My biggest kamado mistakes – and how you avoid them

More knowledge means more enjoyment from your kamado bbq! If you're new to this, start with What is a kamado BBQ?.

The most common user mistakes

• Using too much charcoal
• Using too little charcoal
• Lighting it wrong, and therefore getting a lot of smoke. Read how to light a kamado
• Adjusting too soon
• Using poor quality or wet charcoal
• Opening both the bottom vent and the top controller all the way
• Opening the dome again and again, “if you're looking you ain't cooking”
• Letting it get too hot too fast. Heating up too quickly, especially in cold and damp weather, can cause damage.

How to avoid these mistakes

Work with small adjustments to the airflow, use quality charcoal and bring the kamado up to temperature slowly. If you want to get this right, have a look at Controlling the temperature.

More user information

• How do you light a kamado?
• Disadvantages of a kamado BBQ
• Advantages of a kamado BBQ
• What is the difference between a cheap and an expensive kamado?

Mistakes when cooking food on the kamado

Many mistakes have to do with temperature and charcoal, but you can also make life unnecessarily hard for yourself while cooking. Below are a few extra pitfalls, so you get more control over your Grill Bill kamado.

1. Putting meat straight from the fridge onto the grate

If you put cold meat straight onto a hot grate, you'll often end up with a burnt outside while the centre is still too cold or undercooked. So take larger cuts out of the fridge 20 to 40 minutes early, so they can come up towards room temperature. Your Grill Bill does the rest.

2. Loading too much food onto the grate at once

A packed grate looks great, but it blocks the airflow. Your kamado responds more slowly and your meat cooks unevenly. Always leave some space between the pieces and work in two rounds if you need to. For bigger sessions you can work with multiple zones, read more about that in direct and indirect cooking on the kamado.

3. Turning and shifting too often

Every time you turn or move your meat, you interrupt the crust forming and lose heat. Give your steak, chicken or vegetables time to build a proper Maillard crust and turn once or twice rather than every minute. Or as they say: “if you are looking, you are not cooking”.

4. Applying sweet marinades and sauces too early

Marinades and sauces with a lot of sugar or honey are brilliant for flavour and shine, but at high temperatures sugars burn fast. Only apply them in the last 5 to 10 minutes, certainly for hot and fast cooks. With low and slow you can start earlier, but keep a close eye on the colour.

5. Not thinking about direct and indirect zones

Many beginners put everything over direct heat. The result: the outside darkens quickly, the inside isn't there yet. Set your Grill Bill up for a combination of direct and indirect, for example with a heat deflector or the Smart Qooking System. In direct and indirect cooking on the kamado we explain exactly when to use which zone.

6. Treating delicate produce like a steak

Fish, shellfish, vegetables, bread and desserts often need a lower temperature and indirect heat. Put salmon or a whole fish over an indirect zone and use a clean grate or a plancha. That stops half of it sticking to the grate when you want to turn it.

7. Using too much or too little smoking wood

Smoking wood is flavour, but also easily too much of a good thing. A handful of chunks or a few small blocks is usually plenty. Too much smoke gives a bitter, harsh flavour and can ruin an otherwise lovely Grill Bill session. Only add smoking wood once your charcoal is burning cleanly and steadily, as we also explain in how to light a kamado BBQ.

8. Not using core temperature

Grilling by feel is fine for sausages and burgers, but for thick steaks, rolled roasts, pulled pork or whole chicken a core thermometer is really indispensable. Without core temperature you'll guess wrong before long and cut into that beautiful piece of meat too early, or too late.

9. Ignoring the weather

Wind, cold and rain all affect the airflow around your kamado. Even though a Grill Bill is nicely stable, it behaves differently in strong wind or low temperatures. Put your kamado out of the wind and adjust more gently than you would on a warm summer's day. In how to control the temperature in a kamado you'll read how to stay stable whatever the season.

10. Having no plan for timing and resting

A lot of people start cooking too late, then end up rushing and cranking the temperature up unnecessarily. Plan ahead: when does the meat need to go on the kamado, how much time do you need, and when does it need to rest. Let large cuts rest for at least 10 to 20 minutes under loosely draped foil after cooking, so the juices can redistribute properly.

Avoid these mistakes and your kamado session won't just be more relaxed, you'll taste the difference on the plate too. Want to get the basics down even better? Then also check how to light a kamado BBQ and controlling the temperature in a kamado.