Do you love to grill outdoors? Do you enjoy the taste and flavor of food cooked over an open flame? If you answered yes to both of those questions, then you need to check out a Kamado grill. A Kamado grill is a ceramic cooker that allows you to smoke, roast, bake, and griddle all in one unit. With a Kamado grill, you can cook like a professional outdoor chef right in your own backyard.
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What is a Kamado Grill?
What is a Kamado Grill? Kamado grills are ceramic or metal grills that use a fire box to heat the rock or ceramic tiles on which the food is cooked. The heat and smoke from the fire circulate around the food, cooking it evenly. This Greek-inspired style of grilling is taking North America by storm because of its ability to produce restaurant-quality cuisine in your backyard.
Whether you’re looking for an easy way to cook steaks and burgers, or want to try your hand at smoking brisket or ribs, a kamado grill is the perfect tool for the job. In this post, we’ll take a look at how to use a kamado grills and if you don’t have it already, check out our guide to the best budget kamado grills on the Amazon to grab one right away.
How to light a Kamado Grill the easy way?
Kamado means “grill” in Japanese. It’s a type of outdoor cooking that uses charcoal as its sole fuel source. The process for starting and lighting this grill used to take some time but today there are many different ways you could accomplish such tasks without using toxic tinder fires like before
There are many ways to light a grill, but what’s most important is the method you choose according to your preferences and choice but the methods we are going to explain are easy to follow and free from toxic fumes.
Which Charcoal Type to Use?
Lump charcoal is pretty expensive and it burns faster. On the other hand, it reaches higher temperature and produces very low amount of ash. On the contrary, briquettes charcoal is cheaper, reaches slightly lower temperature but leave huge amount of ash behind which often becomes the reason of clogged holes and blocks the flow of heated air which is important for even cooking.
Slightly expensive but lump charcoal is the better and wiser option to go with since it gets you higher temperature in no time without producing tons of ash.
Lighting a kamado Grill Using Chimney Charcoal
Charcoal chimney, what’s that? You don’t need to know about it because we’ll tell you how they work. They’re a great way of getting your charcoal burning fast and evenly in just seconds’ flat. And with these things costing so little we would never recommend not buying one. Here is how to use a chimney for lighting up a kamado grill.
- Place some newspapers in the bottom of the chimney, put the layer of charcoal you are looking to light up, add another layer of newspaper or lighter cubes and set it in on fire.
- Let it burn for 10-15 minutes and once the charcoal is ready, transfer the charcoal to the firebox in the kamado grill.
- Close the lid properly and adjust the air vents to get the required temperature.
Chimney allows you to get a large amount of charcoal burning evenly and quickly, if that’s what you’re looking for. Of course, newspaper can be replaced with just one lighter cube, it’ll burn longer, it is safe and free of toxic chemicals.
Using Electric Starter to Light Kamado Grill
A great way to get your charcoal burning is with an electric starter. You don’t need any extra tinder or paper, and it’s self-sufficient but you must have access to electricity needed for these units. On top of that they’re more efficient than their traditional counterparts so not only will they last longer but also there is less time spent in and less effort put. It’s a hassle-free method of lighting up kamado grill.
Here is how to use one:
- Open all the vents, and put charcoal into the firebox. Put the electric starter on the charcoal and turn it on. Wait for sometime for the smoke to appear. It will take about 10-15 minutes for the charcoal to start burning.
- Once you notice charcoal burning, turn the electric lighter off, take it out and place it somewhere safe out of the reach of the kids to cool down. Close the lid, and adjust the air vents to get to the desired temperature.
An electric starter is priced similar to that of a charcoal chimney but it is faster and hassle-free way to get your charcoal ready to burn. The only downside with the electric starter is that you need to have access to a power outlet nearby which makes it useless in case you are out in the wild.
Using Lighter Cubes to Light Kamado Grill
One of the most efficient and beginner-friendly ways to light your grill is with lighter cubes. It only takes about 10 minutes for this method, but it can be done quickly in 2 easy steps. Here is how:
Open the lid and the air vents of the grill and add charcoal into the fire chamber of the grill. If you are cooking on higher temperature, add more charcoal and incase you need to cook on light temperature, use an average amount of charcoal in the grill. Add the lighter cubes and light them.
Let the cubes burn and wait for 10-15 minutes until the charcoal is started to burn visibly. You can add a little more charcoal if required and close the lid. Once you read the required temperature, adjust the vents and start cooking.
Lighter cube is an amazing product for grilling enthusiasts, especially when you are trying to light up your grill. A cube burns for about 10-15 minutes without releasing any toxic fumes, chemicals or smoke. Plus, it’s cheaper than both the chimney and electric starter as well.
Which is the best way to light kamado grill?
If you work by combining lighter cubes and chimney, it will work wonders. The chimney lets the charcoal burn evenly plus it is safe in comparison to the electric lighter. Plus, there is not always electricity around so using lighter would be a convenient option.
How to control temperature in Kamado Grill?
Now that charcoal is burning in the grill and temperature is getting higher gradually by each passing minute. How do you keep the temperature stable? It seems like a daunting task but in reality, it only needs a little practice and you get it right every single time.
First of all, you should always keep the lid of the grill closed, and open only when you have to. If you open the lid every few minutes you will start losing heat. Secondly temperature also depends on two factors, the amount of charcoal and the oxygen that reaches the burning charcoal via the air vents. If you choose the perfect amount of charcoal and adjust the vents properly for perfect air flow, you get the right and stable temperature. Use higher amount of charcoal if you require high temperature and vice versa.
Cooking on Kamado Grills
Now that you have learnt how to light charcoal, also the basic of how to control temperature in kamado grill through vent control its time to cook your favorite meals. Preheat the grill and start cooking.
What I love about cooking is the process of learning about how to use new cooking appliances and then experimenting in various ways to get the best results. And we don’t think we should be teaching you how to cook using kamado grill. Once the grates are heated, place the prepared ingredients on the grates and cook to your desired doneness.
When you have doubts about the doneness, we would recommend you getting a meat thermometer with a probe. It is an incredibly amazing peace of technology to let you constantly keep a track of the temperature inside the meat. We would love to know your feedback on the topic. Also, if you have something to add to the article in terms of how to light the charcoal or how to use a kamado grill, feel free to leave us a comment and we will make sure it reaches to the audience. Happy grilling folks!
