Disclaimer -- I own a Kamado (and love it)

A brief history, as I understand it, which may not be true. "Kamado" was a name coined by Richard Johnson when he started importing soft clay cookers from Japan.It doesn't mean anything in Japanese, but derives from mushikamado, a rice cooker. Richard started using temperature-stable ceramics (ok, special concrete, basically). Some of the production of shell was done overseas. When, for a variety of reasons, including political "instability," as it is politely termed, he moved production to Sacramento, the original contract producer decided to go into competition, selling originally on eBay. The material and build quality of those cookers was, in my opinion, noticeably and functionally inferior. There are several companies that sell "egg-shaped" cookers with Kamado-like names out there now, too many to comment on.

I respect BGE for choosing a non-confusing name, as well as being very effective in their marketing. Their product is well built and I enjoy cooking on one. What the Kamado-brand provides over the BGE is a much thicker shell; more thermal mass, more stable temperatures when smoking. Some argue that the Kamado, with its thicker shell, cooks more evenly due to radiative heating from all angles (like an oven). I also like the pool-tile finish of the Kamado much better. Shoot, if I'm spending over $1000 on a grill, I want it to look decent.

I have the #7 (grill size of the big Weber kettle), stainless steel grill, grill stacker, and second grill. I can smoke more ribs in a single batch than I can get people into the house to eat. The dome is large enough that the 25# turkey that we generally smoke fits with tons of room to spare.

I also have the gas option, not to cook with, but to start the charcoal. A 10# tank of propane lasts me months and months, and is a lot easier to move than the standard ones.

I use a 14" baking stone (I forget the maker, but its generally available) and a 14" pizza tray on the lower bracket for a heat diffuser when I'm smoking. It will maintain 225 deg for 36-48 hours on a load of charcoal. While one can easily monitor the temperature and keep it stable within 5-10 deg "by hand," I like not to have to tend things constantly during my usual 6-hour rib smoke, so I use a product called a "BBQ Guru" which uses a thermocouple and a small fan to modulate airflow and very accurately control temperature.

The outer surfaces stay "touchable" even with I have it fired up to 600 or 700 deg for searing steaks or pizza. On the casters that came with the base, it is possible to roll it over a not-so-new concrete pad. Replacing the casters with ones with larger wheels would help that, but I've never gotten frustrated enough to do that.

Richard and his family have since moved to Enscenada, MX and produce the product there. It is still a small "family business" which has the advantages of being able to oversee production and improve product. They have never been great at returning phone calls, if you do try to call them. Once you get them, they are super helpful though!

Their charcoal used to be great. When I ran through my last pallet, I checked since the names had changed since I last ordered. Naked Whiz reviews didn't think much of the new versions. I now use Lazzari mesquite and am looking for a hardwood blend as well for smoking when the mesquite flavor isn't quite right.

Here is a link that might be useful: Kamado History

sfjeff: great information. I love the idea behind the ceramic style smoker. Down in Georgia we are in BGE country, so it's the one we hear about, and it's nice to hear the counterpoint. I've been in the "heretic" camp since receiving a Smokin Tex electric smoker as a gift. It's ideal for lazy cooks like me as I can set the thermostat and leave for the 12-14 hours it takes a brisket to cook. However, sounds like the BBQ Guru is a complex but effective alternative.

Quick question: I am confused now about suppliers. I had heard previously that the kamado.com cookers were inferior, and that the best cooker was the Komodo Kamado. To quote one of my favorite barbecue sites, amazingribs.com, regarding kamado.com cookers, "there are a lot of people on the internet complaining about this company's product, customer service, and the owner. Buyer beware. Not to be confused with Komodo Kamado (below)"

Sounds like you'd argue otherwise. Did you look at the Komodo's before buying the Kamado? (I hate the name similarities, like you do!).

We have a BGE and love it. We have had it for about 7 years I think, at our cottage and love to smoke large chunks o' meat on it. We have the pizza stone, but have never used it.

Have never seen the Kamado here in Canada, but I am NOT going to tell my husband about it, who always wants the latest toy ;) The BGE is totally fine for our needs.

Thank-you for this topic! I usually leave outdoor cooking to the he-men and know very little about grills and the like except the BGE, because a cold climate GW friend explained them, and the very tempting smoker cabinet, doubles as an oven that they sell in the fancy stores. The latter was more tempting when I didn't have a good oven in my kitchen, but I've always wanted a smoker. I don't like the very stainless industrial looking look, however.

The Kamado looks very tempting!! It doesn't cost any more than a similarly sized sculpture, and being decorative it could just sit out on the patio. It also looks like the outside is easy to clean.

I researched these extensively and eventually settled on Grilldome. It is built much better than BGE (thicker ceramics). And TK, the owner, provides superb service, until the horror stories around Kamado brand (I could not even get them to answer my email). But many people are happy once they get a unit and it keeps its tiles instead of falling off :).

Whatever you do, hurry up and get one! Cooking slow for 16 hours on one bag of charcoal creates amazing food. Our pulled pork is better than we get at any restaurant for example.

BTW, if you get one, look into also picking up a temperature controller. Using that you can set the temp like an oven and it will keep it there without attention all night! Stoker is a popular brand and I have written a program on the PC that lets you monitor your smoker anywhere in the world! The program (stokerlog) is free btw :)

Back to which one to get, I highly recommend going to their forums and reading some of the posts. Grilldome has an excellent section where people answer any questions you might have.

I've had mine for many years now, so I can't really compare the current "Komodo Kamado" or the like. I can say that I do prefer those with more mass than the BGE. I haven't seen the Grilldome or the Stoker, but if I were considering one now, I'd definitely re-examine what the options are.

I do agree that the Kamado gang isn't the best on prompt responses. They did take care of things when I had some issues in a professional manner.

Though I would consider another brand, I wouldn't reconsider a heavy-walled cooker again. The temperature stability for smoking is excellent, even without the convenience of electronic control. The ability to get to yellow-orange coals for searing in about 15 minutes, then being able to shut it down to a nice dwell temperature once you have the meat nicely marked and browned makes it nearly as easy as gas, but the quality of the cook is far superior.

Anyone use the Kamado using gas only, or as a "brick oven"?

The only reason I ask is because my wife does not like "smokey" flavor.

sfjeff: dumb question. What generates the smoke for the kamado? In other words, I know that you use select charcoal for heat. Is there a separate source for smoke? In other words, with my smoker I can choose the type of wood to smoke with: alder for salmon, hickory for pork, mesquite for brisket, etc. Is that how the kamado works, or is it solely the charcoal that generates smoke?

You're right, the charcoal itself adds little smoke flavor. You add water-soaked wood (chunks, generally) and that adds the smoke. For a six-hour smoke, I use something like a half- to a full-dozen chunks, about 2" size. Half go in at the start, the other half in one or two batches along the way.

With a good "neutral" charcoal, you can use any "flavor" wood you want. The Naked Wiz (safe for work) has some good reviews of charcoal.

Here is a link that might be useful: Naked Wiz Charcoal Reviews

We have no experience with the Kamado, but we love our BGE. It makes the most tender steaks, I have ever eaten. Hamburgers turn out perfectly as well. I would agree that the Kamado is better looking, but more expensive as well. We put all our money into a looker of a dual fuel range during our kitchen remodel and then went with a lower price point on the outdoor grill. It has more than met our expectations and people who eat over always rave about the flavor and tenderness of the meat cooked in the BGE.

plucky (you're here too, just saw you on the LC thread) and sfjeff:
That's interesting, I had really though of these as smokers mainly, but you use it as a grill too. In what ways do you find the kamado/BGE to be superior to say a Weber kettle grill? I admit to laziness and usually use our gas grill, and then my smoker when cooking low/slow, but am intrigued that this might also provide an alternative to the gas grill?

I kept my trusty Weber for about a year when I bough mine, and it quickly became a charcoal storage unit. Things that the egg-shaped cookers do "better" than a kettle or gas grill, are, in my biased opinion, and in no particular order:

* High temperature sear -- I can easily get the coals to a yellow-orange temperature. It is hot enough that the stainless-steel grill "self cleans" and I get a beautifully marked and seared steak.

* Capacity -- I can easily get a 25# turkey *and* four full slabs of ribs into mine (equivalent of a 22 1/2" Weber grill size)

* Temperature control -- with the top and bottom dampers, I can much more easily control fire temperature than I ever could on a charcoal kettle. I can be at 700 deg (dome) temperature and shut it down to a 400 deg "dwell" in a minute or two -- basically puts the fire out and cooks using the heat stored in the dome (this also means that unused charcoal is not consumed) -- see warning below

* Cook pizza -- Real pizza. 700 deg isn't at all hard to obtain and maintain.

* No cover needed -- It's pool tile. Hose it off with the pressure sprayer from time to time.

Disadvantages -- its harder to have a "hot" side and a "cold" side. It is clearly cooler around the edges when using it as a grill and I generally deal with it that way.

WARNING -- Get yourself a good set of mitts and a ideally a fire-resistant apron, and always, always look away when opening any charcoal-fired cooker of any sort that has been "shut down" in this manner. The high temperatures that remain can "vaporize" all kinds of combustibles, that basically burst into flame when the oxygen rushes in when you open the top. Think turning on the gas in the oven and then tossing in a match. It has never happened to me, but I'd hate to find out that I lost the roll of the dice.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cooker Flashback

Interesting you mention "neutral" charcoal. I have not heard this phrase before. Does this diminish the amount of "charcoal/smokey" flavor in the meat/pizza/etc?

Something like, for example, an extruded coconut or some of the Japanese charcoals, the "smoky" flavor is diminished compared to something like a hickory charcoal (strong flavor) or mesquite (moderately strong flavor). You still get a smoky flavor when the liquids released by cooking drip onto the hot coals.

If you like "smoke flavor" or not, I'd definitely avoid briquettes (lots of fillers) or any "easy light" options (impregnated with chemicals) because of what I consider "off" flavors.

Cowboy and its various brands (including Whole Foods) I avoid like the plague, between being made from scrap, milled lumber (not necessarily bad), having personally found all kinds of non-charcoal things in the bag (bad), and reports of others finding what was believed to be chunks of the lining of the kiln in the bags (really bad).

Here is a link that might be useful: Umm, This Isn't Charcoal

Thank you for this information. Hopefully this discussion does not detract from the thread.

Is it easy to buy good quality lump charcoal locally, or must it typically be ordered?

Charcoal, for me, is like good meat, fish, or vegetables. Except for special occasions, you take the best you can get conveniently and at a reasonable price. But damn, every once in a while, heading up to my favorite sushi bar that flies in fish daily from Japan is worth every moment of the 90-minute-each-way drive and triple-digit-per-person price tag.

Ever since my load of the "original" Kamado extruded coconut ran out (apparently the newer stuff is crap), I've been "in search of." I keep trying different, readily available brands. Right now, for grilling I use Lazzari Mesquite as it is decent and I can buy it at the supermarket where I buy my milk and bread. It's a little much flavor-wise for smoking, so I'm looking for another option. Once I find something I like, I will probably just get a pallet sent out freight and use it for the next few years. (I go through a 20# bag every couple weeks.)