Comparisons · Two kinds of barbecue
Ceramic kamado or Digital electric cabinet smoker
The two ends of the same wish. Both hold a temperature with very little intervention; one does it with several hundred kilograms of ceramic and will also cook a pizza, the other does it with a thermostat and will not.
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.
Digital electric cabinet smoker
Set a number and walk away: an element holds the cabinet at temperature and a tray of wood chips supplies the smoke. It is the least demanding smoker to run and the most bounded — the controller stops at 135 °C, so it smokes and it cannot sear, roast or crisp a skin. It also needs mains power outdoors, and it still emits carbon monoxide, because the chips are burning.
Where they overlap
- Both do low and slow — designed for this.
What actually differs
| Aspect | Ceramic kamado | Digital electric cabinet smoker |
|---|---|---|
| Shape and how it works | Kamado | Electric cabinet smoker |
| What heats it The energy source sets the ceiling temperature and how quickly the cooker answers a change. | Lump charcoal | Electricity |
| 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 | Wood chips |
| Cooking surface | 45–60 cm | 40–50 cm |
| Direct heat | Designed for this | Not suitable |
| Indirect heat | Needs an accessory — A ceramic deflector plate between fire and food is what makes it indirect. | Possible with the right setup — The cabinet tops out at 135 °C, which is below the temperature most indirect roasting is done at. |
| Two-zone fire | Not modelled for this cooker | Not suitable |
| Smoking | Not modelled for this cooker | Designed for this |
| 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, sirloin 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, halloumi, sausage, whole sweet pepper, corn on the cob, aubergine slices, courgette slices, asparagus spears, onion slices, whole onion, spring onions, button mushrooms, portobello mushroom, new potatoes, halved, sweet potato slices, cabbage wedges, cauliflower florets, halved tomatoes, green beans, halved romaine lettuce, whole trout, tuna steak, whole mackerel, whole sardines, 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 to cook with direct heat, which the other cannot do.
Digital electric cabinet smoker, if:
- You want to cook with smoking, which the other cannot do.