What is a kamado grill and how does it work?

Where the kamado comes from

Kamado is a Japanese word for a cooking stove or range. Clay cooking vessels with a lid and draught openings have been used across Asia for a very long time. After the Second World War, American servicemen brought Japanese clay cookers home, and in the 1970s the Big Green Egg company began making them in modern ceramic. Kamado Joe and many others followed.

Today's kamados use high-fired ceramics rather than clay, with steel bands, hinges, felt or fibreglass gaskets and metal vents.

How a kamado works

Lumpwood charcoal burns in a ceramic firebox at the bottom. Air enters through the bottom vent, feeds the fire and leaves through the top vent. Opening the vents lets more air in and makes the fire hotter; closing them slows it down. Shutting both completely starves the fire and puts it out, so leftover charcoal can be reused.

The thick ceramic absorbs and radiates heat, and the gasket-sealed lid keeps moisture in. That combination keeps temperatures steady for many hours and makes a kamado less affected by cold weather than thin steel grills. Our how to control temperature on a kamado guide explains vent settings.

Key parts

Big Green Egg calls its heat deflector the convEGGtor; Kamado Joe uses deflector plates as part of its Divide and Conquer system. Both do the same job: turn a grill into an oven.

Accessories are where kamado ranges differ most. Extra racks, cast iron grates, pizza stones and rotisserie rings all fit some models, so check what comes in the box and what you would need to add.

What you can cook

A kamado is one of the most versatile outdoor cookers, because the same ceramic body can run anywhere from a gentle smoke to a fierce sear. The main options are below.

Switching between them is mostly a matter of adding or removing the heat deflector and changing the vent settings. Going from hot to low takes time, as the ceramic holds heat, so plan cooks that start low and finish high, such as smoking a joint and then searing it, rather than the other way round.

• Direct grilling and searing: steaks, burgers and chops over very hot coals.
• Roasting: whole chickens and joints with the deflector in at a moderate heat.
• Low and slow smoking: pork shoulder, brisket and ribs with wood chunks for many hours.
• Baking and pizza: with a pizza stone at high heat; see can you cook pizza on a BBQ.
• Cast iron cooking: a skillet or plancha placed on the grate.

Pros and cons

On the plus side, kamados hold temperature very well, use little charcoal, cope with British weather and do almost every kind of cooking. On the downside, they are expensive, very heavy and hard to move, take practice to control, and have a smaller cooking area than barrel smokers or big gas grills at a similar price. Ceramic can crack if dropped or heated very fast when wet. Our why are kamado grills so expensive article explains the cost.

To compare a kamado with other options, read kamado vs kettle, kamado vs pellet grill and is a Big Green Egg worth it. Our best charcoal smokers guide covers other ways to cook low and slow with charcoal.

Note:Always open a hot kamado slowly, lifting the lid an inch for a few seconds first. A sudden rush of air into a hot, starved fire can cause a flashback.

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Frequently asked questions

Is a Big Green Egg a kamado? Yes. The Big Green Egg is a brand of ceramic kamado.

What does kamado mean? It is a Japanese word for a stove or cooking range.

What is a Big Green Egg used for? Grilling, roasting, smoking, baking and pizza, all on charcoal.

Do kamados use normal charcoal? Most makers recommend lumpwood charcoal rather than briquettes, as it produces less ash and lights cleanly.