What Is a Kamado Grill

What Is a Kamado Grill?

In Grill Guides & Buying Advice by marketninjas

Move over Benihana! The Kamado grill is giving the hibachi a run for the money. Newer and far more advanced than its cast iron cousin, the kamado is a Godzilla sized take on the ancient Japanese tradition of cooking in clay vessels. Clay is known for its moisture and heat retaining properties. Although it may have had more than a few bells and whistles added in the last 3,000 or so years, the kamado grill is basically just a new spin on an old classic and it’s bringing a range of possibilities to the cooking range with it.

Kamado Joe Classic II

One of the biggest advantages of the kamado grill is its versatility. It can go from smoking a piece of meat to baking to high temp searing while still miraculously managing to deliver a mean wood fire pizza. And when it comes to bringing the heat, the Kamado is not playing around. The kamado is fueled by lump charcoal, which is known to burn hotter and longer than other fuel sources (low and slow, anyone?). Add to that the kamado’s ability to retain heat, and you’ve got 12 hours of pure endurance.

Are all Kamado Grills the Same?

Remember Humpty Dumpty? That egg-shaped guy that had the bad experience falling off the wall? That’s sort of what every Kamado grill looks like – they’re all big and egg-shaped and they all generally work the same as well. They all function as ovens, grills, and smokers in one and they all create a heat trapped environment, but that’s about where the similarities end. Here’s a little kamado background to help you get a better idea of where the differences start.

Are Ceramic Grills Better?

Most Kamado grills are ceramic. Kamado purists swear by ceramic. It’s a fantastic choice because it’s an excellent insulator and can hold in heat at both high and low temperatures. However, there is that old Humpty Dumpty issue to worry about. Ever hear the expression the larger they come the harder they fall? The ceramic grills are very heavy and very fragile and moving them around can be a very costly mistake. Thankfully, the more upscale models come with warranty protection against cracking.

However, there are some steel kamados giving the ceramics a run for the money. The Broil King and the Char Broiler have been receiving good reviews and Blaze has recently manufactured an aluminum model. Proponents of these lighter weight models cite benefits such as the portability and durability.

Grilling Space

If at first glance the grilling space on kamado seems a bit underwhelming, just wait until you get it out of the box. This grill has more hidden compartments than James Bond’s suitcase. While kamados do come in a wide range of sizes, the larger ones tend to be on the heavy side. Think of the egg Mork from Ork hatched from for reference.

However, many grills come with primary and secondary cooking surfaces that double your cooking space and ways to create different cooking zones using one grate. Because of the unique way the heat circulates inside the Kamado you can actually cook things on the secondary grate as opposed to just warming them, although it will be at a slightly lower temperature than the primary grate due to its proximity to the fire.

Another consideration you may want to keep in mind when buying a kamado is the space around you. If you need somewhere to put your seasonings, sauces, utensils, etc. while your grilling you may want to look for something with sides or a table included.

The Kamado Grill Vs. The Big Green Egg: A Slow and Low Showdown

If you’re looking to buy a kamado grill, you probably have a lot of questions such as, “What is this Big Green Egg that we speak of, and more importantly does it come with ham?” You may also have been hearing a lot about this Kamado Joe guy and wondering why he seems like such a BMOC when it comes to grilling.

As you’ve probably guessed the Big Green Egg and the Kamado Joe are both types of grills and two of the most popular. Here is a little more info on them: we’ll let you pick the winner.

The Kamado Joe Classic II Kamado Grill Amazon

Kamado Joe is pretty much every griller’s best bud. You can always count on him to deliver high-quality products that get the job done. His latest model is the Classic II and can you say amazing? How do we love thee Kamado Classic II? Let us count the ways.

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  • It comes with everything you need to start grilling so you don’t have to buy add-ons
  • It has a “feather touch” airlift hinge, so the dome is much easier to lift
  • Its “divide and conquer flexible cooking system” doubles your cooking space and allows you to cook different foods at once at different temperatures.
  • Its patented “Kontrol Tower” aluminum top is rust and rainproof and lets you control the air flow.
  • The “excellent seal” gets our excellent seal of approval.

Big Green Egg

Big Green Egg may win for the best name of a kamado grill, but that doesn’t make it the best kamado grill on the market today, especially when you consider its $1000 dollar price tag (what??)  Many people are familiar with the Big Green Egg because it pretty much started the kamado revolution here in America. It developed quite a following and with good reason. It featured a fantastic grill, redefined the term low and slow, was made of high-quality materials and came with a huge batch of accessories (hence the 1K price tag – some may argue this was part of its downfall).

However, while it may have set the bar for kamado grills, it failed to raise it. When Kamado Joe came along with its innovative changes, the BGE made no moves to keep up. While still a class act, the BGE may need to get crackin’ if it wants to maintain its role as a major player.

FYI: The BGE isn’t available online. You’ll have to find a registered dealer to buy it in your area. Learn more about it at BigGreenEgg.com.

Best Kamado Grill Accessories

Even if your kamado grill comes with all that, you may want all that and more. After all, an artist needs his tools, right? One of the biggest advantages of kamado grills is their ability to smoke, char and sear. If you want to do each to perfection, the right accessories are a must. Here are kamado grill accessories that are worth adding to your collection.

Best Grate: Kamado Big Joe Half Moon Cooking Grate at Home Depot

For the greatest grate in kamado history, we highly recommend stopping by the Home Depot Kamado Grill Department. Remember that Big Joe “divide and conquer flexibility?” This grate is a key part of the strategy. The half rack design replaces the full rack to allow for multilevel cooking and multi-surface cooking as well. It’s also made from stainless steel which won’t stain or rust.

Best Starter: Kamado Joe KJ-ES Electric Starter on Amazon

C’mon baby, light my fire. Not so fast when you have a ceramic grill. Ceramic grills shouldn’t be lighter fluid and charcoal chimneys can make quite a mess. As long as you’ve got an outlet, this 600-watt starter on the Kamado Joe Electric will do the deed in no time flat.

Best Pizza Stone: Kamado Joe Pizza Stone 20” on Amazon

Making pizza? Here’s a tip for the delivery boy. When your cooking on a kamado it takes a pizza stone to distribute moisture and keep that crispy crust authenticity. Kamado’s Joe’s Pizza Stone on Amazon will get you that authentic, wood-fired pizzeria style pizza – the toppings are up to you. Use with the Kamado Joe Heat Deflector to avoid burning.

Kamado Grill Recipes

Now that you’ve got your grill and all your fancy accessories, it’s time to get cooking. With so many choices, it can be hard to pick just one. That’s why we’ve picked out two of our favorites to get you started.

Kamado BBQ Chicken Wings

Want to make some mean chicken wings that would make Popeye’s go back to spinach?  Kamado cooking keeps chicken moist, tender, and delicious with no flare-ups guaranteed.

Ingredients:

  • 5 lbs. chicken wings
  • BBQ seasoning
  • Seasoning salt
  • Pepper
  • BBQ sauce

Directions:

  1. Season chicken wings. Let set in the refrigerator for a minimum of 30 mins, 4 hours maximum.
  2. Build the fire on one side of the grill. Set temperature between 200 – 250. Place wings on the other side of the grill and sprinkle with a bit more BBQ seasoning. Close the lid and leave for about 1 hour.
  3. Return and turn the wings over. Close the lid and turn again in 45 minutes. Wait about half an hour and slather with BBQ sauce. Wings should be done at this point. Shut the grill down and let them set for another 15 minutes.

Kamado Grill Bacon Brussel Sprouts

What do you take when you mix one the world’s healthiest foods with one of the world’s least healthy food? You might say a balanced diet, but we say kamado grill bacon Brussel sprouts. See below for the recipe.

Ingredients:

  • 26-30 Brussel sprouts
  • 1 lb thick cut bacon

Directions:

  • Remove excess leaves from Brussels sprouts. Wash in cool water. Place on a paper towel to drain excess water.
  • Cut bacon in half.
  • Wrap bacon around Brussel sprouts and secure with a toothpick.
  • Set your kamado grill for a steady 225 degrees. Place bacon wraps over direct heat. Cook for 30 minutes and check on them regularly during cooking time. Cook until Brussel sprouts are tender (about an hour and a half). Move them from direct heat to allow the bacon to crisp.

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