Char-Griller® AKORN® Jr. Portable Kamado Charcoal Grill and Smoker with Cast Iron Grates and Locking Lid with 155 Cooking Square Inches in Black, Model E56714

Nice little grill. I use it as an inexpensive pizza oven. Heats up well, put ceramic heat baffle in, then pizza stone. Get to 500 degrees and start sliding pizza on. A few minutes later - great pizza!Recommended grill. It is small, low standing, and would not compete with the bigger more expensive grills - but it is great for what it is.Setup was easy, it all fit well and I had lump coal in the grill after about 30 minutes!Recommended

I cannot say enough good things about about this grill. My first ceramic, non-propane grill and I couldn't be happier. In fact, I plan to sell mine to a neighbor and purchase the Kamado Jr. Once you learn the particulars on how to control the heat your grilling experiences will never be the same. The versatility allows me to cook low and slow with consistent temperature or a beautiful sear on a steak. Even the heat deflector gives the best pizza. I also got the lump charcoal by Chargrill, heat deflector, Acorn cover and grilling gloves. If you have limited space or just starting out, try the Acorn you will love it.

Takes a bit to figure out the temperature controls and you need more charcoal than you think (or at least as I initially thought). Have made the best steak we’ve ever made at home with a combo of smoking and grilling, fantastic smoked salsa, amazing cedar plank grilled salmon, and delicious hamburgers so far. Plenty for two to four people but more than that and you will probably need multiple grilling times. Barely fits the pizza stone we have so ended up using the smoker stone we bought from Char-Griller.

This is our 3rd Acorn grill. We take off the short feet and replace them with 1 1/2” dowel rods. This puts the grill at the same height as a standard grill. Cooks just enough for two people plus does not consume much charcoal fuel too. Makes a great 1” steak by cooking at 500 degrees and flipping it every minute for a total of 6-8 flips depending on the season. Grill has the best flavor using big block lump style in a small grill.

This grill is great for a family of 4 or for taking camping. It’s heavy duty and well built. Just takes a little maintenance to keep the cast iron grate in good shape. Don’t forget to season it. The grill was a little too short so I used conduit extensions and sprayed the legs black. This little guy can get hot so don’t add too much coal.

I love that it does not rust. the performance is great. It was easy to assembly. And the value for the money is well worth it

Other than portability this is a great cooker too. Temps are easy to control with a big enough grill to cook for four people. I have the heat diffuser that allow us to bake bread in our Dutch oven and have made the best beef roast that I have ever had. The only negative that I have is the weight gain because I really love the taste of the food. Try it, you'll like it too. Almost a year later and I still love this grill/smoker. I cook almost every day on this grill and I have had zero problems with it. The variety of food that can be cooked on this grill is almost endless. I do recommend the stainless steel heat diverter as when in use with it in place the grill is the closest thing to an oven but outdoors. I recently purchased the larger grill for use at home. It also impresses me.

There are a lot of reviews that go in depth on the cooking, so i’ll just focus on a couple things.Consider keeping it under an overhang or splurge for a cover. When it rains, the teardrop shape collects water in the ash receptacle at the bottom. Like, a lot of water can end up in there.The first time you assemble it, be sure to lock the ash collector in place with the buckles before you move it. I overlooked this and when i picked it up, the ash collector slid out of place and smashed into my floor, putting a big dent in the bottom of the piece.Otherwise, works great. Way better than a smokey joe.