Using my $20 Kamado King

[Hoorenga]

I got this thing at a garage sale last month for $20 and have been tracking down information on it. http://www.kamadoking.s5.com/ Turns out it is a Kamodo King. Similar to a Big Green Egg but apparently there are a number of competitors out there in this league of cookers. I always thought they were a great idea but the main draw back being space for cooking. Interestingly enough there is one brand of these cookers that has tried to deal with this issue http://www.kamado.com/ It is called just "Kamado" which is not the "Kamado King". They gave the lid more height and provided a second and even third rack that you can stack up. These cookers aren’t as manly looking as the traditional chunk of rusting, black steel but man can they cook! I tried mine out twice so far, both with a cut up chicken. Both times it was a simple process to get it up to temp and keep it there. It is so efficient that the first time I used way too much smoking wood and charcoal. The second time I put a lot less lump charcoal in and just used three small chunks of maple. I ended up having to pull out two small chunks the maple leaving one piece the size of a of cell phone. What amazed me was how good the chicken turned out. I would have thought that it would have been similar to what I produce on my Brinkman Stillwater which is very good but it was better and it was literally a "set it and forget it" process. I don't think I'm going to run out and spend $700 + on a new Kamado but this one is certainly going to get some use. I can't wait to do an over night, one burn brisket next.

[RevZiLLa]

20 bucks...I bet you're glad you snapped that up

[BBQ Grail]

What a score...

That is a sweet deal.

[swamprb]

Did you go to the Imperial Kamado website? They have the history of the Kamado, makes and models that they produced etc. Kamado King just was the East Coast distributor for Imperial Kamado and just recently bought the IK inventory from the original importer who retired. If you dig deep enough in the IK site you will find info on how the Kamado was first introduced in America by the young Japanese businessman. I had exchanged a few E-mails regarding a couple Kamados I was restoring with him and he was so happy that I was taking the time to do it and even more delighted to know that I was still using a 30+ year old Modern. I'm surprised that the info is still there after Kamado King bought it up! There are others out there, Kamado, Komodo,Grill Dome Primo and of course BGE!

I agree with you too, I probably wouldn't go out and spend the big bucks for one of these either, nor am I prone to packing it with meats as pictured.

You REALLY need to download the "Pre BGE Cookbook" off the Naked Whiz site if you are going to want to use it as intended. IK sadly lacks any cooking info on their site. They are a joke on the Big Green Egg forum!
If you fill it up with charcoal like a BGE you will risk cracking it, and you will not get any sleep if you try to do an overnighter!!

Lets see a picture of it!

Brian

[Ron_L]

Nice score, Hoo! Use it in good health!

[Bigmista]

Hopefully Professor salt will chime in on this one.

[Hoorenga]

Thanks for the tips Brian. I gather from what you are saying that my Kamado King (? looks exactly like it) is not designed for the big overnight cooks that the BGE and other newer models are designed for? Is that right? Mine looks exactly like the little one in the link. It's a mottled green and made out of a soft clay material similar to a flower pot. I drilled a hole in the top for a thermometer and the wood bit went through it like it was pine.

[Brauma]

I know there are guys who call the big Kamodo Egg yard art and unmanly, but I wouldnt pass one up if I could get my hands on one. They are the cat's ass for fuel burn times. And, I think they would be good fun as conversation pieces.

http://www.appliancist.com/kamado-grill.jpghttp://www.davidsnyder.info/images/Kamado/Kamado%20inaugural%20091402/Kamado%20inaugural%20003.jpg

I commend you on your score and refurb of the Kamado King. Enjoy :-D

[swamprb]

I know there are guys who call the big Kamodo Egg yard art and unmanly, but I wouldnt pass one up if I could get my hands on one. They are the cat's ass for fuel burn times. And, I think they would be good fun as conversation pieces.

http://www.appliancist.com/kamado-grill.jpghttp://www.davidsnyder.info/images/Kamado/Kamado%20inaugural%20091402/Kamado%20inaugural%20003.jpg

I commend you on your score and refurb of the Kamado King. Enjoy :-D

They are beautiful pieces of useful art! That's why they should be preserved and USED!
But used correctly! The thing about them though is the use of very small quantity of charcoal in clay earthenware Kamados which we have. They were used as rice cookers, with woks and can sear at high temps at a low grate level. People get the wrong impression about them and take BGE advice and it will end up ruining them.

Now the ceramics are a different story, they can take the high temps and do low and slow with a full load of coals.
You all should read Prof. Salts blog on his Kamado! It is very interesting, and boy would I love to have one of those!

http://www.nakedwhiz.com/infocentral.htm
#3 for the Pachinko Palace Instruction Manual/Cookbook, it will tell you everything you need to know about your Kamado, I wish I had it when I first found mine!

[BBQ_MAFIA]

That's one heck of a deal.

Good luck learning to use the new toy.

[Norcoredneck]

Man looks good. Whats next?

[Rick's Tropical Delight]

you have discovered the wonders of ceramic cooker cooking!

ain't it cool? :biggrin:

[thillin]

Did it come with the second rack in the third pic?

[swamprb]

I'd like to share this bit of info:
http://imperialkamado.com/i_history.htm
http://imperialkamado.com/shichirin/i_shichirin_accessories.htm#KE****SUBO
http://imperialkamado.com/shichirin/i_shichirin_index.htm
Did you catch the price of the Japanese Oak charcoal?
These are the pics I really like, Old-time craftsmanship!
http://imperialkamado.com/i_history_02.htm
There is my baby in photo# 4! I feel so proud!
Brian-san

[Hoorenga]

Did it come with the second rack in the third pic?

No, It only came with the one metal grate. The only thing that I think was missing is the cap for the top. It has the one with the baffles that you can adjust but not the more decorative cap that you use after you are done cooking.

[Professor Salt]

Hopefully Professor salt will chime in on this one.
I will, because I've looked into all of these brands. First, Hoorenga, congrats on a great deal! As one ceramic newb to another, I'm super stoked for you.

Learning to control the fire in my ceramic is an ongoing process. The vent controls are the opposite of my WSM. I run the ceramic cooker with the top vent nearly all the way closed, and the bottom vent's daisywheel open. Seems to retain more of the meat's moisture in the vessel that way, as a bonus.

The players in the ceramic cooker market (at least the ones sold in the US) are Imperial Kamado (http://www.imperialkamado.com/) (the tan one in Hoo's photo) and Kamado.com (http://kamado.com) (the blue one in Hoo's photo), Primo Grills (http://www.primogrill.com/), Grill Dome (http://www.grilldome.com/), Big Green Egg (http://www.biggreenegg.com/), and Komodo Kamado (http://komodokamado.com). They have different features, and different price points. Each will turn out good food. Ceramics in general tend to hold temperatures better than steelies, because they don't radiate heat nearly as quickly. Great for wet & cold weather cooking.

I have a Komodo Kamado, which is a newish (6 years old) company that sought to improve on the shortcomings of other companies' designs. For instance: most of the brands use a one piece ceramic ring to reinforce the cooker down where the charcoal burns. Because of the heat expansion, one piece fireboxes (from any brand) can crack. Komodo has a two piece design that eliminates cracking. I've attached a photo of my Komodo below.

Another common attribute across the brands: ceramic lids are heavy, especially when the cookers are large. The bigger the lid, the more it stresses its hinge. Most of the brands use an external metal band to mount the hinge. The weight of the lid loosens those bands and hinges, which need regular readjustment. Not the Komodo's - the hinges are cast permanently into the body. The Kamado.com and the Komodo Kamado have spring assisted lids, so you don't throw out your rotator cuff.

Let's not discount the customer experience. Big Green Egg and KomodoKamado.com have stellar reputations from happy customers. The Kamado.com company suffers a horrid (and very public) reputation for making a poor product from angry customers. The other companies have a low public profile on the internet, so I can't say much about them.

IMO, the Komodo Kamado has the smartest design features, and far and away the best build quality. The run more expensive than the other brands, but they bundle alot of extra stuff in the kit that other companies sell a la carte.

But there are downsides to everything. The main one for the Komodo is it's massive weight (476 pounds!!), which is great for holding steady cooking temperatures for 24+ hour cooks. Lousy for portability. That's where the less heavy ceramic cookers (BGE, or the Grilldome, for ex) have an advantage for folks who travel with their ceramic cooker.

My first blog review of the Komodo Kamado (http://professorsalt.com/2007/06/20/the-black-dragon-episode-1/) (others to come)

I'll second swamprb's rec to head over the The Naked Whiz (http://www.nakedwhiz.com/ceramic.htm), who has a great ceramic cooker site.