Hi kids,

Welcome to my Kamado Page.

The Kamado is a Smoker Grill based on an ancient oriental cooker. Over the years the design has been upgraded to become one of the best smokers available.

I first found out about Kamados about 1999 while searching the web for Barbecue information and have been longing for one ever since.

In 2003, as my 40th Birthday present to myself (with a little help from my friends and family and a generous sale at Kamado) I purchased one.

Since the Kamados are basically handmade and there is high demand, there is often a long wait between the day you order and the day they are delivered. Most K owners feel that it is more than worth the wait. I would have to agree. I ordered my Kamado on January 5th and it was delivered on May 6th.


See the story and pictures below...

BUT FIRST...


Here's an article the Eugene Register Guard did on me in 2005. Great pic of me and my two Kamados


Kamado Users Manual Project

A project to create a new Kamado Users Manual

(click above for more info)



MENU

06/21/2003

B&B

(Butts & Brisket)

Two Boston Butts

One 12 lb Brisket


 05/05/2003

Well today is my K-Day!

Con-Way called to arrange delivery. I have been clearing out my barbecue area to make room for my new toy.

I've had to move my Daughters' playhouse to the other side of the yard as well as clean up much of the mess leftover from a long winter.


Since it's getting close, I have been working on setting up my Barbecue area. I have a space between my garage and house that I have my current BBQ equipment setup in, but I'll need additional room for the Kamado. So I am going to move my kids' playhouse to the other side of the yard and build a small deck for some of the BBQ equipment.

Below are a series of photos documenting the progression of preparations:

(CLICK ON THE THUMBNAILS TO SEE THE BIG PICS!)

 

ONE WEEK AGO..

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Man I gotta get this place cleaned up!

 

K-DAY #1 12:00 NOON

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Still got a lot of work to do. I've taken the playhouse off of it's stilts, and started to clear the space for the deck (to the right of the playhouse) but I still have to get the playhouse over to the other side of the yard.

K-DAY #1 1:00 pm

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I've moved the Playhouse, but the area is still a mess. We had a rain shower and it turned the dirt from the deck preparations into mud. Also a lot of debris from the deconstruction of the playhouse stand lying around and there's a ton of stuff on the tables.

K-DAY #1 1:30 pm

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Okay, I've hosed off the area, removed the debris and put all the stuff on the table away. It's getting there.

Now all I need is my K'!

 

ACK! A snafu with the trucking company. Due to a phone mixup, the Conway driver called me at work when I was at home. Thought he'd missed me.

Now I have to wait until tomorrow!

:-(

 

05/06/2003

TODAY IS REALLY MY K-DAY!

I got a call at work from the folks at Conway saying the driver was on his way.

I left in a hurry to get home to meet him.

"There He Is!"

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"Big Truck!"

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"Open 'er up!"

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"Easy...easy...!"

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"Er, no, it's not a whisky still..."

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"Ease her down..."

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"Right there, next to the fence!"

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"Just another few feet!"

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"RIGHT THERE!!"

Perfect!

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K-Lump on top of the crate

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Starting the uncrating process

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Ooh, the rest of my stuff inside!

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How they ship the Damper Top

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Oops, a little crack!

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And a weld that failed

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(Richard from Kamado called me about 1/2 hour after the K arrived and assured me they'd send me a replacement)

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Looks like the lower bracket slipped during shipping

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All of the accessories

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The firebox

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The upper grill and the meat hanger

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The Damper Top

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Oiling the Damper Top Threads

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First Light

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Some historical Kamado information:

 

Click above for larger image

Click above for larger image

BARBECUE

THE FINE ART OF CHARCOAL, GAS AND HIBACHI COOKING

Gourmet International, 1971

I found this beauty on EBAY and when it came in the mail, I opened it up, and what to my surprise did I see? A Kamado (see next pic)!		 (excerpt from BARBECUE, 1971)

KAMADO-COVERED SMOKE OVEN: This barrel shaped smoke oven is made of heavy heat-proof ceramic or metal to withstand all kinds of weather. It is basically a smoke oven but since it is equipped with a grill, a ceramic or metal bowl for coals and dampers to control heat it may be used for grilling. Most smoke ovens are made to use charcoal and hardwood shavings. Some wood burning smokers are available.

Food is placed on a rack or hung from a hook in the smoke oven and is cooked in the hot smoke. It takes longer to cook food in a smoke oven since low heat and long cooking is necessary to produce the finest smoked flavor.

The smoke oven is unlike any of the other cookers discussed in this book. Important! Study and follow the directions supplied by the equipment manufacturer before using.

Pat
Check out Chef Juke's home page

All Contents Copyright ©2003 Patrice Mackey.
Last revised: 06/22/2003