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.

Best grill you will ever buy. A 10 pound brisket fits flat. A 14 pound brisket easily fits with the brick trick under the brisket. You won't be disappointed if it arrives in one piece. I was scared when I looked at the condition of the box when it arrived. I got lucky with mine.

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.

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.

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.

We ordered the grill several times through Amazon. Each time it was delivered broken. I finally found a local dealer 45 minutes away. Love the grill, but wish it could have been delivered in one piece.

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

This is the first grill of this style I bought. It is awesome. I was worried about how long it use to take to get a grill ready to cook, with the hard lump charcoal it is ready in 10 minutes. I have smoked a brisket, grilled steaks, smoked chicken, and smoked and grilled fish - all of it was great. Never going back to a gas grill again. Looking forward to smoking some ribs soon. These are becoming popular now and I see why. It's pricy but worth it?

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.

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.

I love this primo smoker. easy learning curve. does seem to smoke meats faster than most so be sure to
use temp probe

My primo grill, once I got one that wasn't broken, buy from your local store, works flawlessly

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!

it's my favorite thing to cook on. everything tastes better. all I had to do is figure out the vent and daisy wheel for temp control.

Bought this for my dad and he seems quite happy with it!

I order one of these and the first one arrived cracked, I ordered a replacement and the top part was damaged. I cannot really comment on the product. The packaging is absolute horrendous

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.

i talked to the vendor, his company is a-one. very helpful, kind, and caring.
i recieved the grill in perfect condition today.
the vendor wanted me to call him, to make sure i was satified.

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.

The Primo Oval JR falls in the category of ceramic grill/smoker. This group is inspired by the Japanese kamado grills. The most famous of these is probably the Big Green Egg. They provide a number of benefits:

1. Ability to maintain a wide range of temperatures, allowing low/slow smoking at 210 degrees to high temperature searing at 700+ degrees.
2. Efficient use of charcoal and wood, using less fuel than similarly sized traditional grills also allowing for longer cooks without having to add additional coals.
3. Heavy sides insulate and capture heat, allowing for stable temperatures and protecting from exterior winds and cold to keep consistent heat.
4. Contain moisture, which is great for keeping your meats tender and juicy.

There are downsides to ceramic grills too:

1. They are heavy and thus harder to move around
2. Being ceramic, they are fragile. From the forums, a large % break in shipping so its good to get one that is backed by a good manufacturer. The top ones, including Primo are known to stick behind their products.
3. They are expensive compared to traditional grills for the same cook area.

There are three things that differentiate the Primo in my mind (getting tired of lists yet? :) )

1. They are oval, which is very handy for cooking long things like a brisket, as well as cooking two different types of food on each side of the grill, including doing indirect cooking on one side and direct on the other.)
2. They have more accessories than many of the other manufacturers, including additional levels of racks, the indirect heating 'plates', etc. Just more ways to get better utility out of your grill.
3. They are made in the USA, which is nice both to support local manufacturing but also because I'm more and more skeptical about letting anything made in China touch my food these days.

Okay. That's enough lists for a bit. This review is specifically about the Primo Jr. I spent a good bit of time deciding between the JR and XL. The difference in cooking area is significant with the XL having 2x as much cooking area. That said, I can cook two full sized briskets on a JR, and can easily feed six people. In addition, I have a Masterbuilt electric smoker and you can find my review for that on Amazon at well (a great great tool for the price), so if I want to mix smoking and grilling can always just use the JR to grill while smoking on the Masterbuilt to extend my capacity. If you really want to cook for a crowd you're going to want to look at the XL. Otherwise I presume the review will match well.

Let me summarize the rest of this review thusly: This grill is awesome. Its easy to get the grill to the temperature you want and maintain it. At high temps you can sear and cook steaks in minutes. At medium temperatures you can do poultry and vegetables that are delicious and infused with that flavor you only get from real wood lump charcoal, while staying moist and tender. At low temps you've got a smoker that can keep up with pros for making bbq and will meet all your needs. Wow.

The fact is, all kamado style grills are going to have very similar properties, so it really comes down to the details. I very much like the oval shape of the Primo. It gives me a bit more flexibility. Will I need the oval shape every cook? No. But when I want to cook two different foods at the same time perhaps with racks at different heights or one indirect, I can. Or if I want to do a big brisket which would be awkward on a similarly sized circular kamado, I have no problem. If you're getting a kamado you're spending a premium of $$$ already. I don't want to spend that premium and then have to compromise on utility.

The big way the Masterbuilt spoiled me is the simple way you can add additional wood in the middle of a cook. This is the only real way I can mark the Primo down. If you're doing a 12 hour smoke and your lump has burnt down, you have a bit of a bother adding more wood. You're going to have this with a lot of grills, not just Primos. The mitigating factor is that fuel efficiency I mentioned that you get from ceramic grills. If you're cooking at low temperatures a single load of charcoal should easily take you 10+ hours. And after a cook, all you have to do is close the vents and any remaining lump can sit for your next cook.

Everything else is just practice, and gaskets can wear over time particularly if you do high temp cooks and don't take care of flares when opening the grill. But the gaskets are easy and cheap enough to replace.

Overall, if you're waffling like I was you're going to love it once you try one of these. You can't really go wrong with any of the kamado style grills. I think the next generation of grill to compete with them is the Big Steel Keg category grill which is an insulated steel variant of the kamado, which has many of the same benefits while being significantly lighter and more durable allowing them to be transported. One of those will likely be my next toy, particularly when they come down a couple hundred. For now though, if you want a ceramic style grill for your backyard you really can't do better than a Primo. The oval shape is unique and gives some clear advantages in many situations, their various accessories give even more flexibility and like I said, they are made in the USA without being any more expensive than their circular competitors.

The only downside I can say about any of these ceramic grills is the real premium you have to pay in $$$ over traditional lump grills, but I can't mark the Primo down a star for that as they aren't any more expensive than any of their competitors. In the end, I have to say its certainly worth what I paid and that's the final measure.

A hearty 5 star, for a grill and smoker that can be a great tool for a serious cook and make it easy for a newbie to prepare delicious food that'll impress family and friends.

I've owned an Oval Junior for three years. I did not buy it on Amazon. I live in South Carolina and grill sits outside, but covered all year. But here's the rub...Since owning I've seen many things I don't like. They include ....Metal handle gets extremely hot when cooking or in hot sun. When using an ash took there is not a straight pass through, such that the only way to properly remove all ash is to lift out the interior ceramic heat box, which is pain. Never had to do this with a Green Egg. Biggest ding by far has to do with part's replacement. Since buying had to replace the following: The cooking grates because of peeling and rusting, the metal chimney cap because of rusting, the seal because of decay, the thermometer due to fogging, not-to-mention the cracked interior ceramic heat shell (multiple hairline cracks) and the cover that is ripping.. Primo has never agreed to replace any parts under warranty, so in three years have purchased over $400 in replacement parts for a grill used sparingly. In a cruel sense of irony, to avoid the new chimney also rusting out I've purchased a Green Egg ceramic cap to use on the Primo when sitting idle. Having previously owned a Green Egg, I'm thinking about selling this Primo and taking that path again. Nothing about it particularly stands out as being better and Primo wont support buyers with part's replacement they way it's competitors do...

I have had my primo for 5 years now. I bought it at a BBQ store(about a 2 hour drive), but I buy all of my accessories here on amazon because it is easier. I had a bit of a learning curve, but after two times got the hang of it. The food was amazing. I bought a looft lighter, and the thing is ready to go in 5 minutes. I have replaced the gasket once because I walked away and left the vents open and it got up to about 500-600 degrees and flamed up and melted it in one spot, easy fix. A had a few screws started to rust on my second year and they set me new ones I just e-mailed them and sent pictures of the ones I needed. I am a multi tasker and I am usually cooking 3 other things besides my meat, so I did invest in the digital-Q 4cpm fan. It inserts where the intake vent is and you just set the temp. and a tiny fan goes on and off to keep it at the set temp.....works great. I don't have the luxury of sitting around a grill for 8-12 hours making sure it is at 225. I believe there is even a wireless version you can check and adjust while at work. That is serious multi-tasking....getting paid while smoking dinner! You will smell, like a danger campfire when done but the food just can't be beat. Pizza is delicious in this also, get the pizza stone! Smoked mac and cheese, and baked beans are awesome on this grill as well. Wood lasts forever. It takes a long time for the temp. To go down because it is so insulated so you have to watch it, it just creeps down. I got the metal stand with the two side tables, which workA well and takes up little,space when the sides are folded down. Make sure you cover it when not in use, water can get inside if it rains hard. Get yourself some pit gloves, and you are all set!

After two years a portion of the ceramic bottom piece seperated allowing the top to fall off and break into 50 pieces. Primo charged me $250 shipping for ceramic upper and lower pieces.
This is a reoccurring issue with Primo. I know three people that had the same issue.
I would be very cautious about your primo as the top could fall and hurt somebody.

I got my Primo Jr. for xmas last year and I've loved everything I've cooked on it. Perfect steaks, juicy burgers, and even my first attempt at slow smoking a boston butt for pulled pork came out stellar. I used to have a small weber, but have since thrown it in the garbage. This thing holds temperature like a champ, and its easy to create a hot and cool zone for searing/finishing meats. I can't speak for a green egg comparison as I've never used one, but the Primo definitely does everything you could ever want to do on a grill. I built my own table for it as the primo brand ones were a bit pricey. Due to its shape (its not as deep as most kamado style grills) it has a tendency to tip over with the lid open, so investing in some sort of table/cart is a must.

Love my oval XL. Made in USA and have had it for 6 years and still love it.

I received the grill in a very basic single ply cardboard box sitting on a piece of foam and a cardboard collar over the top of the grill stack. I was amazed that the grill was not broken, beyond that there were several issues with the packing material as screws were scattered around the box, screws were missing altogether the lid was not attached and the main issue was that the site indicated that the grill ships with 4 ceramic feet but I was told by Primo that they no longer include the ceramic feet (what would you expect for $800?) and were sold separately.

Additionally the instructions are crap indicating wrong wrench sizes for assembly, not addressing installation of several components of the grill. I contacted customer service by email twice (no response) and by phone at Primo and was basically told too bad we don't include the feet and we are not to concerned with your other issues.

Awesome grill! It excels at everything I've done with it! I'm a serious BBQer and this grill is amazing. I just smoked a brisket for 18 hrs at 200 deg overnight, that was the best brisket I've ever eaten; and after 18 hrs the charcoal was still burning! I really don't know what to say about this, using it is believing it! It cooks steaks, briskets, chicken, pork, fish, pizza, bread and paella to perfection. Oh, and you can even grill burgers and dogs on it! Temperature can be easily adjusted between 180 to 700 and then keeps it there! The grill is pretty much set and forget, get your fire going and the temperature set and kich back with a brew until its done.

The gaskets will melt with a serious steak searing pizza baking fire in the pot, but they're fairly inexpensive and easy enough to replace. I'm replacing mine with the Nomex gasket from High Que?

I have owned my primo for 5 years. Somehow the lower half cracked on me. Sent email to primo and got immediate response. Within a week, I had a brand new shell covered under warranty. Inquired about some new hardware bolts for hinge, sent me entire hinge assembly with new hardware. Their warranty claims service is definite 5 stars. Just call their contact number and ask for Tamissa. She went above and beyond to get me back grilling

I pride myself in what I can do on the grill. I have a friend with a kamado who loves it but was a gas grill guy before his kamado so I wasn't to fast to trust his opinion.
I do not regret spending the money on the primo. The way it holds a temperature and smokes meats are incredible. The primo has more attachments and cool stuff than the egg or others that I researched before buying.

There may be something I don't understand, but I can't get it up to heat. Tops out about 250 to 300 F and goes up and down in temp with various openings of flue and chimney. I have looked at YouTube videos. If anyone knows what I am doing wrong, please email me at charlestonlegal@gmail.com.