Kamado Gear Picks: 10 Essentials

By Bill Bulloch, the Sausage Sommelier — backyard griller, Roswell, Georgia.

Ten products, all for kamado cooking, chosen because each one solves a real problem the guides on this site talk about: holding temperature, lighting cleanly, cooking indirectly, cleaning out ash, and protecting the grill between cooks. Most of them are small, low-cost items — the kind of thing a kamado owner replaces or restocks regularly. Read the fit note on each one before ordering.

1. Kamado Joe Big Block XL lump charcoal, 20 lb

The fuel the charcoal guide is built around: large pieces of lump that burn hot, hold temperature, and leave less ash than briquettes in a kamado. A 20-pound bag is the working size for regular cooks. Running out of fuel mid-cook is the one fuel mistake that ruins dinner, so the bag size matters as much as the brand.

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2. Kamado Joe fire starters, 24-count

Light the lump without lighter fluid, so nothing chemical lands on the food. One starter under a small pile of lump, vents open, lid open — the lighting method in the getting-started guide. Twenty-four is a season's worth for a weekly griller, and they store dry in the bag they come in.

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3. Grill Armor 932°F oven gloves

For moving a hot plate setter, adjusting a grate, or handling anything ceramic that just came off the fire. Rated to 932°F by the maker, and long enough to cover the forearm. Gloves are the one piece of gear where the heat rating is the whole point — check it before buying any pair, and replace them when the grip wears smooth.

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4. Smoker Chef smoker gasket, 2-pack x 8 ft

A worn gasket leaks air, and leaking air is what makes a kamado fight you on temperature control. This is replacement felt for Large, XL, and XXL Eggs. Gasket length is size-specific, so measure your lid rim and confirm your size on the product page before ordering.

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5. KAMaster 3-piece ash tool set

Rake, ash pan, and grate lifter. Ash builds up under the firebox and chokes airflow, and the getting-started guide's cleanup routine needs exactly these three tools. Sized for kamado fireboxes, so they reach where a kitchen tool will not.

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6. Hongso 18-inch cast-iron plate setter

The heat deflector that turns a Large Egg into an indirect cooker — brisket, ribs, pizza, baking. Cast iron, three legs, 18 inches across, built to take direct heat and hold it steady. Large only: it will not fit a Medium or an XL, so confirm your grill size first.

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7. Onlyfire stainless ash basket

A lift-out basket that sits in the firebox and holds the lump, so ash falls through and cleanup is one lift instead of a scrape-out. Fits the Large Big Green Egg and the Kamado Joe Classic. Stainless steel, made to the firebox dimensions of those two grills — confirm the fit on the product page if your grill is anything else.

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8. KAMaster 3-tier 5-piece EGGspander replacement kit

Adds cooking levels to a Large Egg: a multi-level rack, a basket, and two half grids that stack into dozens of setups for direct and indirect cooking at different heights. This is the answer to cooking for a crowd on one grill — more food on, at once. Large only.

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9. Mini Lustrous grill cover

600D Oxford fabric with a water-resistant coating, cut for a Large Egg or Kamado Joe Classic up to 22 inches across with folding side tables. A cover is cheap insurance against a ceramic grill sitting in weather all winter. Check the dimensions against your setup, side tables included, before ordering.

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10. Char-Griller AKORN Jr. portable kamado

The budget grill on this list, and the portable one. A small steel kamado that travels — tailgates, camping, a small patio — where a ceramic Egg stays home. It cooks the same way a kamado cooks, at a fraction of the size and weight. If your main grill is already a Large Egg, this is the second grill. If you are starting out, it is the low-cost way in.

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New to kamado cooking? Start with the Big Green Egg getting-started guide and the gear guide, which explain what each category does before you spend anything. Questions? Write to bill@grillingtips.org.