Comparisons · Two kinds of barbecue
Ceramic kamado or 57 cm charcoal kettle
Two charcoal cookers with very different thermal mass, which is the single fact that explains almost every difference between them.
What each one is
Ceramic kamado
Thick ceramic walls give it the steadiest temperature of any cooker here and the slowest response. It will hold 110 °C overnight in the cold; it will also sit at 300 °C for an hour after you wanted it at 150 °C.
57 cm charcoal kettle
The most common barbecue in the world, and more capable than its reputation: with the coals banked to one side it becomes a genuine indirect cooker, and with a small, well-managed fire it will hold low temperatures for hours.
Where they overlap
- Both do direct heat — designed for this.
What actually differs
| Aspect | Ceramic kamado | 57 cm charcoal kettle |
|---|---|---|
| Shape and how it works | Kamado | Kettle |
| What heats it The energy source sets the ceiling temperature and how quickly the cooker answers a change. | Lump charcoal | Lump charcoal, Charcoal briquettes |
| What smokes it Separate from the heat, and deliberately so: one cooker in this catalogue draws its heat from the mains and its smoke from wood pellets. | Oak chunks, Charcoal combustion | Charcoal combustion, Wood chips, Oak chunks |
| Cooking surface | 45–60 cm | 57 cm |
| Indirect heat | Needs an accessory — A ceramic deflector plate between fire and food is what makes it indirect. | Possible with the right setup — Coals to one or both sides with the food in the middle, lid on, and a drip pan under the food. |
| Two-zone fire | Not modelled for this cooker | Possible with the right setup — Bank the coals to one side, leaving roughly half the grate with no fire beneath it. |
| Low and slow | Designed for this | Possible with the right setup — Needs a fuel arrangement that burns progressively rather than all at once. |
| Foods the difference reaches These are the foods whose cooking profiles call for a heat configuration these two cookers support differently. For anything not on the list, the choice between them does not change how it is cooked. | whole chicken, chicken thigh, bone-in, chicken thigh, boneless, chicken breast, boneless, chicken breast, bone-in, chicken wings, chicken drumsticks, beef burger, rib eye steak, picanha, whole, pork chop, pork shoulder, pork spareribs, baby back ribs, pork tenderloin, brisket, lamb leg steak, lamb loin chop, lamb burger, salmon fillet, sausage, whole trout, whole mackerel, whole sea bass, cod fillet, pizza, whole side of salmon | |
Which one, for what
Conditions rather than a verdict. Each line below is a thing one of them can do that the other cannot, or does without arrangement where the other needs it — taken from the what each cooker is documented as doing, rather than from a preference.
Ceramic kamado, if:
- You want low and slow without arranging the fire for it every time.
57 cm charcoal kettle, if:
- You want to cook with two-zone fire, which the other cannot do.