The Costco Connection

BY LIZ PEARSON

THE CULTLIKE enthusiasm for the kamado grill is as deep and compelling as its roots in traditional Asian cooking. The ceramic, dome-shaped grills are available worldwide, but their inspiration dates back thousands of years.

In Japanese, kamado means a stove or cooking range, essentially “place for the cauldron,” and the grill’s provenance can be traced to the round earthenware pots originally used to cook rice in Japan and China in the third century—perhaps even earlier. Those clay vessels matured and developed into modern kamado grills, whose ceramic interiors and egg shape echo their origins.

Why go kamado?

Critics are quick to say the grills are heavy (roughly 70 to 200 pounds) and pricey, but both the weight and hefty price tag are owed to their expert construction.

The charcoal-burning kamado has “an
ingenious venting system that allows you to
cook at very low temperatures (225 F), very
high temperatures (700 F), and every-
where in between,” writes grilling expert
Steven Raichlen, author of Project Smoke
(Workman Publishing, 2016; not available
at Costco). “No matter the brand of kamado
grill, the style features an efficient venting
system to control the heat, thick ceramic
walls to hold in the heat and moisture, and
an endearing ovoid shape.”
Eric Gephart, director of culinary
inspiration for Kamado Joe, a Costco sup-
plier, explains, “In order to take it from
direct cooking to indirect cooking, you put
down ceramic deflector plates. That sepa-
rates the fire from the cooking surface,
effectively turning the grill into an oven.”

What to cook

Raichlen tells The Connection that
“kamados are great for low, slow cooking
and high-heat grilling. I like them for large
cuts of meat—pork shoulders, turkeys,
hams, briskets, etc. Also, there’s something
about the high-heat searing with a closed lid
that gives steak a really great flavor.”
The grill’s exceptional insulation makes
it adept at maintaining its temperature, no
matter the weather outside, and its innova-
tive design makes it equally impressive as a
grill, smoker or oven.

According to Kelly Wertz, a Jack
Daniel’s World Championship Invitational
Barbecue Grand Champion and represen-
tative of Costco supplier Pit Boss, “The
standard thought for grills is to make [a]
barbecue, but throw on flank or skirt
steak, and sizzle a cast-iron skillet of pep-
pers and onions beside it for fajitas. Then
bake cookies, cheesecakes—anything
and everything!”
Quick to mention his favorite use for
the kamado grill, Wertz excitedly adds,
“Up toward 800 F, you can bake pizzas in
just a few minutes! The heat comes back
down over that curved, ceramic dome and
melts the cheese, giving the whole pizza a
little bit of that smoky flavor.”