A BIT OF HISTORY
Historians state that people were already using wooden vessels for cooking in the ancient times, that’s why archaeologists discover remnants of this ancient dishware in every corner of the world. Some of the oldest clay pots, which are more than 3000 years old, were found in China. These round clay pots are believed to be ancestors of the modern KAMADO barbecue grill.
Throughout history people have developed these simple clay pots and used them to cook various dishes in many different ways. Indians began to use clay ovens called tandoor, while Japanese called them mushikamado, which is a stove to steam rice in Japanese families during special ceremonies. Mushikamado is a round clay pot with a domed lid and it was most common in Southern Japan. In ancient times Japanese developed it even further to regulate the evaporating temperature by perfecting the design of air dampers and they began to use charcoal instead of wood. Mushikamado came to the attention of Americans after World War II.
The name KAMADO is a Japanese word for “stove”, and KAMADO literally means “a place for a boiling pot”. 竈 is the kanji character for KAMADO. In romaji writing system, which is based on the Latin script, the word KAMADO is written the same as in English – KAMADO. Now the word KAMADO is referred to all similar types of ceramic barbecue grills.
TECHNOLOGY
Modern KAMADO barbecue grills are made of various materials such as heat-resistant ceramics and other heat-resistant materials, as well as terracotta – a traditional porous baked ceramic made of natural clay, Portland cement or a mixture of milled lava rock. The surface of barbecue grill can also vary greatly. It can be coated with glossy ceramic glaze, paint, decorative textured plaster or ceramic mosaic. Modern ceramics and fire-resistant materials protect barbecue grills from cracking.
HOW TO LIGHT UP A BARBECUE GRILL
Usually KAMADO barbecue grill is fired with charcoal (although there are gas-fired or electric KAMADO barbecue grills). Wood charcoal does not leave a lot of ash, unlike charcoal briquettes they do not have impurities which can change and distort the taste of the cooked food. Charcoal can be manufactured in an environmentally-friendly manner, i. e. using the coppicing technique. Most importantly, food baked using lump charcoal has natural campfire aroma.
USE
Ceramic barbecue grill design allows keeping the heat and reaching temperature up to 400oC. As well, using KAMADO barbecue grills you can adjust air flow and temperature in a most precise manner; KAMADO grills, therefore, are very similar to wood-fired ovens and can be used to roast and bake food in the same manner as you would do in a regular oven. KAMADO barbecue grills are designed not only for meat grilling or smoking, they can be used to bake pizza, cookies, pies and bread.
KAMADO PARTS
KAMADO barbecue grill has a ceramic frame, inside there is a firebox ¬¬¬– a ceramic tank for charcoal. The bottom part of the structure has an air vent, through which the air flow enters the firebox. The domed lid of the grill has another adjustable air vent, through which the air flow goes out. The vents are used to regulate the cooking temperature. Barbecue grids are placed over the fire to place the steaks on them. As well, the lid has an opening for placing the thermometer to measure the temperature of grilled food.