How to Set Up and Use Your Kamado Oven
A Blenheim Kamado can completely change the way you cook outdoors. From high heat grilling and slow roasting to low and slow cooking and even cooking directly over the coals, it gives you far more flexibility than a conventional barbecue.
Available in 18-inch and 23-inch Kamados, our Kamados are designed to integrate seamlessly into the Blenheim outdoor kitchen, creating a dedicated space for preparing, cooking and entertaining outdoors. Whichever size you choose, the cooking principles are the same. Once you understand how the charcoal, ceramic body and vents work together, controlling the Kamado becomes surprisingly simple. The smaller model is well suited to medium gatherings, while the larger model provides more cooking space for larger occasions. Both are available with a matching Blenheim base unit to house the Kamado BBQ egg.
Built into an outdoor kitchen, a Kamado
allows preparing, cooking and entertaining to happen in one place. Instead of disappearing back indoors while your guests are outside, you can stay part of the occasion from preparation through to serving.
If you are considering adding one to your garden, explore our Kamado ovens.
Getting to know your Kamado oven
Often referred to as a BBQ egg or barbecue egg because of its distinctive ceramic shape, a Kamado uses charcoal beneath the cooking surface to provide the heat. The ceramic body and closed lid help retain that heat, while the vents at the bottom and top control the airflow through the barbecue.
Learning to control that airflow is the key to mastering your Kamado. The lower vent lets air into the Kamado and has the biggest effect on how strongly the charcoal burns. Think of it as the accelerator. The top vent then gives you finer control, allowing you to make smaller adjustments once the Kamado is close to the temperature you want.
How to prepare your Kamado for cooking
Before lighting, open the Kamado and remove the grill grate and any other cooking components you need to move out of the way so you can access the charcoal area. Add your charcoal, then make sure both the lower intake vent and the top vent are fully open so air can move freely through the barbecue.
It is worth keeping gloves nearby when handling charcoal, or having somewhere to wash your hands afterwards. Starting with a well arranged charcoal bed and unrestricted airflow makes it much easier to bring the Kamado up to temperature and keep it under control.
How to light your Kamado oven
Our setup demonstration uses a wood-wool firelighter: shaved wood bound with wax that catches quickly. In most cases, one is enough to get the charcoal started.
Place the firelighter near the top of the charcoal, but avoid surrounding it immediately with the largest pieces. Smaller pieces around the firelighter will catch more readily and help the fire spread outwards.
Light the firelighter and leave the lid open initially. Once you can see a ring of charcoal around it beginning to catch, close the lid but keep both vents fully open. This helps build heat inside the Kamado while allowing the fire to establish.
As the temperature begins to rise, start closing the vents gradually as you approach your target cooking temperature. Opening the vents creates more airflow and more heat, while closing them reduces airflow and slows the rise in temperature. Make small adjustments and give the Kamado time to respond before changing them again.
Why does a Kamado have two vents?
The two vents work together to regulate the oxygen reaching the charcoal, giving you precise control over the temperature inside the Kamado.
- Lower vent: the main airflow control. Opening it feeds more air to the charcoal and increases the heat; closing it down slows the burn.
- Top vent: used for finer adjustments once the Kamado is approaching the temperature you want.
Once you understand that relationship, temperature control becomes much easier. The main thing is to make small changes and allow time for the temperature to settle before adjusting again.
Direct and indirect cooking: when to use the deflector plate
One of the most useful things about a Kamado is the ability to create different cooking zones. When you cook directly over the charcoal, the heat can be intense. A deflector plate sits between the food and the coals, creating a gentler, indirect cooking environment that is ideal for larger cuts, slower cooking and ingredients that need time to cook through without being exposed to intense direct heat.
In our cooking demonstration, we use this setup for a butterflied leg of lamb. The deflector plate protects the meat from the most intense heat while still allowing it to develop the colour, caramelisation and barbecue character you want from cooking over charcoal. Because the Kamado retains heat so efficiently, the lamb only needs occasional checks while the rest of the meal is prepared.
Once your Kamado has reached a stable
cooking temperature, add the food and close the lid where appropriate. Keeping the lid down helps maintain a steadier cooking environment and makes the most of the heat held inside the ceramic body.
For a larger cut such as the lamb shown in the video below, the deflector plate provides a useful buffer from the coals. The meat can still take on the colour, caramelisation and barbecue character you want, while cooking more gently and evenly throughout.
Check the food as needed, but avoid opening the lid repeatedly. Every time you open the Kamado you release heat and change the airflow, so give it time to do the work between checks. A meat thermometer works well for checking larger cuts without relying on guesswork. Always make sure food is fully cooked and safe to eat before serving.
What can you cook on a Kamado?
One of the biggest advantages of a Kamado is just how many different styles of cooking it can handle. Once you are comfortable controlling the airflow, you can move between different techniques depending on what you want to make.
- Grilling: cook meat, fish, vegetables and many other barbecue favourites directly over the heat. With the right accessories, you can even turn your Kamado into a high heat pizza oven.
- Roasting: use the enclosed cooking environment and a deflector plate for larger cuts and gentler heat.
- Low and slow cooking: settle the Kamado at a steady temperature and let the retained heat do more of the work over time.
- Direct-on-coal cooking: certain ingredients can be placed directly onto the hot charcoal to blacken the outside and create a deeper charred flavour.
- Cooking with pans and accessories: the Kamado can also be used with a range of accessories, including a rotisserie, deflector plates for cooking pizza, and deep pans for dishes such as battered cod or even doughnuts. You can also use pans for sauces and other parts of the same meal.
Your Kamado does not have to cool down once the main course is finished. The remaining heat can become part of the next dish. In our dessert demonstration, chilli is placed directly onto the hot charcoal to blacken and develop flavour before being chopped into a syrup prepared in a pan on the Kamado.
Served with grilled pineapple and ice cream, it shows just how versatile Kamado cooking can be. The same barbecue can move from roasting and grilling to a completely different style of cooking without starting again from scratch.
Making your Kamado part of the occasion
One of the advantages of cooking outdoors is that preparing the food becomes part of the occasion.
Positioning your Kamado within a well planned outdoor kitchen gives you preparation space, cooking equipment and serving space together, making it easier to move from cooking to dining without constantly going back indoors.
It also makes everyday outdoor meals easier, with ingredients, worktop space and the barbecue all where you need them.
Our 18-inch and 23-inch Kamados are designed to integrate with the Blenheim outdoor kitchen, allowing you to build preparation space and storage around your Kamado, with additional outdoor kitchen modules.
If you already own a Kamado egg, the matching Blenheim Kamado base module means you can incorporate your existing barbecue into a complete outdoor kitchen.
Think about how you naturally move from preparing ingredients to cooking, serving and sitting down to eat. Keeping those areas connected makes the kitchen easier to use and helps the person cooking stay part of what is happening around them.
Private Outdoor Cooking Experience
Once your Suns Lifestyle outdoor kitchen has been installed, you can take things a step further with a Private Outdoor Cooking Experience in your own home. A professionally trained chef will spend around four to six hours with you and up to six guests, preparing a complete three course meal while showing you how to get the most from your outdoor cooking equipment.
Rather than simply demonstrating the appliances, the session is designed around cooking and enjoying the food together. Your chef can cover setup, cooking methods, useful techniques, cleaning and care, as well as helping you build confidence using each appliance. The experience costs £1,200 including VAT, plus ingredients. Your menu can be tailored to the dishes you would most like to learn, with dietary requirements catered for. Once the menu is agreed, you will receive a shopping list and approximate ingredient cost. You can buy the ingredients yourself or arrange for the chef to source them on your behalf.
The experience is offered exclusively to Suns Lifestyle customers and can be arranged across the UK. Travel expenses apply outside London, Essex and Kent. To ask about availability, menu options or suitable accessories, call the Suns Lifestyle team on 01277 321888. Outside showroom opening hours, you can also contact us through WhatsApp or email info@sunslifestyle.com.
Cleaning your Kamado does not need to bring the evening to an abrupt end. If the barbecue is still warm, use the cleaning accessory shown in the Suns Lifestyle demonstration to scrape residue from the cooking grate. A light pass is often enough to lift what is left from the cook.
For more stubborn residue, use the latter
edge of the tool to scrape it away. The video linked below also shows a simple tip: rubbing a cut lemon over the warm grill can help lift residue before you finish with the cleaning tool.
If you would rather leave the cleaning until later, that is fine too. Allow the Kamado to cool safely and clean the cooking surface before its next use. For deeper maintenance and care, follow the guidance supplied with your Suns Lifestyle Kamado oven.
Getting confident with Kamado cooking
Once you understand a few simple principles, Kamado cooking quickly becomes intuitive. The key is learning how the vents control the fire and giving the Kamado time to respond when you make an adjustment. A few basics will get you started:
- Start with both vents open while the charcoal establishes.
- Use the lower vent for bigger temperature changes and the top vent for fine-tuning.
- Let the temperature settle before making another adjustment.
- Use the deflector plate or plates when you need a gentler, indirect cooking zone.
- Keep the lid closed as much as practical once cooking is underway.
- Experiment with grilling, roasting, slower cooking and direct-on-coal techniques as your confidence
grows.
Once those basics become familiar, your Kamado becomes an incredibly versatile way to cook outdoors, taking you from high heat grilling and slow roasting through to pizza, sides and even dessert.
Explore our Kamado ovens and Blenheim outdoor kitchens to start planning your own outdoor cooking space.
Explore our range of pergolas and furniture collections, to create your perfect summer set-up.
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