Greetings grillers of the kamado culture!

I do hope this post finds you all well and fed and continuing to work less and play more when it comes to smoke and fire and your passions for the kamado cooker! So last week I got the chance and good fortune to connect with a couple of great guys who represent a globally recognized Canadian brand, ( Go Canada Go!) called “Enviro” http://www.enviro.com/ in two different capacities. Martin Lutz is the recent and newly appointed Canadian National Sales Manager for Enviro and Dave Wilkins is a territory manager in the Province of Ontario, Canada and represents a company called The Foundry who distribute in Ontario for Enviro.

Sherwood Industries Ltd. based outside of Victoria, B.C, Canada is responsible for manufacturing the Enviro brand of heating products and has been around since 1989 and they specialize in the production of high quality gas, wood and pellet appliances for the home. All it takes is a once over their website of firsts and innovations and mile stones, ( clearly illustrated on their website) to truly understand what this company has achieved in a very short period of time to really grasp how serious they take their work and determination to truly innovate when it comes to their business and craft, truly impressive to say the very least!

I got a tip through a very good source that this company were about to launch a product that would have huge impact in good time on the kamado category as we know it and my ears perked up immediately for obvious reasons. Interesting I thought but how and what were my next two obvious questions to my source. And then I was introduced to the topic of pellet technology, something I claim to know absolutely nothing about but, no time like the present I thought, to dive in at the deep end and that’s just what I have been doing for the last three weeks.

I will admit that when I travelled to my first HPBA Show, ( Hearth, Patio, Bbq Association) back in 2009 I noticed three distinct trends on the rise as I walked the hall ways. First, there was the hype around portable grills that struck me as very interesting. Then there was the “green” buzz at a number of booths about pellet technology on the rise across North America and then of coarse the main reason I travelled to the show in the first place was for my excitement about the kamado cooker and official category that was gaining momentum like a brush fire about to go wild and when it comes to wild things my grilling friends, I WANT IN!!!!! LOL!

Re-enter Sherwood Industries back into the story line! Sherwood as it would happen have invented their own pellet fuelled kamado cooker under the name, “The Black Olive” and based on the fact that they have been refining the art of pellet stoves going back to the early 90′s as I’ve researched with the likes of the EF1, 2, and 3 I think its fair to say ( and I get this on solid authority) that these folks know a thing or three about this technology and after I saw the Black Olive in action I turned to Mike Pilon, owner of “Romantic Fireplaces and BBq” in Orleans, Ontario, Canada and said, “I thought I had seen it all”!

To date, and over the last three decades or so the kamado cooker has been produced to fire on a variety of natural lump charcoals ( free of additives and fillers) which are available at most specialty bbq retail locations and or hardware type stores. This lump charcoal is a bi-product of natural wood and fired for production in large kiln type vats under pressure and partially cooked to bring moisture out of the wood and the best producers of charcoal with my experience to date are “FSC” http://www.fsccanada.org/ ( forest stewardship council) certified ( such as Nature’s Own by Basques) http://www.basquescharcoal.com/ and their products are not felled for production but produced using root matter and such gathered from the ground. In the case of pellet fuel, its natural wood condensed under pressure in production and they resemble tiny pills that are sold in bags, by the pound and come in a variety of different flavors.

Pellet fuel is said to be that much cleaner than charcoal and the flavours of the wood species really do impart themselves (as I experienced a few short weeks ago) nicely into the food. Pellet’s can vary in price but good quality product can be purchased for approximately  $10-$12 per bag on average.

At first I wasn’t all that taken with the Black Olive’s ceramic composition because like many kamado style cookers out there today, they all, in one way shape or form somewhat resemble the Big Green Egg physically. What really grabbed me by the throat however was the fact that the Sherwood team of engineers has taken the ceramic idea of the kamado which we all know ( or many of us anyways) works very well at retaining its heat and combining this pellet technology in the shape of a hopper that is offset and attached to a stand and diagonal cast steel tube that feeds these pellet’s into a cup. This cup is built into the bottom of the Olive and through combustion via an ignition switch the kamado is ignited in a matter of (wait for it) 1:39 seconds if my memory serves me correctly!!!!!!!!!

HOLY HANNAH FROM MONTANA, HOLD THE PHONES BROTHERS AND SISTERS!!!!!!!!!!!

Now, I’ll be the first one to admit as I’ve said before that speed when it comes to grilling has never really turned me on because after all, its the primal process of getting your kamado fire started that’s most of the fun other than the obvious cooking aspect. With that said however, The Black Olive has given me much to think about as it relates to the masses of people and soon to be fans of this invention who perhaps favour convenience and speed not to mention the cleanliness aspect, ( because lets face it, charcoal can be a tad messy) who are going to flock like mad to pick one of these babies up for their own deck at home, and why not? It’s truly innovative and intelligent technology that is going to turn this category upside down if for no other reason than its not “me too” in design and coming in at a retail price point of $1699, I say ladies and gentlemen, START YOUR PELLET ENGINES!

I have to admit that being a born and bred Canadian myself I feel a certain sense of pride that this “nouveau” kamado technology before us has been created right here in our own country! Bravo guys and I can promise you that this is one Grateful Griller who’s totally stoked that you are busting onto the bbq scene with something that is sure to be talked about for many years to come!

Until we meet again my friends, keep feeding the fires and desires to take all your grilling games higher!

G

Hello my grilling friends across the globe!

As I drove down the highway today gunning along at mach speed to get to a meeting I was late for, ( what’s new?) I got to thinking about all the various kamado brands that exist today on our global market and also got to thinking about what makes them so intriguing to me. After all, at the end of the day within the $500-$1500 price points with these marvellous earthen vessels the majority of them are merely high fired ceramic glazed pots for lack of better descriptions but are they? Well, yes and no and I shall try to explain but take it from me, the competitions is as thick as a brick is wide today so do you your homework before putting your money down.

To date and over the last decade and more intensely the last four years I have been smoking, grilling, searing and baking my way through the days on the “gto” deck here in the village of Wakefield, Quebec, Canada, testing, comparing, experimenting and putting these kamado cookers through their paces and quite frankly, I try to push them to their limit everyday by exposing them to some of the harshest weather they have ever endured while attempting to bury the needle at 700 degrees or ticking things over for fifteen hours or more at 180 degrees on the dial and the results I usually achieve leave me pleasantly surprised to say the least considering how simple a vessel they really are. It doesn’t matter if its 40 degree humidity or -40 frigid arctic air the kamado cooker almost never lets me down and if it does it usually has to do with something I have done ( or not) and for the record, yes, even I make mistakes after all the years and hours at the “place of the cauldron” but yet the food always tastes great even at the expense of being a bit over done at times.

The kamado cooker as we know it might look simple and easy enough to produce but from what I have learned through some very good sources and manufactures alike are the steps needed to find the right ceramic recipe and then be able to fire it to just the right temperature ( over 1800 degrees and then cool it down slowly!) in order to produce a quality end result isn’t that easy at all and takes not only the proper equipment but the right steps and know how as well. ( buyer beware if you intend to invest in a cheap and cheerful kamado cooker from the big box).

I just had the pleasure of spending some time with Kevin Lee from Primo http://primogrill.com/ grills and smokers down in Atlanta, Georgia on a trip he made up to Canada and he was explaining the new facility they are moving into and as I listened in I was most intrigued at the detail he went into about the new kilns and larger plant that was going to enable Primo to produce that much more product to supply demand for their already popular oval shaped kamado cookers. They got my attention over three years ago in my Big Green Egg http://www.biggreenegg.com/ retail days and they get centre stage at all my parties to this day alongside Kamado Joe’s http://www.kamadojoe.com/ product.

One of these days I’d love to witness a firing of these ceramic vessels in a batch that are being prepared for retail by hopefully taking a tour of one of the plants that produce them in the world so I can see first hand what’s involved from a production standpoint. It has always seemed strange to me however, that of all the kamado brands on the market today within the $500-$1500 category only one company being “Grill Dome” http://www.grilldome.com/ actually go into technical detail on their website (and back it up) about what they call their “Terepex” ceramic story. Very interesting indeed!

This is great to see because if nothing else it educates people on what the product is made of and I think that’s informative and needed for this category! On that note, GrillDome also walk their potential clients and anyone visiting their site through the history of their brand with a visual presentation going back to 1989 when the company was founded and if you ever get the pleasure of speaking to the owner, Mr. Tarsem Kholi, or his son Ashish, they are both a pleasure to engage with on this topic. Little do people know that they are the second longest standing kamado manufacturer in the USA next to The Big Green Egg and produce a fine looking and functioning product and in some cases better spec’d than their competition in many ways but more on this later in further posts!

On that note, I have to admit that all the above mentioned brands with my experience to date produce a great result when it comes to your food and as I have blogged about before, the magic, as I’ve learned, to these earthen vessels is in the ceramic fired bodies and inner components they are made of, for the most part. Are they the best smokers in the world? No. Are they the best at searing meats at 900 degrees? No. Do they have the best insulating properties of any cooking device on the market? No, no and did I mention, no?(that last one was aimed directly at The Big Green Egg with good reason, lol!)

What they are however , due in part to these secret ceramic formulas we hear so little about that I’m sure are protected under lock and key are an ancient cooking device that keeps me mystified with every delicious meal I churn out and they do perform a number of cooking techniques so very well and as I say ( bake a cake or sear your steak). The kamado cooker is also, ( wait for it…….) FORGIVING  like no other cooking device I have ever used which means the average grilling novice ( I was one of them once upon a time) can turn him or herself into a backyard grilling hero for the family in a matter of a few months without fail. Now really, does it get better than that? Ok, alright already, I’ll admit it, a season is more like it!

Perhaps what has kept me so interested and intrigued in the kamado all these years is the fact that there is still so much we ( the general public) need to learn about them, so many unanswered questions and mysteries and history that lie beneath their earthen walls. One thing is for certain my grilling comrades, I for one will stay devoted to the ways of the kamado for many years to come and maybe not having all the answers is what’s making this long strange trip so much fun!

Until we meet again, feed all your fires and desires to take your grilling games higher!

G