Kamado Smokers: Why You May Want a Kamado in Your Garden

The Kamado style cooker or clay cooker has been around for many thousands of years. Globally considered one of the first BBQ smokers, the basic clay cooking vessel has evolved in several key ways:  the Tandoor for example in India and in Japan, the Mushikamado; which a device designed to steam rice for ceremonial occasions.
Today’s modern Kamado cooker comes directly from this tradition – but with space age ceramic materials having taken over from clay.


img_kamado_production_old_05_250The Mushikamado was typical of southern Japan and took the shape of a round clay pot with a removable domed clay lid. Further innovations for the basic clay pot included a damper and draft door for easy temperature control and it was charcoal fired as opposed to wood.

Americans first started to take an interest in it after the World War II but it wasn’t until the 1960′s when Richard Johnson patented his improved ceramic design that the commercial potential of the Mushikamado was fully exploited. The name Kamado name was also trade marked by Johnson but the word has become a somewhat generic term for this style of ceramic barbecue.

The Modern Kamado

Modern Kamado style ceramic barbecues are made of high fire ceramics and some such as the Big Green Egg use space age ceramics for heat retention performance and resistance from cracking during exposure to the elements.

Dragon Fire King Kamado Charcoal Grill
Overall Rating:
 
Retail Price: Varies based on product options
Amazon Price: View Sale Price

In addition, the original paint has now been replaced by a high gloss ceramic glaze.

Kamado Fuel Source

Kamado grills are lump wood charcoal burners.  However, there are some modern examples of electric and gas fired versions.

Just as one of the claims of the ceramic construction is that there is no flavor contamination such as a metallic taste to the cooked food, lump wood charcoal is the preferred choice for modern kamado because of the lack of additives typical of briquettes.

The Kamado Offers Versatility

Kamado style cooker manufacturers claim that they are extremely versatile in that one can do a pizza (on a pizza stone) or even bake bread as well as the usual grilling and smoking. This is by virtue of the excellent heat retention properties of the ceramic shell that mean temperatures of up to 750°F can be achieved.

The only drawback I have found so far is the price – they’re not cheap.  However, if they’re that good, maybe we don’t need to be too concerned with the price tag?


Share and Enjoy:
  • Print
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google Bookmarks
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • Twitter
  • Yahoo! Buzz

Related posts:

  1. Dragonfire Kamado Ceramic Cooker The Dragon Fire King Kamado is a relative newcomer to...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Filed under BBQ Smoker Reviews by BBQ Smoker #

Comments on Kamado Smokers: Why You May Want a Kamado in Your Garden Leave a Comment

Reply

Marc Serrano @ 3:53 pm #

Just to let you know, your “history” of the kamado is a bit flawed. Johnson made up stories about his invention/patents in order to lend credibility to his business. There has been a lot of research into the origins of the kamado, most notably available at the Naked Whiz ceramic cooking FAQ and the Kamado Fraud Forum. Just remember that Johnon’s “history” should be treated as self-serving propaganda. Kamado style cookers are excellent, but they are by no means his invention.

Reply

BBQ Smoker @ 6:46 pm #

Hey Marc! Thanks so much for this info. Like to keep things accurate and your email helps! :)

Leave a Comment

Fields marked by an asterisk (*) are required.