of mine on this one…
Thank you for your help and tips!! :)
Good questions! Would love to hear James’ advice.
Thanks Pedro, planning for a rest is important ... only reason to slice up is if you ran out of time and need it for dinner, otherwise a 1-2hour min rest goes a long ways to improving the tenderness and texture.
for the done / not done section. its best if you see this happening early to try and rotate the meat vs. going to this stage where one part is perfect and another part is underdone as you risk overdoing the good area to bring up the underdone area
@@SmokingDadBBQ thanks for getting back to me James!! Pork ribs is next!!! :)
Put this in my save list, I need to know how to make these better like you! Great info on the beef ribs. Lots of info!
Comparison Cooking thanks Kevin. Much appreciated
Bought a Joe Jr. because of you! Thanks James for all of the great videos. Question specific to Joe Jr. Beef Rib session. As your screenshot of Meater probe, also shows the meat get to around 180F after 3 hours, but seems to be holding at 180~185F for like 3 hours. I have tried this same setup Kudo to all the settings it's a piece of cake to keep the Meter external temperature to around 225F while the Joe Jr. thermometer shows about 275F. I have tried this twice without enough faith that the beef won't dry out too much externally. at Internal 185F for about 30 minutes without raising, I got worried and open the bottom vent a bit to try to raise the temperature. Where the Meater to show up to 275F and dome temp. shows around 325F. Do this for another hour which is 4 hr total and internal temp doesn't seem to raise. I worry my meat is going to be too dry even I do the hourly spray. Start to hear some grease sizzling sounds from the dripping plate. My question to you is my next Beef rib session, should I trust the system and do full 6 hours at low temp 250F on the Meater probe. and will the internal eventually reach 200F? as the 3+ hr internal temp trend simply not trending and sometimes has a slight down trend when open and spray some water. Thanks again for all of your great videos.
let me know how the next goes, 270f dome is perfect if its calibrated
@@SmokingDadBBQ James! Have done beef ribs for about 8 times now on the Joe Jr. Interesting experience. 0. Experience had been 3-6 hr for internal to reach 203F. 1. Joe Jr. keep moisture in the dome quite well, either 3-6 hours, dome temp. < 325F, the rib stays moist without any spray. 2. The internal temp. from 180F to 203F phase is interesting to study as the temp raise curve sloped down significantly compared to lower than 180F. It seems like my setup has only a small portion of charcoals in the center burning with 2 finger air inlet width, and the top vent holes 3/4 open. Dome temp raise very slowly in the 3-6 hour cook time on the Meater+ ambient temp. while dome meter raise from 225~325 in this time. 3. the 2 modes I found was when setup so that ambient temp raise steady maintaining around 60~70F above internal temp keeps the curve steady with minimal delay to Meater+'s estimate. (Sometimes Meater+ estimate ETT will stay around 1hr, from 3rd hour to 4th hour, and finally start to reduce to 5x minutes) Still testing out if environment temperature, and relative windspeed in the backyard does impact the charcoals lit and dome temp stabilities. But overall, your video is awesome! After a few tries, it's a walk in the park for cooking tender, juicy, sweet beef ribs!
James will the smoking wood ignite properly if you place them under the charcoal basket of the Joe Jr? I remember one of your other videos had the smoking wood placed in the ash catch and you got a great smoke result.
small wood chips do, chunks need 400f+ to be producing enough embers
Looked amazing! Which starter cubes are they? Didn't find the link.
shoot forgot. here they are amzn.to/31gmLH9
how long would you recommend for a 800g rib
Thanks amazing vid dous a full packer fit on the jr?
No, that exceeds the space. I have done just the point end and that has fit before
You got all chocked up at end! Must have been delish!
Dino bones go straight for the heart.... in more ways than one lol 😂 😆
Any tips for securing one of these in a vehicle for road trips?
i just pack around it... took mine camping this past weekend and it was fine
Great video James. Wanted to ask if you have ever tried putting the wood chunks in the ash tray section (mid cook) instead of having to remove the meat and deflector and adding them direct to charcoal? Would be a lot less faffing. Any thoughts?
great minds think alike - ua-cam.com/video/2qtHrFjWY1U/v-deo.html
Awesome video. Question. Where do you find the hard woods, like peach, to add to the charcoal?
thanks. I have been ordering peach and oak from Dickson online - dicksonbbq.com/collections/charcoal-wood/wood-chunks otherwise I grab large bags of apple, hickory and pecan from Home Depot when I see them there. I think they are Weber brand woods
Smoking Dad BBQ excellent thank you. And once again. Excellent video. The link to your high heat gloves stopped working to amazon. It just takes me to the home page
I just walk around the neighbourhood where good hardwoods grow after strong storms in the fall and pick up scraps and bring them home, an axe is your friend. It results in mostly maple and apple but they're two of the best. (there are lots of decorative non-producing apple trees in cities, and for smoking, apple is apple)
Great vid as always! How long do you have to wait for the white smoke to turn blue? Is the time it takes to hit temp enough time or do you often wait longer? Thanks!
thanks Jon. good question. one of the benefits of building your fire this way is often the time it takes for the dome to overshoot your temp and then install everything and adjust your vents the white smoke is gone by the time your ready to throw in the food. only exception is if the grill was very messy form a previous cook which is why I often burn it off at the end of the cook vs waiting to next time
Great video! Do you ever close the mesh door at the bottom on any of your grills? If not. do you get concerned with hot charcoal falling out?
I don't use a mesh screen door, just the included metal draft door to control temperature. Knock on wood, never had an issue with anything falling out of the grill during a cook... ever
Beef rib flavor is the same greatness as the burnt ends on a prime rib roast. Wife gave my permission to cook them anytime I want.
They are awesome
Another great video! Would you consider making beef jerky in the future?
Love it. Let me get on it
Great video James; you are definitely an educator, love the detail you go into. I’ve also used the jr as a searing station and haven’t had gd “luck” using it for low and slow. Used a flameboss3 but still overshot and flameboss3 never kicked on bec temp was too high. I see how you start the fire with the heat deflector and grill outside. Do you leave the lid and bottom vent fully open for 10 min and then close the lid? Appears that you adjust the bottom vent and daisy wheel after the temp has gotten to the desired temp (~270) + added the cooler deflector, metal and meat. But prior to making that adjustment are the smaller holes on the daisy wheel and bottom vents fully open till you got to 270? Lastly is the 270 stable for some time before you make that 1 finger bottom vent + daisy wheel adjustment and add the deflector + meat?
thanks James. i keep the dome closed while warming up as heat in the dome helps with keeping temps stable.
i hit target temp and then install the deflectors and go down on the bottom vent. as the temp starts recovering i slowly move the daisy wheel into position so that the grill settles on and holds 270
Looks so good! Can you fit a rack of ribs on the joe jr??
I need to try it and find out
After you get it started and it's been on the grill for a while HOW do you go back and add wood to the fire?? Do you have to take everything off the grill to do that?
if you want to add more smoking wood and your using the heat deflector then yes you have to just lift it out toss in the wood and drop it back in
@@SmokingDadBBQ Thank you...
Excellent video! amazing looking ribs.
One question though: don't you get some fluid taste in the meat from those unlit charcoal lumps?
Not at all... I think I would have had a better chance at a smoke ring with a smaller charcoal fire burning more cleanly
Hey! Show/tell us more of the simple table you have the joe jr resting on. Looks perfect for my needs :).
thanks so much. it’s a little too tall for comfortable grilling but it’s hollow inside so that I can store the jr inside it if I want
I know this is a video about the junior. However, do you think the Classic III is worth the extra money over the II? I already have the junior and love it, but I need a bigger grill.
this is the article that sold me on the 3. you’ve been warned 😂 - www.engadget.com/2019-10-25-harvard-barbecue-desora-kamado-joe-cinder-grills.html
Smoking Dad BBQ do you actually see a big difference with the slo roller? I also appreciate the junior love! There’s hardly any videos on UA-cam of junior action. I absolutely love mine.
When you dry brine (salt) or wet brine (soy sauce), do you wash the meat before throwing your rub and throw on grill?
no, just season it with the amount you would normally and then use a binder to add other seasoning like pepper or garlic etc
I have a Big Joe classic and a Joe Jr. I absolutely love the Big Joe, but have struggled with the Joe Jr. For some reason. I feel that airflow is an issue with the Joe Jr.
a charcoal basket helps it breath a ton, i did the KAB can and basket in mine and it has made it breath much better
@SmokingDadBBQ Thanks for your input!
Is there a place to buy the charcoal gasket for the big joe 24"? I can't find it anywhere so far!
Bruno Novais the basket like what the new ones come with or a replacement gasket?
Smoking Dad BBQ i bought my kamado at costco and it doesn't come with the basket, so a "replacement" one :)
I have never smoked beef ribs. Definitely going to try it out👍 Thanks for the awesome video James 😁
Andrew Barlow thanks Andrew
Where did you get the feet for your Joe? I don't see those on the website. I'm building an outdoor kitchen with a platform so I wont be using the stand. Great channel dude!
Thanks. my local BBQ store had them. This looks the same - www.bbqguys.com/kamado-joe/classic-series-classic-replacement-red-ceramic-kamado-grill-feet-set-of-3
Love the jr series!
thanks
Do you have the smaller kamado like bono, would love to see cooking on it
Bono? haven’t seen one of those before
@@SmokingDadBBQ kamadokings.co.uk/media-red/
@@SmokingDadBBQ kamadokings.co.uk/minimo-black/ this is the small one for smaller families. Never seen it in action was just wondering if you had one
Maybe a stupid question.... how did you add more smoking wood during the cook? I assume you were using the heat deflector. Is there enough room to get some more wood in, or did you have to take things apart and quickly reassemble? Thanks for your videos. I just bought a Jr., my first kamado.
ive found adding some wood chips in the bottom draft door is the easiest way of adding more smoke mid cook. use the ash tool to push them in the middle where hot coals are falling down
@@SmokingDadBBQ thank you
They look amazing mate! I've got a 3 bone jacobs ladder in the freezer - looks like I'm cooking them on the Joe Junior!
hahah love it
These look so good. Def doing to give them a try! Roughly how much did this cut weigh? Going to try grab some from the butchers! Thanks
I’d guess it was around 5-6lbs
@@SmokingDadBBQ Thanks! I'm jealous, I can only seem to find ones around 1 kilo/2lbs. Would you halve the cook time in that case? Sorry to keep pestering you, I'm new to this 😅
@@GTFRANKS yes I would check much earlier
@@SmokingDadBBQ Perfect, thanks so much!
Can you explain the 200 c thingy why it will damage, while you took meat out
the MEATER has a max temp of about 211f internal temp and about 500f ambient range. at around 200 I more concerned with probe feel than the number so I take out the MEATER for both reasons
I was wondering if you would have to add more smoking wood, and then you mentioned that you did. I'm always afraid of not getting enough smoke flavor, but today I know it was over-done. I did chicken legs for my 2nd smoke on the new Classic II. Since I still have a bunch of pellets from using the propane smoker, I used them and wrapped in aluminum foil. The chicken was a little on the bitter side, but I still ate them. I love the smoke flavor!
sreihart poultry is sensitive to smoke especially if cooking at lower temps as the skin can get rubbery. For chicken I’d do one or two larger chunks of wood on the bottom grill grate and then add charcoal and cook at 425-450f with the bird as high up in the dome as you can get. I often use the grid extender accessory. This helps get some smoke without sacrificing skin
Looks good James. Did you get the ribs at J&Gs. Can’t seem to find them around Burlington.
Yes I did, they turn out so good I don't bother going anywhere else. I have always had good luck getting them when I want (usually last minute lol). Albeit I often pick them up towards the weekend
Hi...me again. I have the classic ii, 18" and just ordered the Joe jr because I want something smaller. I have been trying to find something that I can put the jr on to roll it around. I can't pay 700 for a cart but googled some options and found where several people showed pics and everything where they bought the classic ii stand that is on wheels and then put the jr with its stand on the classic stand and they it works perfectly...have you tried this...you have both of these would that round part of the jr fit inside the classic? Thanks for any help...
I should have tried this before installing my classic. I think it’s easy enough to just build something simple to your needs. would likely be less expensive and look better
@@SmokingDadBBQ Thank you so much for answering so quickly. I appreciate it.
@@SmokingDadBBQ Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions. I appreciate it.
wear do you buy your beef ribs at I can't seem to find any with a lot of meet in Canada ?
I get this from JNG meats in aldershot Ontario
Can you start the coals in chimney instead of using a fire starter for a faster start?
i like a chimney but i don't use it in cold weather as to not shock the ceramic
@@SmokingDadBBQ glad I ask, never heard of ceramic shock before.
Great video👍 I have a Joe Junior and i hope you do more with the Junior
Thanks! Will do! I have spent the last two weeks cooking exclusively with it and am making a video to showcase all the different meals we pulled off. but happy to do more, love this little guy
@@SmokingDadBBQ that is great to hear. Keep up the good work👍
Killer cook using the little guy. Looks like it is very fuel efficient. Those were so juicy! What would be an advantage or disadvantage to using beef stock instead of water for the spritz? Thanks!
Thanks so much. If I had some handy I would use beef stock as well as it is great for flavour and it also helps keep things from drying out
Yes, let’s see Round 3.
boom 💥
Nicely done! I love me some smoked beef ribs.
Me too! Thanks
Brisket on a stick, beef ribs are great and those look awesome James! That little kamado does really well, impressive cooker for sure. Have a great weekend brother!
Thanks for watching Charley. Much appreciated
James, Thanks for all of the Kamado Joe Jr videos. How ABOUT FISH? on the Jr?
love that idea
Awesome, keep em coming!
Thanks! Will do!
I was gonna do some baby backs this weekend but looks like I’m gonna change course and make a run at the beef ribs instead. Great video, thank you!
Michael Clark thanks Michael
Great videos ... I'm in the UK, what is the size of the Kick Ash Basket ?
this is the one i have - www.kickashbasket.com/Junior-Kick-Ash-Basket_p_42.html
Good job on beef ribs, James.
thanks so much Robert
Do you have a link for the pork shoulder on the Jr? I can’t locate it.
sorry not out yet. just a small clip as part of a two week challenge I did to cook exclusively on the Jr and the pork but was one of the meals we did. I can do a full video this summer
Awesome mic quality on this! Great job!!
Robert Sogomonian thanks. My new one arrived and I think it’s much better
@@SmokingDadBBQ I agree with you, the audio quality is excellent in this latest video. I'm trying to source a Kamado Joe for myself, and enjoying your channel. Keep it up!
That worked out nice James! Great explanation of your setup! Cheers!
Thanks Craig
Hi James - love your videos. A lot of my recipes are based on your videos. One question - I added a small chunk of pecan wood for smoking ribs and I added it at the bottom of my coals as you mention, and it produces white smoke for a while. I let it burn for 45 minutes and it seems like it still produces the white thick smoke. Does it usually take this long until you get past the thick white smoke and get to the thin blue smoke? any other tips on using smoke wood?
thanks so much. what type of charcoal are you using? can you still see air vents?
@@SmokingDadBBQ i am using the KJ lump charcoal. used large chunks for the low and slow cook so didn't seem like the air flow was a problem. Is the idea of putting it at the very bottom so that the whole wood chunk is on fire starting from the get go?
Wow... just WOW! I had no idea you could get down like this on the KJ jr! You are the man! 💯🔥 Best advice, don’t cook for temp - cook to feel!
I appreciate that! Thanks Jonathan
That is a terrible wrong advice - cook to temp recommended coming from a pro. Feel is for old school. Grow up to new tech man!
What are the fire starters that you use?????
I’ve been impressed with these and just ordered 4 more boxes. they don’t extinguish easily and burn long enough to get the coals going - amzn.to/31gmLH9
I can’t find the Link to the Kick Ash Basket. Whats the Name of it?
Thanks so much, this is the Kick Ash Basket for the Kamado Joe Jr. Seems sold out, can't find it on Amazon but they do sell it direct
what do you think of the meat therm. I'm conflicted as the reviews vary.?
if you are going to use a rotisserie then I am not aware of an option half as good. as a general probe? Its got one of the best apps but I am not sure I have setup the cloud correctly as I thought I should be able to leave the house. I can see it fine in the 80% of the house but not all areas so I am not sure why... same issue with other wireless probes I have BTW. I also don't love the size of the hole it leaves, lots of juices can escape when removing it. All in all, I like it... I have other options but they too have their short comings and have let me down so I find myself grabbing this one almost exclusively
Sorry I’m confused, so what was the cook time? 6.5 plus 90 mins or 6.5 inc 90 mins?
every one will be slightly different so wait for the probe to feel like butter. the 6.5 was on the grill for me
Hey James, big fan of your videos.
I have a question about the meater + if you wouldn't mind giving your opinion.
I recently bought one and have used it 2 or 3 times. I have noticed that each time the meater ambient temp has been about 40° lower than the dome temp. How do you find the accuracy on yours? I had considered that the temp of the meat is pulling the ambient temp probe down which would be pretty disappointing.
Keep up the good work 👍
thanks Adam. the MEATER is how I discovered my dome temp was off. I put the dome probe in boiling water and sure enough it didn’t read 212f. you will get slight differences between grill and dome temps based on your indirect setup and where the hot air is but 40f is likely a sign of your dome temp needing to be calibrated
@@SmokingDadBBQ thanks very much for the advice 😊 very much appreciated
Hi James, the temperature for the kamado is 250 degree and for the ribs is around 200 degree. Am I correct? Thanks
yes exactly
mine didnt come with the clay interior nor heat deflector
it should. it’s part of the stock kit
Love the Joe Jr. focus and can't wait to start smoking a beef rib!
Thanks Scott
Hi James - absolutely love your channel and more importantly your great very informative advice .. I am eagerly learning how to use my kamado and to date very happy with my progress mainly thanks to your good self .. one item that I would have a particular interest in is how could I cater for mixed meals ie my better half ( wife ) isn’t really into ribs or beef she loves chicken based meals so my question is how can the Kamado be used to cook more than one types of meal ie chicken and say beef ribs etc at the same time ? Mixed meal theme or utilisation I would a particular interest to many folk I would think ? Best wishes and thanks again for your very informative expertise... john in N Ireland
thanks John. will have more of this type of content in the new year. merry Christmas
Great video! where did you get your meat from?
this cut was from JNG meats in aldershot
@@SmokingDadBBQThanks! I've had trouble finding good beef ribs so I'll have to check out J&G this weekend.
Hey James, what coal are you using in the Jr?
I used jealous devil for this. it’s a lot like big block but a more manageable size for the jr
Awesome cook James definitely need to do video like this since it is my favorite to smoke 👍
Sounds good! Thanks Matt, much appreciated
Joe jr rocks😎🤘
so much fun
Let me ask this. Are there accessories for the Jr. and where can they be found?
I have some of my favourite JR accessories on these two lists
www.amazon.com/ideas/amzn1.account.AFS3OMG3CU2G5HLKT3RMIE2QBCGQ/4QDS27VOXUG2?ref=idea_lv_lole_&type=explore
and
www.amazon.com/ideas/amzn1.account.AFS3OMG3CU2G5HLKT3RMIE2QBCGQ/1WHL0TDSF9YCQ?ref=idea_lv_lole_&type=explore
@@SmokingDadBBQdidn’t see anything other than the Pellet tube that may work and not sure that it would have enough air to stay lit. Can you be more more specific about which accessories will actually work?
Hey James hope all's well, I spoke before about getting a classic and a jr, the jr arrived, still waiting on the classic, practice time for the big stuff. Anyway, I ordered some beef ribs to practice with but mine seem to be quite small compared to yours (just over a kilo or 2.2lb for yourself) what weight are yours in this video if you can remember?
congrats. hmmm these would be more than that, i would have guessed closer to 5
Awesome, I'm new to this so I'm trying to guage what will go on.
Cheers James, keep up the good work.
Amazing, I have to try this on my non-kamado smoker :)
What a great value at $500, and I'm surprised these little jobs are actually portable! New sub, nice channel, cheers.
Enjoy the beef ribs. what of smoker are you using?
@@SmokingDadBBQ Hey, I got into a WSM two years ago, thinking I'd really not use it all too often. Wrong. I've made some great stuff on the WSM, but I really wish I'd been aware of this little guy, I think I'd have been happier. And I even love the colour :D
Robert Rushton haha cheers 🍻
Another great video, thank you. Looking to buy a grill soon and thanks to your vids KJ looks like the way to go (I'm greedy for the Big Joe 3 though!). I'm new to using Meater, and wonder if could you please pin the Meater settings (meat cuts, temp in F or C, etc) you use for your various cooks? These would be great as a quick reference point for all of your cooks! Thanks!
Right on and will do
this ribs looks absolutely delicious! its perfectly cooked on that grill!
wish i could have one tho :D
they came out really really good. thanks so much for liking commenting and subscribing
I am a totally new owner of the Kamado Joe Jr. although I basically don't even eat meat (am in Northern Germany) - I thought I could use iot for guests. However, I did an awesome Brook's Chicken (from a restaurant in Oneonta, upstate NY) and used your information. It was juicy, flavorsome and I messed up the oven because I didn't have a plate to catch the drips - live and learn.- However, I would really like to learn a bit about doing fish, baking bread and dong vegetables on the KJJ. Any possibility o videos on that?
If you buy small kiln stilts (they come in many sizes) and add an extra ceramic shelf (also from kiln suppliers), you can do a double layer. They are resistant to about 1300 to 1400°°C.
ok, I ordered the kick ash basket, as I am taking the joe jr on vacation!
I think you will love it. Helps so much with cooling it down fast, let alone the breathing improvement for normal use
What size did you order ?