Kamado 101 - Getting to know your Kamado

  • Part 1
    Looking to know more about Kamados? Have a look and enjoy.
    Why is it in two parts? I discovered each post has a limit of 10,000 words.
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    Buying a Kamado

    A short thread about why you should buy a Kamado
    Should I buy a Kamado?

    Owners of different types of Kamados write about what they like about their Kamado
    I love my Kamado Joe
    I love my Akorn or Dragon
    I love my Saffire
    I love my Big Steel Keg - BSK
    I love my Primo

    Some Kamado reviews
    Akorn vs Kamado Joe Classic Review
    Weber Kettle One Touch Gold vs Akorn Kamado Review

    Benefits of Kamado Style Ceramic Grills

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    What to look for in a Kamado

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    Kamado Assemby
    The Grateful Griller putting together a Kamado Joe

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    "Let's get it done" putting together a Vision Kamado

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    Types of Charcoal

    Note: It is not recommended that you use briquettes like head beads in a ceramic Kamado as it can leave a chemical taste.

    Using NSW as an example for types of charcoal available.
    Emberpak - emberpak.com/
    Good service and useful advice.
    Their courier range is wide and ship as far as the Central Coast. They also ship interstate so it is worth a call if you don't live in Sydney.

    Mangrove lump charcoal - From Thailand

    • 20KG standard lump
    • 20KG large lump
    • 20KG large premium

    Charcoal briquettes

    • 10KG sawdust
    • 10KG coconut

    Compress sawdust log - from Malaysia
    Charcoal chips - from Malaysia
    White Charcoal/Binchotan - From Thailand

    BBQ Aroma - bbqaroma.com.au or bbqaroma.com/homepage/charcoal-bbqs/charcoal-fuel/

    They have good service and a variety of type of charcoal.
    A bit hard to locate their range on their web site but they have:

    • Redgum from NSW
    • Gidgee from QLD
    • Mallee from Vic

    Firebrand - firebrandcharcoal.com/

    A decent range of briquettes which you can buy on-line or in your local bbq or grocery stores.

    Bunnings - bunnings.com.au/heat-beads-16kg-bbq-briquettes_p3180306

    The Heat Beads 16KG box (4 x4KG bags) is good value at around $24, especially when some supermarkets sell the 4KG retail bag for $10.

    The lump charcoal they stock is expensive compared to the price you pay from Emberpack or BBQ Aroma.

    BBQ Galore - barbequesgalore.com.au/

    They sell Kamado Joe lump charcoal, other brand lump charcoal and heat beads. Compared to other suppliers they are expensive.

    Where to Buy Charcoal

    I found Tandoor Living has a good list of Suppliers
    http://www.tandoorliving.com.au/Charcoal-for-s…-Australia.html

    Let's Fire up the Kamado

    Using a Looftlighter is popular. Read the thread and see how Gumb starts up his Kamado in a few minutes.
    Electric charcoal BBQ starters

    Watch the Grateful Griller starts up a Kamado Joe with firelighters

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    Here's some links on how to set-up you Kamado for certain cooking types.
    http://www.kamadojoe.com/cooking/grilling
    http://www.kamadojoe.com/cooking/searing
    http://www.kamadojoe.com/cooking/smoking

    Kamado Temperature Control

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    Kamado Burping
    Essential Knowledge

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    Don't Do This to Reduce Your Temperature Quickly!

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    Beware of Flashback!

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    Don't use a grass blower to fan your charcoal!

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    Kamado Cleaning and Maintenance

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    Firebox Repair

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    Cracked Kamado Repair

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    Replacing your gasket
    Every few years the gaskets wear out on the Kamado. People seem to upgrade to Nomex gaskets. The process is pretty straight forward.


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    Must Have
    I'm assuming you have the standard accessories such as cover, deflector and grill extender.

    Digital Thermometers
    The thermometers you get with your Kamado aren't that accurate. Buy a good quality thermometer. A cheap one will just let you down. There are two popular types.

    Dual probe where one is used to measure the grill temp and the other the meat temp. An example is the Maverick ET-733.

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    The other type is the instant read. Instant read thermometer

    Oven Gloves
    The Kamado can generate some seriously hot temps and oven gloves are essential. Stop getting burnt hands - Oven gloves

    Pot Holders
    Sometimes the temps are so hot the gloves need help. Pot holders provide that extra protection. Stop getting burnt hands - Pot holder covers

    Esky/Ice Box
    These are great to keep your meat warm, ready for your meal later. Esky, Ice boxes, whatever you call them, the things you put stuff in to keep cool or warm

    Grill Grates
    The champions use these in comps to get the best grill marks. Grill Grates

    Vacuum Sealers
    These are great for cold smoking, eg storing cheese and bacon and if you like to cook to store. Vacuum Sealers

    Weber Charcoal Baskets

    Let's Cook!

    Low and Slow Pulled Pork
    A popular step is to season the a new ceramic Kamado by doing a low and slow pork.

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    Pizza
    From doing a slow and slow at 220F for 16 hours, let's pump up the temp to 700F and enjoy a pizza.

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    Steak
    Time to cook sear some steak at 700F

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    Steak - Reverse Sear
    A combination of indirect and direct steak cooking

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    Bread
    There's nothing better than fresh bread to make you feel at home

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    Two Zone Cooking
    Some Kamados are great for two zone cooking. Two Zone Cooking

    The Dwelling Technique

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    Edited 82 times, last by 12x7 (January 9, 2016 at 4:34 PM).

  • Part 2
    Smoking
    The Kamado is a great smoker.

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    A-maze-n
    http://www.amazenproducts.com/ Add an A-maze-n tube to provide extra smoke. Put in the type of smoking pellets you like and enjoy the added flavour.

    Supplemental smoke for the Akorn Kamado with an Amaze-N pellet tube

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    Meat Temperature Guide

    Avoid that Acrid taste
    Not all smoke is good. Know your oils and fats to avoid getting that acrid taste in your food. Smoke, Charcoal and acrid taste

    Planking

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    Brining a Chicken

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    Fish

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    Blow torch
    Use a blow torch to caramelise your food

    "Thomas Kellar, the celebrity chef who founded the famous restaurant in Napa Valley called “The French Laundry,” has shared with the world his secret for perfect prime rib. Try the below using your Kamado instead of the oven.

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    Seared Frozen Steak using the blow torch
    http://www.nytimes.com/video/dining/1…n-myhrvold.html
    The Kamado Smoker and Grill Cookbook: Recipes and Techniques for the World's Best Barbecue
    You could consider this as a possible default companion book for Kamados like the Complete Australian Barbeque Kettle Cookbook has been for every new Weber Kettle sold in Australia. Availabe in hard cover and electronic download, this book is a great book for the beginner or a person who is considering buying a Kamado as it show many different ways you can use a Kamado to cook many different type of food. The author, Chris Grove also has a web site loaded with Kamado recipes. http://www.nibblemethis.com/

    Complete Australian Barbeque Kettle Cookbook
    An Australian classic.The recipes are easily adapted to the Kamado and the book can be easily found secondhand on eBay for as little as $20.

    BBQ Pit Boys
    A great site with lots ofrecipes. http://bbqpitboys.com/

    The great thing about this site is nearly every recipe is accompanied by a video.

    Baby Back Ribs by BBQ PitBoys

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    Owner Manuals

    Kamado Joe Classic
    http://www.kamadojoe.com/downloads_publ…_CLASSIC_EN.pdf

    Big Green Egg
    http://www.biggreenegg.com/wp-content/u ... Manual.pdf

    Vision
    http://www.visiongrills.com/wp-content/ ... es_Web.pdf

    Primo
    http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/B1yDyR86QbS.pdf

    Komodo Kamado
    http://www.komodokamado.com/ForumPhotos ... 2:2:12.pdf

    DragonFire
    http://www.northlineexpress.com/media/w ... manual.pdf

    Akorn
    http://www.homedepot.com/catalog/pdfIma ... a77a30.pdf

    Akorn Kamado - Quick start and tips
    A thread I created to help Akorn owners to get cooking fast. Akorn Kamado - Quick start and tips

    Edited 55 times, last by 12x7 (January 26, 2016 at 12:31 AM).

  • Not much I can add. :) I think it's all covered.

    Big Green Egg - Asmoke Pellet Grill - Weber Kettle - Maximus Pizza Oven - Dragon Hibachi - Ziggy Portable - baby kamado - Grillz 2 burner - Cobb BBQ - Converted Gas Bottle Spit - Charbroil Grill2go - Anova sous vide - Digi Q controller - plus Tip Top Temp - Smokeware cap - Grill Grates

  • I've also just put up a video which I hope will help some newer kamado owners with temperature control.

    Low temp kamado grilling - fish

    I've made this thread a 'sticky' too, so it sits at the top of the threads in this section and will be easier for new owners to find.

    Big Green Egg - Asmoke Pellet Grill - Weber Kettle - Maximus Pizza Oven - Dragon Hibachi - Ziggy Portable - baby kamado - Grillz 2 burner - Cobb BBQ - Converted Gas Bottle Spit - Charbroil Grill2go - Anova sous vide - Digi Q controller - plus Tip Top Temp - Smokeware cap - Grill Grates

  • I've got some friends in the market for a Kamado. Should I suggest they stick to the brands listed in the first two posts?

    Depending on where your friends are might make a difference.

    Probably the best bang per buck is the Akorn Kamado @$400 (specials) to $499 (RRP) from Bunnings. It is also metal and tough. @20 inch diameter grill. It is somewhere between large and XL in size.
    Another Kamado which is good value is the Costco Kamado. It is ceramic with 24 inch diameter grill which makes it an XL. @$990 you get a lot of Kamado.

    People have bought the other brands eg BBQG Dragon, Kamado Joe, Primo and they all like them.

    While you at Bunnings you can also see their new Chargriller ceramic which is large size with 18 inch diameter grill for $860 RRP.

    A popular thing people are doing is buying the Akorn, pocket the savings compared to other brand Kamados and spend the change on buying good quality meat etc or putting it towards buying another type of BBQ as well eg pellet, offset, pizza oven etc.

  • just seen this

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    ProQ Excel Elite2o<---> Weber Kettle<---> AKORN KAMADO<--->  WEBER GO ANYWHERE

  • Not available in Aus as far as I can tell and at almost $2K US (their price, not inc shipping and taxes to get here)....forget it.

    Big Green Egg - Asmoke Pellet Grill - Weber Kettle - Maximus Pizza Oven - Dragon Hibachi - Ziggy Portable - baby kamado - Grillz 2 burner - Cobb BBQ - Converted Gas Bottle Spit - Charbroil Grill2go - Anova sous vide - Digi Q controller - plus Tip Top Temp - Smokeware cap - Grill Grates

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