I love cooking outdoors and I really like cooking with charcoal rather than gas. So as my ol’ gas grill started acting up I wanted something that would possibly allow me to do a little more than just grill. Regular charcoal grills are nice and you can do some smoking with them if you get creative. A smoker is pretty much a specialty item and is only used for smoking. A search on the internet quickly revealed a type of outdoor cooker called the Kamado cooker.
The Kamado comes from Japan and originally were clay cookers. The modern Kamado cooker is usually made from cast ceramic and is designed in a clamshell with a lid part and the bottom part that has the firebox and grill. It operates by creating an air flow between a vent below the fire box and a vent in the lid or with the lid open which feeds the fire.
The Kamado lights easily and when finished you shut the two vents, closing the lid, the fire extinguishes and you have some charcoal left over for next time. Mostly lump charcoal is burnt in these grills and lump leaves little ash so clean up is very easy as well.
The Kamado cookers can grill, bake and smoke which means you can cook a lot of different types of dishes on these grills. With some accessories you can bake bread or pizzas similar to a wood burning stove in a commercial restaurant. You can smoke barbecue like a pro ending with a competition worthy product. These cookers do grill well coming up to temperature fairly quickly compared to charcoal grills.
These ceramic grills are made to last and stand up very well to the weather. Mine has been outside for seven years now half of the time without a cover and there is no rust or damage due to the weather. The only thing I have had to replace is a felt seal around the top and bottom pieces. This seal is meant to be replaced as a standard maintenance.
The only downside to these cookers is they are expensive. With the addition of certain accessories to be able to do other types of cooking you can sink a bunch of money into your setup. I would say the extra expenses are well justified in respect to functionality and manufacturing. They last for a long time.
I do love my Kamado style cooker basically because I can cook so many different items outdoors and get that wood smoke flavorings in there. It can get expensive but what hobby is not expensive these days. If you love to cook outdoors and want to take you’re cooking to the next level above that ol’ gas grill check out the many makes of the Kamado style cookers.