The Kamado Smoker and Grill Cookbook: Recipes and Techniques for the World's Best Barbecue

I consider myself to be an expert Kamado Grill user/owner as it's part of my professional life cooking on them. There are very few books on the market dedicated to Kamado Cooking so when I found out Mr. Grove had published this one, I ordered it right away! I had been following his blog online for a couple years and I know his culinary skills on the grill are outstanding. This book is particularly helpful for a new/inexperienced Kamado owner because it gives you a lot of detail on how the kamado grill works and how to operate it properly. Kamado grills are fantastic cookers and grilling is just a small part of what they do. I like to consider them as charcoal fired ovens, and when you start to think of them this way, a world of opportunity opens for you! This book starts you on your journey by explaining the parts of the kamado grill, how to start it up and how to control your fire for cooking at various temperatures. Controlling the airflow through the grill is the key to controlling the temperature and this book gives you everything you need to know about those techniques. Beyond that, this book gives you a ton of insight into what accessories you want in your arsenal as you become a Kamado GrillMaster! All this is in just the first pages of the book! After those basics are covered, you are treated to a ton of great recipes that take advantage of every possible type of cooking you would want to do on your Kamado grill. This book is not just for beginners. There are recipes and techniques covered here that will benefit Kamado cooks of all levels. Don't let your outdoor cooking bookshelf fall short by not picking up a copy of this book!

While The Kamado Smoker and Grill Cookbook is geared towards owners of ceramic cookers, the bulk of the information contained within the book can really be applied to any type of smoker or grill. In addition to offering techniques that go beyond direct grate grilling like cast iron baking, salt block grilling, and grilling on coals, author Chris Grove really showcases his cooking skills with such concepts as hot tubbing (aka poor man’s sous vide in which food is seasoned, sealed in a bag, then place in a temperature controlled water bath for a few hours to promote juiciness and tenderness before finishing it on the grill); wok-top “broiling” (using a wok lid to create high heat above a dish so that it asks as a broiler); and cold smoking (smoking food such as cheese at a very low temperature). But my favorite technique by far was Chris’ use of a foil covered Bundt pan to steam food like his recipe for beer steamed snow crab and potatoes. By using the Bundt pan, his method allows smoke from the Kamado to enter the pan through the center hole while the foil holds in the steam. Simply brilliant! As for recipes, Chris knocks it out of the park with such dishes as Turbo Brisket (aka hot-and-fast brisket cooked at 300 degrees versus the traditional 225-250); agave glazed and smoked turkey breast (yes, turkey can be cooked outside of Thanksgiving!); cherry cheese Danish cobbler; and babyback ribs with bootlegger BBQ sauce. And the best part about the book? The majority of the mouth watering photos included within were taken by the man himself who’s photography on his blog NibbleMeThis.com has kept me coming back for more year after year. So whether you own a ceramic cooker, are considering the purchase of one, or simply want to step up your grilling game, definitely run out and grab your copy of The Kamado Smoker & Grill Cookbook.

I recently purchased my BGE and surveyed the Amazon book reviews to find the best book to get me started. As the reviews indicated, this one presents basic information every Kamado grill owner should know, the various cooking options possible and includes one example recipe for each type of cooking. The pictures are clear and very helpful. With so many ways to cook on a Kamado and so many foods to cook, the author was limited in how many recipes he could include. I was anxious to cook my first ever brisket, using the "low & slow" method (as recommended by many on the BGE forums) and was slightly disappointed that the author's only recipe for brisket was using the "hot & fast" technique. This won't be the only Komado cookbook in my library but it was definitely a very good first step.

This is a very interesting book. I typically jump around in cookbooks. This one is organized so that there’s a skill being taught along with each recipe. It’s not clear to me whether the order was intentional or not, but I’m going to go through the book in order in case it is. A lot of the recipes have a “try this next” after it, giving you other jumping off points to play with. We had an electric smoker for years and loved it. When it died, I bought this grill, and am very happy with it. There’s a bigger learning curve, but to my delight, it’s surprising low maintenance. Pit Boss 71240 Kamado BBQ Ceramic Grill Cooker, 24" Picured below: Pics 1-2) Lesson#1: Paper towel lighting method and Spinach-Stuffed Pork Chops – p 19-22. Ha! The lighting method works! The chops reminded me of a Jacques Pépin recipe that I love, so I made his butter glazed carrots to accompany it. Delicious, and not my standard grill fare! Pics 3-5) Lesson#2: Gas torch lighting method and Game Day Chili Cheeseburger – p 23-26. I don’t have a torch, so I went with this thing instead. Pit Boss 74120 Electric Charcoal Igniter The electric starter’s really easy. You don’t even need starter cubes. The burger was really awesome. Pic 6) Lesson#3: Direct grilling and Grilled Steaks with Cajun Butter – p 27-30. That is a *great* steak. Pic 7) Lesson#4: Indirect grilling and Fire-Roasted Meatloaf Sandwiches – p 31-35. Awesome. I never considered grilling a meatloaf before. I adore the flavor. He said you could toss a little wood on, so I added just a few chips. Pic 8) Lesson#5: Spatchcocked poultry and Hickory Smoked Chicken – p 37-39. Oh my gosh, yes! That’s a delicious chicken! I made veggie kabobs (bell peppers, zucchini, shrooms, and onions) brushed in olive oil and sprinkled in season salt to go with it. They go on for the lat 1 ½ hours at the chicken smoking temp. This was another indirect grilling one. You can see the heat deflection plate in the background. Here’s the rest of the lessons/recipes being taught. I’ll update this as I work my way through it. Lesson#6: Smoking, low and slow, and Smoked Pork Butt with Carolina Slaw – p 40-44. Lesson#7: Smoking, hot and fast, and Turbo Brisket – p 45-48. Lesson#8: Cooking wings over direct heat and Beer-Brined Wings – p 49-51. Lesson#9: 30-20-10 wings and Thai Sticky Wings – p 52-54. Lesson#10: Roasting rack/pan combo and Fire-Roasted Pork Loin with Root Vegetables – p 55-57. Lesson#11: Injecting flavor and Agave-Glazed Smoked Turkey Breast – p 58-60. Lesson#12: Using brines and Pork Tacos with Corn Salsa – p 61-64. Lesson#13: Creating and using marinades and Island-Style Chicken Sandwich – p 65-68. Lesson#14: Dutch ovens and Cherry Cheese Danish Cobbler – p 69-71. Lesson#15: Convection Baking and Appalachian Apple Flambé – p 72-74. Lesson#16: Sear/roasting steaks and chops and Cowboy Ribeye with Ranch-Style Beans – p 75-77. Lesson#17: Reverse searing steaks and chops and Two-Finger Pork Chops – p 78-80. Lesson#18: Reverse searing roasts and Three-Chile Tri-Tip with Grilled Salsa Verde – p 81-84. Lesson#19: Hot tubbing and Flat Iron Steak Tacos with Green Chile Crema – p 85-87. Lesson#20: Stuffed cheeseburgers and Green-Chile Stuffed Burgers with Avocado Ranch Dressing – p 88-90. Lesson#21: Stir-firing and Thai Beef with Basil Fried Rice – p 91-94. Lesson#22: Brick-press grilling and Brick-Grilled Chicken Panini – p 95-97. Lesson#23: Plank grilling and Ponzu-Glazed Salmon with Pineapple-Jalapeno Pico de Gallo – p 98-100. Lesson#24: Steam Cooking on a Kamado and Beer-Steamed Snow Crab with Corn and Potatoes – p 101-103. Lesson#25: Grill toppers and veggie woks and Steak Fajita Rice Bowls – p 104-107. Lesson#26: Corn three ways and Butter-Braised Corn – p 108-110. Lesson#27: Wok-top broiling and Grilled Kentucky Hot Browns – p 111-113. Lesson#28: Raised direct grilling and Grilled Ranch Chicken – p 114-116. Lesson#29: Cooking with stoneware and Veggie Potstickers – p 117-120. Lesson#30: Using grill grates and Chilean Sea Bass with Pineapple-Mango Salsa – p 121-123. Lesson#31: Grilling with Skewers and Pork Kebabs with Cashew Sauce – p 124-126. Lesson#32: Flexible skewers and Curry Chicken with Coconut Basil Sauce – p 127-129. Lesson#33: Spider rig searing and Seared Beef Fillet with Creole Brandy Sauce – p 130-132. Lesson#34: Pan roasting and Skillet Chicken Verde – p 133-135. Lesson#35: Sous-vide and Grilled Herb Chicken with Red Jalapeño Sauce – p 136-138. Lesson#36: Cold smoking and Smoked Fontina Cheese Mashed Potatoes – p 139-141. Lesson#37: Salt block grilling and Salt-Seared Tuna Salad with Tropical BBQ Vinaigrette – p 142-145. Lesson#38: Smoking with electronic controllers and Baby Back Ribs with Bootlegger BBQ Sauce – p 146-151. Lesson#39: Breakfast on the Kamado and Grilled Stuffed French Toast and Classic Breakfast “Fatty” – p 152-155. Lesson#40: Dip and flip and Shrimp Scampi on a Stick – p 156-158. Lesson#41: The Kamado as a brick oven and ABT Pizza – p 159-161. Lesson#42: Baking bread and Mary Alice’s Sourdough Bread – p 162-165. Lesson#43: Griddle cooking and Sliders Mignon – p 166-168. Lesson#44: Blackening and Blackened Chicken Wraps – p 169-171. Lesson#45: Single serve dishes and Spinach Alexis – p 172-174. Lesson#46: Because you can and Grilled Shrimp and Grits Appetizer – p 175-177. Lesson#47: Roulade-style roasts and Flank Steak Roulade with Manchego Cheese, Spinach, and Sun-Dried Tomatoes – p 178-181. Lesson#48: Cast iron skillets and Black Bean Burgers – p 182-184. Lesson#49: Coordinating cooks and Turtle Eggs, ABTs, and Bacon-Wrapped Tots – p 185-188. Lesson#50: Beer-can chicken and Shot Glass Cornish Hens – p 189-190. Lesson#51: Grilling on the coals and Persimmon-Grilled Lamb Chops – p 191-193. Lesson#52: Prime rib and Reverse Seared Prime Rib – p 194-198. Appendix: Troubleshooting and conversions.

This book is an invaluable resource for any Kamado owner. I'm on my second Kamado (a Grill Dome) and have been grilling on a Kamado for more than three years and found some great nuggets of information on almost every page. I thought I'd mastered the Kamado, but now I have so many more tricks and tips that I have to experiment with - the paper towel method of lighting the grill, an ingenious way to grill stuffed pork chops to keep the stuffing in, how to make cleaning the inside of the grill simple and easy, marking the vent every half inch to make for more precise temperature control, cold smoking and also salt block grilling. I feel like my grilling horizons were just expanded ten fold. This book is not filled with 300 recipes of which half are crap. It's more focused on methods for grilling with the Kamado with the cream of the crop of recipes that show how those methods can be used to perfection. I considered myself a Kamado expert and now I feel that I have so much more to explore and that's a good thing. There is no such thing as knowing everything in terms of grilling and BBQ, but this book is a good step on that journey. I think it's time to order a second copy for my dad, a fellow Kamado Konnoisseur.

Most people that own, or are looking to own, a kamado know that they can be quite versatile. But that versatility comes at a price: they don’t quite always behave like that kettle you’ve used for years. Enter this book. With lots of recipes, with explanations on why things work or what to watch for, it covers just about everything one might consider. Lots of techniques to try along with the various recipes means that mastering the kamado is a whole lot closer at hand. And it doesn’t matter the brand either...I’ve used it with great success on my Weber Summit Charcoal Grill Center. Not technically a kamado, but it behaves like one.

For me, this is a really good book. I purchased a Kamado Joe about 2 months ago and use it several times a week. I am learning something new every time I fire it up. I was using a bullet style water smoker before upgrading to a Kamado Joe. I found a LOT of useful tips and techniques that I had not yet seen or found on related web sites and forums. Actually, this book pointed me to a few that I did not know about. The recipes look awesome, I have a long list of things to try from this book, --besides my weekly family favorites. A suggestion for future updates: page number references on the Kindle version are not helpful, perhaps hyperlinks instead. Links to suggested sources with pictures for your tools and accessories that you mention. I did go back to your blog to find images, but including them in your book would be helpful. I am on my third time through this book looking for things I might have missed, --a really good reference. Thanks Chris Grove!!

I thought from the title and reviews that this book was specific to techniques for the Kamado Joe brand ceramic cooker and its specific components. It is not. It turns out that kamado is a more generic term for ceramic cookers! The book does show many ways to use a ceramic cooker and gives a recipe example for each. I think it will be somewhat useful for the experienced grill master I plan to gift it to since he is new to ceramic egg grills. But I am disappointed it does not show what a variety of accessories for the Kamoto Joe can do.

Book is pretty basic but exactly what was described

Really excellent book. Great breakdown of how to use a Kamodo. Recipes are American (but there is an English conversion table to translate cup size etc into ml). All of the ingredients I have in the cupboard bar a couple and these can be sourced easily online. What I loved about it was that the writer doesn't coat everything in a BBQ sauce or a 'HOT sauce' like other (American) cook books do but actually gives you a breakdown of ingredients needed to make these sauces as opposed to just going to a shop and buying a bottle. Loved in and cant wait for the summer

Simplemente malo

Glad I bought this before buying a Kamado. I did most of my research (on purchasing and cooking on) through YouTube and they leave out a lot of the safety issues and accessory information. With this book I was confident to buy the right size Kamado I needed, as well as the accessories I needed. What I liked is that this book laid out what accessories were essential, and what weren't so essential but useful. I liked how it went into the quality of tools as well. The book was also revealing on what skills I needed to sharpen to be successful in preparing a great dish. This saved me from a lot of embarrassment when I cooked for company, as I otherwise would have been unprepared. Very good book, and I learned far more on what I should purchase than through videos.

The book covers a lot of themes regarding kamado cooking. Has a lot of recipes and gives you a lot of hints. I consider this a must if you are in this great kamado cooking world!.