SNS Kamado Questions

[Irishfuente]

I love SNS products, right now I just have a weber grill with an SNS inside of it and I use it all the time.

I want the Kamado just not sure I need it. it seems with the price take the SNS grill might do me just as well?

Is there anything the Kamado will allow me to do that I cannot do with the SNS grill? IS there anything that Id want to use just kamado style rather than with the SNS?

I feel the only real benefits are heat retention and then being able to cut off the air to save the amount of charcoal? It does seem like on a cold day Kamado may be a better tool then just a metal kettle,

Am I missing something?

[FireMan]

There is a lot that you can do with a Kamado over a kettle. I would saunter over to the K section. Research, research, research.

[Huskee]

You'll get even longer hands-off time, use less charcoal, and as FireMan mentions other benefits, one being much better suited to baking due to its steadiness if that's your thing or could be your thing. Will the food taste different? No. As an illustration- it's a pontoon boat instead of a rowboat.

[LA Pork Butt]

Huskee is right on. I cook on a Kamado. You can probably do everything on your kettles that you can do on a Kamado. Besides heat retention and cold weather cooking many things will be easier, and it really shines in baking and roasting. One load of charcoal can cook unattended for 12-14+ hours. If most of your cooking is grilling stick with the kettle. But, if low and slow, roasting and baking are in the mix and you want an easier life go Kamado.

[WillieMac]

LA: Looking forward to firing up my Kamado this winter. I've only had mine for a month or so and cooking my first whole chicken today. Meathead recommends going to 325; I'm also going to either split it or cut completely into parts. How do you set yours up for this cook? (I have the SnS model, courtesy of @AmazingRibs, so I can set the fire high or low.) Thanks!

[LA Pork Butt]

WillieMac Congratulations on your new Kamado. I don’t do chickens very often, but I think I would either spatchcock or quarter them. And use the defuser cooking them at 350-375 to help skin crisp. This is a fun book for learning the various ways you can cook on a Kamado. The Kamado Smoker and Grill Cookbook: Recipes and Techniques for the World's Best Barbecue

[WillieMac]

Appreciate the tips, LA!

[MillerTime]

The biggest difference to me is that kamado mode gives you much more space since you can use the whole grate instead of losing the space that the SNS occupies. So use the SNS when you can, but kamado mode is there when more is needed.

[Andrrr]

I was going to add this point if no one else had.

[Murdy]

Are kamados capable of higher temperatures for searing than a kettle?

[Spinaker]

I think a kamado offers a lot of advantages over a kettle. (Nothing against Kettles, they are a staple on any patio) Other than what has been mentioned above, I think efficiently is huge. You can cook all weekend, low and slow, on a load of charcoal. (At least I can in my BGEs) You can cook pretty much everything on a kamado.

One thing I would recommend you buy is a Kick Ash Basket to go with it. This allows for betters airflow in the kamado and avoids having the holes in the cast iron grate from plugging up. It also makes clean up much easier. All you have to do is take the basket out, shake it and you are good to go again.

Also, I use a shop vac to clean my kamados out. After removing the Kick Ash Basket, and the charcoal pan, I vacuum out off the loose ash. (which is minimal) It makes it really nice and easy. I use both my small Milwaukee auto vac or my large shop vac. Both work fine. You do not need to go crazy.....any vac will work if you go this route.

[LA Pork Butt]

I have the kick ash basket and the BGE basket. I like the KAB for high temp cooks, but prefer the BGE basket for low and slow. It controls temp more like the original cast iron grate. The KAB tends to run a little hotter for me and droops lots of small charcoal.

[tbob4]

Great advice. I have a dedicated cheap shop vac for my Vision grill. It makes life so easy.

[jfmorris]

Irishfuente I have the SNS Deluxe Kamado (Thank you Amazing Ribs!) and also have a Weber Performer with all of the SNS accessories.

Technically you can cook all the same things on the kettle that you can cook on the kamado, but what I find better about the kamado are:

1. Much better temperature control due to being really tightly sealed up. So much so that I rarely bother with my thermostatic controller (BBQGuru PartyQ) on the kamado, even though I still use it on the kettle.

2. More efficient for sure.

3. More capacity possible for smoking in kamado mode, since you can use the full grate plus an elevated grate. On the kettle when smoking I only ever use the SNS, sacrificing about 1/3 of the cooking grate because of it.

4. More options for cooking setups.

Let me go into that #4 and what I mean by it. Basically, you can do the following:

- Cook in "SNS Mode" with the SNS on the upper charcoal grate just like you would in a kettle.
- Cook in "Direct Kamado mode" without the SNS with charcoal in the bottom of the cooker, which opens up THREE levels of cooking - upper charcoal grate (which is stainless) for searing, full 22" cooking grate and the upper elevated grate. I treat it like a Santa Maria grill with 3 levels possible.
- Cook in "Indirect kamado mode" with the heat deflector in place. You can cook on pretty much the entire cooking grate and elevated grate. You do want to keep a little clear of the edges though where heat is rising.
- Cook with charcoal on the upper charcoal grate without the SNS.

5. Higher temperature possibilities than on a kettle. I can get the Kamado to 700F and higher INDIRECT cooking temperatures, for baking pizza.

All in all, I will say that it does take a little longer to get the SNS Kamado up to temperature than it does my Performer, all things being equal... but in the past 13 months of ownership, I've used the SNSK 10 times more often than I have my Performer.

The only real negatives I see are in the area of portability and cleanup. The SNSK or any kamado is much heaver, and is more fragile as well. Be careful rolling it around, and don't try to move it across the yard without help - if it falls over it could get broken. On cleanup - nothing can really beat the ash sweeps and bucket on the Weber or SNS kettles, but if I only burn lump, and no briquettes, I find that I can cook a good half dozen times before I use my charcoal scoop to clean ashes out of the bottom of the kamado. I just shovel them into a trash bag once they start getting deep in the bottom, otherwise I just rake them around until they fall through the cast iron grate holes when lighting it for the next use.

[58limited]

You can also use other Weber accessories with the SnSK. I just bought a Vortex and the Weber BBQ System grate (center come out and both sides are hinged). According to Pit members this set up makes the best chicken wings on the Weber kettle, I can only image that it will do wonders in the SnSK as well.

I don't have a kettle but I have a kamado and the SnS Kamado. For me the SnSK is like having a kettle and a kamado all in one - does everything that a kamado does and everything that a kettle does.

I have a PK-O grill, a KBQ, and a large offset smoker too - I use them all but of late I've been using the SnSK more.