How to Cook on a Kamado Grill

Step by step

1. Fill it with lump

   Fill the firebox with lump charcoal, not briquettes, whose fine ash clogs the bottom vent. You are lighting a small part of a large load that will burn slowly.

2. Light a small fire

   Light the lump in one or two spots only, with a firelighter or a small amount of lit coals. You want a modest fire that grows, not the whole load alight at once.

3. Creep up on the temperature

   Open the top and bottom vents a little and let the temperature climb slowly. The golden rule: start closing the vents well before you reach your target, not when you hit it. A kamado is slow to come back down once it overshoots.

4. Set up direct or indirect

   For searing, cook directly over the coals. For low and slow or roasting, drop in the ceramic heat deflector to shield the food from direct heat and turn the kamado into an oven.

5. Let it hold

   Once settled, a kamado holds its temperature with almost no attention for hours, barely affected by wind or rain. Resist fiddling; small vent changes take a long time to show on a cooker with this much thermal mass.

Why a kamado is different

The thick ceramic is a heat battery. Once up to temperature it resists change, holding low heat overnight on a single load and sipping fuel. That stability is the appeal, but it also means the cooker is slow to respond, so you steer it gently and early, not with sharp last-minute corrections.

The overshoot trap

The one mistake beginners make is letting the temperature run past their target, then chasing it back down for an hour. Because the ceramic holds heat, coming down is slow and painful. Always sneak up on your number and close the vents early; it is far easier than recovering from an overshoot.

Common questions

Can I use briquettes in a kamado?

Better not. Briquette ash is fine and clogs the small bottom vent, choking the fire. Use lump charcoal, which also lets you snuff and reuse the fuel, keeping running costs low.

How do I cook low and slow on a kamado?

Fit the ceramic heat deflector for indirect heat, light a small fire, and settle it at a low temperature, creeping up and closing the vents early. It will then hold that heat overnight with almost no attention.