Amazon.com: Customer reviews: Primo 774 Ceramic Charcoal Smoker Grill, Oval Junior

Primo 774 Ceramic Charcoal Smoker Grill, Oval Junior

Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2012

I love this grill. Most of my cooking is smoking and this thing does a wonderful job. I cooked a 12 lb. boston butt this weekend for 16 hrs. at 225 degrees and still had 1/3 of the lump charcoal left in the firebox. Super flavor and juicy. Best pulled pork I've ever had. Unit is pricey but no more than good gas grills "Weber". And like I say "Very Efficient". I Normally save the left over charcoal for use my chimney starter for the next cook then clean the ash out of the firebox with my wet/dry vac. You can cook plenty of food for 3-4 people with this grill and have left overs.If I cook a whole brisket or butt for my son and myself I have enough food to eat all week and still give some to friends or put in the freezer. I have 2 other smokers, electric Masterbilt and a Smoky Mtn. propane but this one is by far the best for smoking meat. With all the accessories, "reflector plates, extended cooking racks, and drip pan racks". This grill is a superior design. The temp guage is decent but for serious smoking use a digital thermometer that monitors the cavity and meat temps together such as the Maverick. Get one..you won't be sorry.

18 people found this helpful

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Steve Shiflett

Controlled cooking = great food!

Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2012

Size: JuniorVerified Purchase

This little wood oven is easy to use - attractive and enjoyable. Because it's ceramic, it's easy to keep clean. I got the remote temperature gauge recommended by another reviewer ( Maverick Wireless BBQ Thermometer Set - Maverick ET732 - ) so my meat comes out perfect each time. It is a delight to sit in a chair with a drink and monitor the temperature of the Primo and the meat cooking! The cost of charcoal is slight and it lasts a long time. Shutting up the vents will allow you to use the un-burned fuel next time. For a smoky flavor, I toss in a small piece of oak about 2" by 1/2". (I cut up branches on my chop saw for that purpose). I ordered a pizza stone and am looking forward to cooking Nan - it's easy to get the thing crazy hot with the charcoal by adjusting the vent and the amount of charcoal in the cooker. Oh - the grates are very heavy and have a ceramic coating so they stay clean easily.

11 people found this helpful

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Jonnyb

A good grill/smoker

Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2012

Size: JuniorVerified Purchase

It is a good grill/smoker. I'm glad I bought the smaller less expensive one. I would buy the larger one if I was entraining more than 4 people often. Also I am glad I bought several of the accessories. Like the diverter plates, extra grill for the top (remember these are sold individually!), the catch pan rack and the tool to handle the grills when hot. Wished I would have bought the clean out tool but I will make something to work.

There is a learning curve that you will have to go through to control the heat and amount of wood/fuel to use. Also the outlet vent does not seal as well as I thought it would and it "gums" up quickly making it difficult to use and clean. The meat does retain more of its own juices as promised. It is heavy and I do recommend building or buying a table to go with it because it is very top heavy and can fall over easily when the internal components are removed and the lid opened.

Shipping: the free shipping was done by a freight company due to the weight. The first grill arrived shattered. It had been turned upside down during transit. So I was lucky I was there to check the package before accepting it. The good news was that I called Amazon and they replaced it immediately and shipped it ASAP. I have ordered the table to go with it and the bad news is that it is now ten days overdue. When I called UPS they said it required special handling and could not tell me when it would be delivered. Definitely keep this in mind when ordering the table!

11 people found this helpful

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Yellowjacket

A quality product which produces great results.

Reviewed in the United States on August 20, 2015

Size: LargeVerified Purchase

I was a little hesitant to spend so much on a BBQ, but the first rib roast I cooked made a believer out of me. Cooked perfectly; tender, flavorful, and juicy, like I've never been able to produce in my conventional oven. Wish I had one of these twenty years ago. I contacted Primo a couple of times for some information, they were great, responding with real answers by email the next day. I chose Primo because the ceramics are made in USA, which restricts the kind of materials they could use in the manufacture. Other brands, made overseas might not be held to as high a standard. I look forward to a beautiful relationship with my Primo ceramic grill for many years to come.

15 people found this helpful

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Michael P. Miller

Easily Breakable - Costly Mistake

Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2013

Size: JuniorVerified Purchase

I order this grill from Amazon who sold it directly -- two times and both arrived broken. The packaging is fairly minimal and the box was obviously abused by the shipping company. I'm not trying a third time.

In addition, I ordered a few accessories thru Amazon, but from 3rd party sellers. Now I have to try to get them to take these accessories back and for sure I will pay for the shipping. Some are cast iron and the costs will not be small. Let's not even get into the time I will spend trying to track all this thru my credit card company.

So Amazon sent me damaged products, repeatedly, and cost me money and time. I'm looking into the metal version of the kamodo grill.

11 people found this helpful

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M. F. Morrison

The grill may be great, but they cannot deliver without breaking

Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2013

Size: JuniorVerified Purchase

After reading about the Primo and having a Komodo grill, I was looking forward to recieving this one. We live 2 hours from any retailer for this type of grill (Primo, BGE, etc.) so delivery was a deciding factor. Unfortunely, the other reviews were correct. The new grill arrived busted up. The packaging was very poor. Basically, the 118 lbs grill was placed in a single-ply cardboard box. Given other reviews, we did not letter the driver leave until we confirmed the condition, so we simply refused delivery. Amazon was great as they immediately gave a full refund. If you decide to order one of these, make sure you check the box before signing for delivery.

14 people found this helpful

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on the river

Two Broken Grills

Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2013

Size: JuniorVerified Purchase

I can confirm that the packaging on these is not at all adequate. My first arrived with a hairline fracture in the bottom half and the inner bowl split. The replacement arrived completely shattered. I was not around for either delivery: I may try again while I am on vacation and open the box before the driver leaves. Amazon was great about refunding my money, but it just seems wrong to keep mailing me broken grills at 760 dollars a pop.

13 people found this helpful

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pjnola

Precision control

Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2013

Size: JuniorVerified Purchase

My father decided I should have a big green egg, and wrote me a nice big check to buy it (Thanks!). But it turned out that his very generous donation wasn't enough to cover the cost of a BGE, so I did a little research and found the Primo.

The BGE is widely considered the premier ceramic grill, and I admit I was a little worried that I might be buying an inferior knock-off. But now that I'vs had the Primo for a while, it turns out I needn't have worried. The Primo gives you great quality and precision. Want to smoke a Boston butt at 200 degrees for 16 hours? This will do it. Want to sear a steak at 600 degrees? The Primo will do that, too. And the check that was too small for the BGE got me the Primo, a bunch of accessories, and the lumber and casters to build a nice, sturdy table.

19 people found this helpful

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John St John

Tipping Problem

Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2011

Size: JuniorVerified Purchase

Let me get the bad stuff out of the way first, since overall I love my Primo Junior.

When I first got the Primo I set it up on a stand in the place it will go once I complete the outdoor cooking station I'm building. I was quite surprised to find that with the lid open a slight push on the lid would cause the Primo to start tipping over backward. I thought perhaps the hinge mechanism required some adjustment to prevent the lid from going going back too far, and promptly called the manufacturer. The woman I spoke to didn't seem too anxious to help, but suggested I take a picture of the Primo and e-mail it to their warranty department. I did so, and received a form response saying I would hear from them shortly. That was more than a month ago, and I have yet to get anything.

However, the Primo is set next to a wall (or I should say 10" from a wall, which is the minimum clearance), and I was able to use some 2 x 4s to build a simple wedge structure that supports the Primo just under the lip on either side of the hinge. This solved the tipping problem. Nevertheless, this is a seriouds issue. I imagine the tipping is avoided if the optional stand or table is purchased, but the manufacturer needs to alert purchasers to this potential problem.

That being said, let me say that all the good things people say about the Primo, and kamados in general, are absolutely true. I've done over a dozen cooks, and the result in each case was great.

Unless you are a very experienced cook I would strongly recommend that you purchase a digital food thermometer such as the Maverick ET732. Mine works great, and in my opinion it's essential to getting quality results.

Also, unless you intend to limit yourself to steaks and hamburgers (and if so you shouldn't be spending the money for a kamado) you'll need to get the D plates and their supports to do indirect cooking.

As you might expect, there's a bit of a learning curve in using the top and bottom vents, but it's not steep. Just remember that it's a lot easier to raise the temperature than it is to cool it down.

The oval shape of the Primo gives it an advantage over round kamados, not only because food items are often oval-shaped (e.g., a turkey), but because you can use just one half of the Primo if you're cooking only a couple of steaks or burgers (you'll want to get the optional divider for this). I think the Junior is the perfect size for a small family. If you plan to do a lot of entertaining then you should opt for the XL if you have the space.

One special note. I got the pizza stone just as an afterthought, and didn't get around to doing a pizza until a few days ago. My wife and I both agreed it was as good as we've ever had in any restaurant. Plus, you can use top-quality ingredients, and the recipes online are endless. So definitely invest in the pizza stone.

Lastly, something needs to be said about the aesthetics of the Primo. It's shape and texture are a strong contrast to the cheap pressed metal of your classic BBQ. While it might not rise to the level of an objet d'art, it is nevertheless quite easy on the eye.

46 people found this helpful

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TomTom

smokes are all wonderfully done with this Kamado

Reviewed in the United States on August 15, 2014

Size: JuniorVerified Purchase

I received my Primo Oval JR April and have been grilling 3/4 times weeks since then. Slow cooks, quick high temp sears, smokes are all wonderfully done with this Kamado. Lots and lots and lots of accessories are needed but are reasons why Primo is a great alternative compared to the BGE. If your feeding a large group of 6+ i would say use a propane grill and not an oval XL. Much easier but for a small group, this is the way to go for great flavor.

THINGS NEEDED
-Temp probe with remote screen
-High temp grilling gloves, leather NOT silicon
-reflector plates
-reflector plate holders/drip rack holder
-BBQ dragon
-Coal hook

16 people found this helpful

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