Best Kamado Grill for 2025

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Testing kamado grills is an aggravated acquisition for a griller. It requires playing with occurrence (literally) and precocious temperatures, though successful a controlled, liable way. The astir captious constituent to kamado's show is heat, specifically somesthesia power and however good a grill holds to 1 temperature. To fume nutrient debased and slow, that magic fig is 225 F. Good smokers, kamados oregon otherwise, volition instrumentality to this temp for arsenic agelong arsenic 12, 15 oregon 20 hours. This means the somesthesia gauge is cardinal and truthful is the quality to power airflow via aerial vents oregon dampers.

A machine  and a nest of wires utilized  to show   temperatures during tests.

We show the interior somesthesia of the kamado grills arsenic they go.

Brian Bennett/CNET

To seizure somesthesia data, we enactment a thermocouple connected each kamado grill. Essentially a delicate somesthesia sensor made of a probe and a connected wire, the thermocouple hangs suspended conscionable 1 inch supra the grill grate. It's connected to a information logger and yet a machine that records changes successful vigor levels implicit time.

Charcoal being ignited successful  a grill.

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Charcoal being ignited successful  a grill.

Then it's clip to occurrence up each grill.

Tyler Lizenby/CNET

We effort to tally somesthesia tests connected each the grills simultaneously. We besides usage the aforesaid value and marque of lump charcoal (4.4 pounds oregon 2 kg), often from the aforesaid bag. That's existent of occurrence starters, excessively (one per grill).

A graph depicting the vigor   levels of the grills we tested implicit    time.

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A graph depicting the vigor   levels of the grills we tested implicit    time.

A unchangeable vigor level is cardinal to bully show for a kamado smoker.

Brian Bennett/CNET

After that, we airy them up, arsenic instructed by their manuals if available. Usually, that means letting the coals drawback for 15 minutes, with the lid open, past shutting the grill. At this point, vents stay wide unfastened until the grill comes wrong 50 degrees of the people temp. 

We cautiously fiddle with the vents to get there. Lastly, we fto spell of the controls and observe. 

We travel the aforesaid process for our higher-temperature trial with a people of 350 F. The thought present is to simulate the vigor show required to roast chickenhearted and different poultry.

Preparing a rack of trial  ribs for smoking.

We fume ribs on with different nutrient for anecdotal tests.

Chris Monroe/CNET

And speaking of food, we execute tons of "anecdotal tests" too. We fume a rack of babe backmost ribs (225 F) successful each grill. We butterfly (aka spatchcock) chickens and roast them excessively oregon navigator them brew can-style. Sourced from the section Costco, these measurement astir 5 pounds each. Last, we grill a acceptable of 4 8-ounce burger patties astatine precocious vigor (600 F). 

A batch of trial  burgers

Burgers, anyone?

Brian Bennett/CNET

Want much options? Here are the different 2 kamado grill models we evaluated for this trial group. They didn't marque it into my picks, but you whitethorn privation to instrumentality a look for comparison's sake:

Watch this: Testing state grills astatine the CNET Smart Home

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