12 Essential Kamado Grill Accessories

Few contenders in the BBQ world rival the sheer versatility of a kamado grill. If you can conceive it, chances are a kamado can do it: smoking, baking, roasting, barbecuing, grilling, searing, and more are no match for this all-in-one juggernaut. Ceramic and aluminum are acclaimed for thermal insulative properties — withstanding intense temperatures, they not only absorb and slowly radiate collected heat, but lose far less energy in the process. In short? Kamados get hotter, stay hotter, and retain every ounce of that burning heat.

With that said, raw power without control can only do so much, and kamado grills are no exception. Thanks to a wide world of kamado grill accessories, now any griller can take fine-tuned advantage of these properties to open up a whole new world of backyard entertainment. Many such accessories are branded — created by manufacturers for their specific shapes and sizes of kamado. Proprietary add-ons have their place, but generic accessories will still exponentially widen your kamado's cooking capabilities. Our own experts have carefully curated these recommendations — helping any kamado owner squeeze the most functionality and ease out of their grill.

Heat Deflectors

If you value cooking two dishes in the same space, a set of heat deflectors will be your kamado's best friend. These plates create a barrier between your heat source and your food, providing indirect heat — essential for baking and smoking, let alone utilizing separate temperatures. These come in all sorts of shapes and sizes: as an example, the Primo cast iron firebox divider allows you to use dual zone cooking on Primo Oval kamados. Primo offers full and half-moon heat deflector plates for stronger indirect heat usage. Shop Heat Deflectors

Extended Cooking Racks

Speaking of doing more at once, extended cooking racks are indispensable for the multi-tasker. Using them is a breeze: they simply perch above your existing cooking grates, providing your cookout an entirely new surface. Few things spoil a griller as much as extra work space; you might find it hard to go back to single-tier cooking! Generally speaking, kamado grills don't have secondary grilling racks like these — if you plan to feed a lot of people, or want a greater variety of dishes in your kamado, these can make all the difference. Shop Extended Cooking Racks

Sear Grates

Kamado grills make it easy to produce the roaring temperatures necessary for searing. For those who love a perfectly seared T-bone or ribeye, a kamado grill is a match made in heaven. Want to push your love of steak even farther? This simple add-on is the easiest way to achieve that steakhouse-level sear on the thickest cuts of meat. Arrange veggies around the outer edge while your meat sizzles above the flame to take advantage of direct and indirect heat at once. Now that's what we call multitasking! Shop Kamado Sear Grates

Remote BBQ Thermometers

What could be better than knowing your food's temperature at a glance? Not having to walk hundreds of feet back to your grill to do it. Consider the possibilities: more time for working around the house, starting other dishes in the kitchen, entertaining guests... maybe even a quick nap. Whether you're running a quick salmon bake or an eight-hour low and slow brisket cook, the continuous monitoring of a remote BBQ thermometer offers deeper flexibility for your day with greater peace of mind. Who really wants to say no to that? Shop Remote BBQ Thermometers

Forced Air Temp Controllers

Managing a kamado's temperature is as easy as widening or narrowing the top and bottom airflow dampers — what you and I would call "vents." Closing the vents chokes off oxygen to the fire; opening them feeds them. More oxygen, more fire! Problem being, this temperature control style is heavy-handed at best: it only really works if you want lukewarm or really hot. That's where a temperature controller comes in. Attaching one to the bottom of your kamado regulates airflow, keeping steady temperature for perfect casseroles and bakes! Shop Forced Air Temp Controllers

Rib Racks

Guess where kamado grills excel? Everything, but let's just say low and slow cooking. Know what that means? Smoking delicious ribs. You can understand how we had to put this one on the list! Rib racks break physics by letting you fit way more slabs of ribs inside your kamado than they should be able to handle. Space comes at a premium inside the cook chamber, so this is an especially handy tool to have. Pro-tip: pair that rib rack with an extended cooking rack to really cram that sucker full of tasty cuts of meat! Shop Rib Racks

Pizza Stones

Kamados effective work on the same thermodynamic principles as any dedicated brick pizza oven. Know your pizza? Then you should already be drooling. Round kamados and pizza are a match made in grilling heaven — and a pizza stone is how you get there. Instead of radiation, the heat is conducted by direct contact: think crispy bottom, satisfied crunch, and incredible smoke flavor. Best advice? Preheat the kamado to 700 degrees Fahrenheit (no more, trust us) and warm that stone inside without heating past that temperature. Shop Pizza Stones

Grate Lifter

If you had to pick one thing on this list, we would hands-down recommend the humble grate lifter every time. You might think you can do without one... until you need to move a hot cooking grid and flirt with utter chaos. Not so easy now, is it? Gross black soot all over your hands, your gloves, your clothes! Enter the grate lifter: It raises! It lowers! It removes and replaces! You, too, can wield total mastery over hot grids with the clamping mechanism and tight grip. Better still Primo, and Coyote all make grid clamp tools that can be used on any kamado cooking grid. Shop Grate Lifter

Charcoal Ash Tools

Kamado grilling is straightforward enough as it is — arrange the coals, get them lit, then turn your cuts of meat into culinary feats. But a multi-use charcoal ash tool makes things even simpler, serving several purposes for backyard grillers who want no-hassle BBQ. This convenient accessory is great for stirring charcoal to get even heat while lighting the grill, moving charcoal around to create an indirect heat setup, and scraping the bottom of the grill when cleaning. Think of it as a magic wand that’s essential to BBQ wizardry. Shop Charcoal Ash Tools

Electric Charcoal Starters

Want to easily get your kamado or charcoal grill up to temperature — or simply light your coals without the hassle? Electric charcoal lighters are a great way to make that happen. These handy little gadgets safely pump extreme heat within seconds when you push a button, so no matches are necessary. Just place the charcoal in your fire bowl and hold the lighter in place to ignite the charcoal. If you’re out to make your smoking life that much easier (and you have access to a power socket nearby), you can’t go wrong with one of these. Shop Electric Charcoal Starters

Wood Chips/Chunks

Many veteran smokers swear by wood chips and chunks, considering them an absolute necessity for meat smoking. Whether that's true or not, we can't say, but we can tell you that there's no easier way to increase the delicious complexity of your food's flavor profile. Adding wood chips or chunks to the charcoal load in your fire bowl imparts that wood's smoke and flavor to the taste of your meats; blending or mixing chips will smoke an even richer taste. Shop Wood Chips/Chunks

Lump Charcoal

Lump charcoal — natural hardwood that has been burned down to leave nothing but carbon — is the preferred fuel source for kamado grills for a reason. Porous materials (like ceramic) are a magnet for aerosolized liquids, and guess what they put in charcoal briquettes? Lighter fluid. Binding agents. Chemical additives. While it might look fine, ceramic that has soaked in charcoal briquettes will taint the taste of your food forever — once it happens, its irreversible. Ditch the briquette: quality lump charcoal should be your first and only choice. Shop Lump Charcoal