Kamado Joe Accessory Rack Use

It is a funny shape and most KJ owners put it into a drawer never to be seen again. I thought it might be helpful to ask the BBQ community how they use theirs and I was happy to get many great responses. The accessory rack that comes with most of these porcelain smokers do have uses. Some intended by the manufacturer and others that are rather creative. Let’s take a look at the examples below.

Wok Cooking

Quite probably the best use of its design, the rack can hold a wok quite well. Its circular ring is perfect because it can accommodate a wide variety of sizes and allow a great holder to keep the pan in place while attending to the food. While most woks have rounded bottoms, this can make for a difficult time sitting on the grate.

wok cast iron kj
Cast Iron Wok. Photo courtesy of: Jeff Nelson
kamado joe cast iron wok

Sometimes referred to as an X Rack, the Kamado Joe Accessory Rack is intended to be used as a holder for their Cast Iron Wok. The round circle is meant to hold the pan in place.

Woks are generally tipped to the side a bit while the cook tends to the food and they are sometimes vigorously handled. The use of utensils are rapidly worked through the food so this provides a very stable platform. This style of cooking works well for direct heat, open fire cooking. What you end up with is a pan you can manipulate well and return to the holder as needed.

One thing to keep in mind is you do not want to use handles such as wood or plastic as the heat is not focused on the bottom of the pan only like a stove burner. Try to get an all metal pan and be careful not to burn your hands or pot holder as you tend to it.

Second Deflector

accessory rack for second deflector
Second Deflector.
Photo courtesy of: Phillip Ainsley

If you have multiple plates or even a pizza stone, I have seen some of my fellow barbecue enthusiasts utilize the rack to provide a second layer of deflection and therefore disperse the indirect flames and keep the cooking environment at a more evenly spread heat.

While I have not tried this myself, other group members say it works surprisingly well.

Drip Pans

Since you want to avoid drippings from your meat falling directly on the deflector plates, it is a good idea to use a drip pan of some sort. The rack provides a good place to set one that allows space between the plates and the pan itself while allowing your meat to sit on the grates above everything else. In doing so you prevent the acrid flavors from searing grease falling directly on the stone to infuse into your BBQ and in some roasts you can even utilize the drippings for making a gravy or what have you.

roast drippings vegetable pan kamado
Pan catching the drippings.
Photo courtesy of: Michael Levinson

This ingenious photo above is utilizing a pan full of potatoes being cooked while catching the juices from the roast above. Again, sitting on the rack allows it to be placed slightly above the plates. Otherwise it would receive the full heat of the stone and be more likely to burn the food in the pan.

Use for Dutch Ovens

I have to admit, I have seen many people using the rack for Dutch Oven stews or chili while others lay paella pans on top of them. I am a safety first person and in my opinion, you can utilize the grill grates at the same heights above the coals and have a more stable, completely flat surface to work on.

While I have seen some pans that fit well into the rack because the size of the pot was well suited to the circle, I have seen others that are larger than the circle. The balancing acts seem to be a risky proposition and unnecessary.

For me, the solution would seem more practical in just using the Kamado grill grates. With a wok, you can use the rack to keep the pan in place, but the flat bottom of a Dutch Oven or paella pan make this unnecessary. It can easily sit on the rack as if it were in your kitchen oven. To me this is safer and allows more freedom to pull the pot closer to you and avoid keeping your hands over the coals for too long exposing them to the fire.

Accessory Rack Dimensions

Realistically the reason people usually want to know what the size is, is because they are trying to determine if they can fit their pan inside to hold it. For the Kamado Joe Classic, the overall length is about 18.125″ x 18.125″. The inner circle is just a little under 10″.

kamado joe accessory rack

Kamado Joe Classic Accessory Rack

Heavy Duty KJ-Wok