12/12/04

For a full history, check out the kamado.com website. Kamado is the trade name of a U.S. company which sells a charcoal fired ceramic oven based on traditional Japanese rice cooker designs. Mine was manufactured in Sacramento, California, but thanks to an alert visitor to this web site, I now understand that many or all of them are built in Indonesia. For full information, as well as owner comments, please visit the Kamado forum.

The primary culinary advantage of a Kamado style cooker over the typical American barbecue is the heat retention property of the ceramic. The Kamado is capable of "low and slow" cooking at 200 degrees F for more than 10 hours on a single load of charcoal. By simply adjusting the dampers, the same barbecue may be used for flash broiling at temperatures in excess of 700 degrees F. This flexibility provides the outdoor chef with nearly limitless possibilities—not only for truly superior BBQ cooking, but also for the preparation of ethnic dishes that aren't otherwise possible without traditional cooking utensils. Besides, I think that it's gorgeous to look at, and it certainly is a conversation starter!

There are other ceramic cookers on the market, such as the Big Green Egg, Primo Kamado, Imperial Kamado, and the Grill Dome, but I chose the Kamado because of its high quality, innovative features, and obvious aesthetic advantages.

Below are pictures of the inauguration of my #7 Kamado. Because temperatures must be kept low during the break-in period (unless you want the tiles to fall off), the first meal was a beef brisket cooked low and slow.