Testing kamado grills is an in-depth griller experience. It requires playing with fire (literally) and high temperatures, albeit in a controlled, responsible manner. The most critical factor in kamado performance is heat, especially temperature control and how well the grill holds one temperature. To smoke meat slowly and slowly, that magic number is 225 F. Good smokers, kamado or otherwise, will stick to this temp for as long as 12, 15 or 20 hours. This means that a temperature gauge is important as well as the ability to control air flow with air vents or dampers.
We monitor the internal temperature of kamado grills as they go.
To capture temperature data, we place a thermocouple on the grill of each kamado. Basically a sensitive temperature sensor made of a probe and wire connected, the thermocouple hangs suspended 1 inch above the grill grate. It is connected to a data logger and finally a computer that records changes in temperature over time.
Then it’s time to fire up each grill.
We try to check the temperature on all the grills at once. We also use the same weight and product of lump of coal (4.4 kilograms or 2 kg), usually from the same bag. That’s true of the fire starters, too (one per grill).
A stable temperature is key to the efficiency of a smoker.
After that, we light them, as instructed by their instruction manuals if available. Usually, that means letting the coals burn for 15 minutes, with the lid on, and then turning off the grill. At this point, the vents remain open until the grill comes within 50 degrees of the target temperature.
We play carefully with the holes to get there. Finally, we let go of the controls and look.
We follow the same process for our high temperature test at 350 F. The idea here is to simulate the heat performance required to fry chicken and other poultry.
We smoke ribs and other foods for anecdotal testing.
And speaking of food, we do a lot of “anecdotal testing” as well. We smoke a rack of baby back ribs (225 F) on each grill. We cook butterfly chickens (also called spatchcock) and roast them or cook them beer can style. Picked up at a local Costco, these weigh about 5 pounds each. Finally, we make a set of 8-ounce burger patties at high heat (600 F).
Burgers, who?
Looking for more options? Here are two other kamado grill models that we tested for this test group. They didn’t make it to my selection, but you might want to take a look for comparison’s sake:
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