Fellow Meathead Maniacs! Here is the next installment of our Kamado Discussion here at The Pit in Meathead's Amazing Ribs! We're now moving from the more theoretical aspects of kamado cooking into the much more practical.
Yes, I know that “AKKoutrements" is really spelled "accoutrements" (after all I DID go to Catholic School!) and I do know the word is properly already plural, but I’m doing this for a very good point. There is a double entendre there that I just couldn’t resist. After all, we are talking about Kamado Kooking and I do so really love my KKs. Ok, now that that is out of the way, let’s get started talking about all the equipment available to assist you in creating some of the best food to ever grace a table.
First, let me say that I really only want to cover the basics here. The reason for that is there are more accoutrements to kamado today than ever before. There are some really inventive folks who cook on kamados and they find new ways every single day to make kamado cooking better, easier, and more efficient for themselves and other kamado cooks. A major reason is that with so many really good stores that stock kamado grilling accessories (you can find them with a Google search) I don’t want to be accused of steering business to one place and away from another. Finally, I have absolutely no experience with the vast majority of those products and I don't feel qualified to speak about them We have a number of good Maniacs here, Breadhead ​and even a Moderator, fuzzydaddy, who are much more knowledgeable so I'm hoping that they will append their accoutrement here and discuss them at length.
So let’s talk about the basics that you’ll need to really bring out the power of your kamado in a cook. Please also understand that I’m a big proponent of using the proper tool for the job. I don’t believe in cobbling together a make-do solution for a lot of different reasons.
Every kamado cook needs a really good means of grabbing onto hot grates, skillets, pizza stones, etc. I use welders’ gauntlets and have for years.
These gloves have served me well for years (as you can probably tell) and I like the part that covers my forearms. I picked these up at a Welders’ Supply Store for under $20 or so about 5 years ago. They’re rugged and they last. If you spill some liquid on them, they are water resistant and you’re not going to hurt yourself.
HEAT DEFLECTORS
To my mind every standard sized (18†in diameter or better) kamado cooker needs some good heat deflectors. Heat deflectors serve the purpose of turning your kamado into a convection oven and protecting your cooks from the direct heat of the burning charcoal. Further, heat deflectors serve to eliminate most hot spots in your cooker. Most hot spots in kamados using heat deflectors are found around the annulus between the edge of the heat deflector and the kamado wall. In the picture below, note that I have marked those spaces between the heat deflector and the kamado wall.
​As has been the case here, I think it important to bring in other types of equipment. I have a really good BBQ speciality store close by, Everything Barbecue ; they are a BGE shop. Here is a picture of the BGE heat deflector. Previously known as a "Plate Setter" it's now known as a "convEGGtor" which according to BGE turns your Egg into an "outdoor convection oven." This heat deflector can be used in two configurations "feet up" or "feet down."
Here is the BGE convEGGtor in the feet up position inside a Large BGE at Everything Barbecue.
You would normally use the BGE convEGGtor in this configuration with a drip pan in between the feet catch all dripping from the grate that would rest directly on top of the convEGGtor feet.
​Finally, here are a couple of pictures of the heat deflector for Weber's new Summit Charcoal Grill. While I know that the Weber Summit Charcoal Grill is not specifically a kamado, i think it instructive to include it.Notice how close it fits to the Summit wall.
Here is a shot with the "Wings" raised. This configuration allows one to add briquettes during the cook and also allows you to control the amount of heat getting past the deflector and increasing the convection within the Summit.
I know some really good kamado cookers who do not use a heat deflector and they put some incredibly gorgeous food on a plate. They use the fat cap on butts and briskets and place those meats fat cap down. They like the flavor that the fat dripping on hot coals imparts to the meat. The fat cap protects the cook and really gives the cook a nice bark on that side. I’m much more of a traditionalist and It is seldom that I don’t use a heat deflector, especially when cooking large clods of meat in a low-n-slow or braising and especially when baking.
Many kamado cookers chose not to purchase the heat deflectors designed specifically for their kamado. Instead, these people will use things such as aluminum pizza pans, clay bottoms that you set clay planters in, kiln shelves, or cast iron skillets with the handle sawn off, etc. I’ve seen folks try and use marble or granite scraps they get from a friend who owns a counter top store. Yeah, these make-shift solutions work, but there is always a down side to this and we’ll cover those downsides now for heat deflectors.
Pizza pans are made of aluminum and aluminum melts at about 1,218F (659C). According to Wikipedia, lump burns at something like 4,890F (2,700C). Now we are not going to get that hot in a kamado, but I’ve seen aluminum foil decompose in kamados.
Clay flower pot bottom are not even close to being something that I’d put in my kamado. The simple reason is that these tan/brown formed clay utensils aren’t designed to take even the low temps of a low-n-slow cook much less the high temps associate with pizza cooks. I’ve seen them shatter mid-cook and that really puts a halt to the whole show. So too with stone heat deflectors made from granite or marble. They shatter all too easily; there types of make shift heat deflectors simply aren’t worth it to my mind. They are just not worth it.
Kiln shelves are capable of serving as a heat deflector, but they aren’t designed for your specific kamado. This means that the kamado will not function as well as if you have the manufacturers’ heat deflector that is designed for that specific kamado.
'
So, I hope you see that a proper heat deflector is a necessity to a wide range of cooks. A properly designed heat deflector costs just a few dollars; given that you’ve invested the kinds of dollars it takes to get into kamado cooking, why not just invest in a good heat deflector designed by your kamado’s manufacturer. Lastly, using any accessory NOT designed by the manufacturer may actually void your manufacturer’s warranty, and nobody wants that to happen!
PIZZA STONES
Akin to heat deflectors are baking stones/steels. These should never be used as heat deflectors. A heat deflector has a much different purpose than a baking stone and steel. Baking stones and steels are specifically designed with specific thermal properties that help you bake. Notice in the picture below the difference between that picture of my KK baking stone and its cousin, the KK heat deflectors. The baking stone has a highly finished surface that makes sliding pizza or bread on and off the stone quite easy.
​Pizza stones are generally not sold with the basic kamado package out the door. I really like the taste of kamado pizza. It's quick, easy and tastes for all the world a lot like wood fired pizza from a dedicated woodburning oven. Here is picture of the baking stone for TheBeast, my KK BB 32. This thing weighs in at 42 pounds and can really put a lot of heat into a pizza in a big hurry. This picture shows it sitting on top of the extended cooking grate and gets the stone high in the dome of TheBeast. Thus, the pizza get baked from both above and below.
BGE makes a fine pizza stone as well. It's not nearly as thick as the pizza stone pictured above, but I used a BGE pizza stone for a lot of years like the one pictured below to great effect. I baked a lot of pizza, bread, and desserts on my BGE pizza stone and never heard one complaint.
​Here are a couple of pictures of the BGE pizza stone for the Lg. BGE.
Here is picture of the BGE pizza stone sitting on the main cooking grate with the BGE heat deflector, the convEGGtor in the feet down position.
Pizza stones are almost as handy as heat deflectors. I've used every manor of manufacturers' pizza stone in my BGEs, Primo Oval XL, and now in my KKs. They are really indispensable for baking pizzas (DUH!), desserts of any stripe, i.e. cakes, cobblers, pies, etc. and without a good baking stone, breads would be impossible. Our Friend, Breadhead will take us though kamado baking in short order. He's forgotten more in that area than I'll ever figure out.
Finally, I prefer to spend a little extra money from the outset to purchase the heat deflectors and pizza stones designed to be used in your specific kamado. I know and understand some of you good kamado cooking Maniacs would chose other options. but I don't think it's worth the risk of exploding natural stone, metals melting, etc. to save a few bucks. That's just me and I do realize there is a real diversity of opinion.
Okay, I'm going to shut up now!
Questions? Comments? Thoughts?
Yes, I know that “AKKoutrements" is really spelled "accoutrements" (after all I DID go to Catholic School!) and I do know the word is properly already plural, but I’m doing this for a very good point. There is a double entendre there that I just couldn’t resist. After all, we are talking about Kamado Kooking and I do so really love my KKs. Ok, now that that is out of the way, let’s get started talking about all the equipment available to assist you in creating some of the best food to ever grace a table.
First, let me say that I really only want to cover the basics here. The reason for that is there are more accoutrements to kamado today than ever before. There are some really inventive folks who cook on kamados and they find new ways every single day to make kamado cooking better, easier, and more efficient for themselves and other kamado cooks. A major reason is that with so many really good stores that stock kamado grilling accessories (you can find them with a Google search) I don’t want to be accused of steering business to one place and away from another. Finally, I have absolutely no experience with the vast majority of those products and I don't feel qualified to speak about them We have a number of good Maniacs here, Breadhead ​and even a Moderator, fuzzydaddy, who are much more knowledgeable so I'm hoping that they will append their accoutrement here and discuss them at length.
So let’s talk about the basics that you’ll need to really bring out the power of your kamado in a cook. Please also understand that I’m a big proponent of using the proper tool for the job. I don’t believe in cobbling together a make-do solution for a lot of different reasons.
Every kamado cook needs a really good means of grabbing onto hot grates, skillets, pizza stones, etc. I use welders’ gauntlets and have for years.
These gloves have served me well for years (as you can probably tell) and I like the part that covers my forearms. I picked these up at a Welders’ Supply Store for under $20 or so about 5 years ago. They’re rugged and they last. If you spill some liquid on them, they are water resistant and you’re not going to hurt yourself.
HEAT DEFLECTORS
To my mind every standard sized (18†in diameter or better) kamado cooker needs some good heat deflectors. Heat deflectors serve the purpose of turning your kamado into a convection oven and protecting your cooks from the direct heat of the burning charcoal. Further, heat deflectors serve to eliminate most hot spots in your cooker. Most hot spots in kamados using heat deflectors are found around the annulus between the edge of the heat deflector and the kamado wall. In the picture below, note that I have marked those spaces between the heat deflector and the kamado wall.
​As has been the case here, I think it important to bring in other types of equipment. I have a really good BBQ speciality store close by, Everything Barbecue ; they are a BGE shop. Here is a picture of the BGE heat deflector. Previously known as a "Plate Setter" it's now known as a "convEGGtor" which according to BGE turns your Egg into an "outdoor convection oven." This heat deflector can be used in two configurations "feet up" or "feet down."
Here is the BGE convEGGtor in the feet up position inside a Large BGE at Everything Barbecue.
You would normally use the BGE convEGGtor in this configuration with a drip pan in between the feet catch all dripping from the grate that would rest directly on top of the convEGGtor feet.
​Finally, here are a couple of pictures of the heat deflector for Weber's new Summit Charcoal Grill. While I know that the Weber Summit Charcoal Grill is not specifically a kamado, i think it instructive to include it.Notice how close it fits to the Summit wall.
Here is a shot with the "Wings" raised. This configuration allows one to add briquettes during the cook and also allows you to control the amount of heat getting past the deflector and increasing the convection within the Summit.
I know some really good kamado cookers who do not use a heat deflector and they put some incredibly gorgeous food on a plate. They use the fat cap on butts and briskets and place those meats fat cap down. They like the flavor that the fat dripping on hot coals imparts to the meat. The fat cap protects the cook and really gives the cook a nice bark on that side. I’m much more of a traditionalist and It is seldom that I don’t use a heat deflector, especially when cooking large clods of meat in a low-n-slow or braising and especially when baking.
Many kamado cookers chose not to purchase the heat deflectors designed specifically for their kamado. Instead, these people will use things such as aluminum pizza pans, clay bottoms that you set clay planters in, kiln shelves, or cast iron skillets with the handle sawn off, etc. I’ve seen folks try and use marble or granite scraps they get from a friend who owns a counter top store. Yeah, these make-shift solutions work, but there is always a down side to this and we’ll cover those downsides now for heat deflectors.
Pizza pans are made of aluminum and aluminum melts at about 1,218F (659C). According to Wikipedia, lump burns at something like 4,890F (2,700C). Now we are not going to get that hot in a kamado, but I’ve seen aluminum foil decompose in kamados.
Clay flower pot bottom are not even close to being something that I’d put in my kamado. The simple reason is that these tan/brown formed clay utensils aren’t designed to take even the low temps of a low-n-slow cook much less the high temps associate with pizza cooks. I’ve seen them shatter mid-cook and that really puts a halt to the whole show. So too with stone heat deflectors made from granite or marble. They shatter all too easily; there types of make shift heat deflectors simply aren’t worth it to my mind. They are just not worth it.
Kiln shelves are capable of serving as a heat deflector, but they aren’t designed for your specific kamado. This means that the kamado will not function as well as if you have the manufacturers’ heat deflector that is designed for that specific kamado.
'
So, I hope you see that a proper heat deflector is a necessity to a wide range of cooks. A properly designed heat deflector costs just a few dollars; given that you’ve invested the kinds of dollars it takes to get into kamado cooking, why not just invest in a good heat deflector designed by your kamado’s manufacturer. Lastly, using any accessory NOT designed by the manufacturer may actually void your manufacturer’s warranty, and nobody wants that to happen!
PIZZA STONES
Akin to heat deflectors are baking stones/steels. These should never be used as heat deflectors. A heat deflector has a much different purpose than a baking stone and steel. Baking stones and steels are specifically designed with specific thermal properties that help you bake. Notice in the picture below the difference between that picture of my KK baking stone and its cousin, the KK heat deflectors. The baking stone has a highly finished surface that makes sliding pizza or bread on and off the stone quite easy.
​Pizza stones are generally not sold with the basic kamado package out the door. I really like the taste of kamado pizza. It's quick, easy and tastes for all the world a lot like wood fired pizza from a dedicated woodburning oven. Here is picture of the baking stone for TheBeast, my KK BB 32. This thing weighs in at 42 pounds and can really put a lot of heat into a pizza in a big hurry. This picture shows it sitting on top of the extended cooking grate and gets the stone high in the dome of TheBeast. Thus, the pizza get baked from both above and below.
BGE makes a fine pizza stone as well. It's not nearly as thick as the pizza stone pictured above, but I used a BGE pizza stone for a lot of years like the one pictured below to great effect. I baked a lot of pizza, bread, and desserts on my BGE pizza stone and never heard one complaint.
​Here are a couple of pictures of the BGE pizza stone for the Lg. BGE.
Here is picture of the BGE pizza stone sitting on the main cooking grate with the BGE heat deflector, the convEGGtor in the feet down position.
Pizza stones are almost as handy as heat deflectors. I've used every manor of manufacturers' pizza stone in my BGEs, Primo Oval XL, and now in my KKs. They are really indispensable for baking pizzas (DUH!), desserts of any stripe, i.e. cakes, cobblers, pies, etc. and without a good baking stone, breads would be impossible. Our Friend, Breadhead will take us though kamado baking in short order. He's forgotten more in that area than I'll ever figure out.
Finally, I prefer to spend a little extra money from the outset to purchase the heat deflectors and pizza stones designed to be used in your specific kamado. I know and understand some of you good kamado cooking Maniacs would chose other options. but I don't think it's worth the risk of exploding natural stone, metals melting, etc. to save a few bucks. That's just me and I do realize there is a real diversity of opinion.
Okay, I'm going to shut up now!
Questions? Comments? Thoughts?
Which is now what I use under my gutter to prop it up off the ground! Because the Keg and the Large Green Egg are the same size, their parts are interchangeable!!! I have the BGE deflector and I love it. It changed my ribs and shoulders over night. The difference is amazing. I find that my temps are much easier to control and much much more steady. 
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