Kamado grills are preferred by many BBQ enthusiasts due to the unique flavorsome taste. The grills are easy to identify due to egg-shaped cover. The grills are sought by professional BBQ experts since they provide uniform heating resulting in finely cooked food.
In a Hurry? Here are Our Top Choices
Based on the ancient earthenware cooking utensils, Kamado grills are great for cooking a wide variety of food products. You can cook almost anything such as pizza, met, and even sweet dishes. You can use the grill for almost anything including roasting, baking, smoking, and grilling.
The heat-retaining ceramic cover of Kamado grills create the perfect environment for cooking your favorite meal. However, if you want to benefit the most from the special grills, make sure that you buy a reputable brand.
The 5 Best Budget Kamado Grills
Here we will review the top 5 Kamado drills that you can buy on a budget. You should read a review below to find out which will serve your needs the best.
1. Char-Griller Akorn Jr Kamado Grill
Char-Griller EC6614 is one of the cheapest Kamado grills that you can find online. The grill and smoker allow you to cook meat at your preferred temperature. You can cook meat at either high or low heat according to your desired setting.
This small Kamado grill has a rugged design that can last for a long time. The grill is made of 22 gauge steel that can easily maintain cooking at the desired temperature. The built-in temperature gauge allows you to set the exact temperature. You can maintain a temperature between 200 and 700 0F. The grill has adjustable dampers that allow you to maintain a uniform air flow when smoking and cooking. The result will be optimally cooked meat that tastes just great.
The Kamado grill boasts of a powder coated exterior finishing that gives it durability. Moreover, the interior of the grill is porcelain coated and it has a cast iron cooking surface. The dump ash pan ensures that cleaning the cooking utensil is not much of a hassle.
The grill is made by the reputable Char-Broil that has been making excellent quality budget Kamado grills since 1948. The American brand is known for quality products that last for a long time.
Highlights
- Cooking Area: 14 inches
- Durable steel exterior
- Triple walled insulation allows maximum heat retention
- Top and bottom dampers for adjusting the heat
- Temperature gauge
- Cast iron cooking grates
2. Char-Broil Kamander Kamado Grill
Char-Broil Kamander is yet another great Kamado-style grill that you can buy on a budget. This American brand grill has features that are found in most high-end expensive grills. You can buy this grill to benefit from expensive features without breaking your bank account.
The grill has a double wall steel wall that provides excellent heat retaining properties. The insulated wall of the grill ensures uniform and quick heating, trapping moisture and heat. The grill has a unique design for the intake of air that allows maintaining the desired temperature for different cooking materials.
Air enters the grill from the top intake damper from where you can adjust and monitor the airflow. This allows greater temperature control as compared to other grills where the adjustments have to be done from the bottom of the grill.
This budget grill from Char-Grill can allow both slow cooking at low temperature to searing at high temperatures. This grill also has a removable ash pan that removes from the top. The design ensures that the air does not leak from the bottom as is the case with other types of grills.
Another great feature of the grill is a large cooking area. You can cook a large amount of food in the 18-inch primary porcelain grates. The grill also has a secondary adjustable chrome plated steel grate that you can use to cook additional items. The large cooking grill ensures great value for money.
Highlights
- Cooking Area: Primary – 18 inches; Secondary 12 inches.
- Removable ash pan
- Insulated steel construction (double walled)
- Tool hook
- Removable drip pan
- Folding side shelf
- Temperature monitoring
3. Char-Griller Akorn Kamado Grill
Char-Griller E16620 is another budget Kamado Grill by Char-Griller that offers great value for money. The gill has a large cooking area of about 17 inches. In addition, the grill comes with a secondary warming rack of 11 inches. This makes it ideal for cooking for a medium-sized family.
The grill allows you to sear, smoke, and grill food items with flexible heat control. You can cook the meat at both slow and high heat.
Unlike most another Kamado grill, the grill boasts of triple wall insulated construction that ensures maximum heat retention. The 22 gauge steel will allow you to cook food at up to 7000 F. The cooking grill has adjustable dampers that allow uniform heat in and out of the grill when cooking food.
A great thing about this grill is that it’s heat efficient. This means that you need to feed less charcoal when cooking. The fuel efficiency of this grill means that you will incur less cost in cooking the food as compared to traditional grills. Convenient foldable side shelves allow you to store cooking utensils when not in use.
Highlights
- Cooking Area: Primary – 17 inches; Secondary 11 inches.
- Foldable side shelves
- Triple Walled construction with 22 gauge steel
- Easy heat control
- Adjustable top and bottom damper
- Ash pan
4. Kamado Joe – Joe Jr Kamado Grill
Kamado Joe is a renowned name when it comes to the quality grill. This budget made-in-China grill wins top marks when it comes to innovation, functionality, and versatility. You can use this grill for cooking food for a small family.
The grill has a cast iron stand and stainless steel cooking grate. The ceramic heat deflector ensures maximum heat retention when cooking. With this grill, you can cook food at up to 7500 F. The grill starts up quickly and retains heat allowing you to cook a variety of food items.
Some of the notable innovation of this grill includes SloRoller and Divide & Conquer flexible cooking system. The grill is great for cooking at home or outside. It comes with a range of surfaces that allows you to quickly grill different types of food items.
Highlights
- Cooking Area: 13 inches
- Quick startup
- Multiple surfaces
- SloRoller technology
- Stainless steel cooking grate
- Ceramic heat deflector
- Grill gripper and ash tool
5. Primo 774 Oval Kamado Grill
A great budget Kamado-style grill is the Primo 774 Oval grill. This grill comes with a cooking area that is suitable for cooking meat for up to 4 people. The grill boasts of premium grade ceramic coating with a scratch resistant porcelain glaze.
The grill has a unique oval design with a temperature gauge at the top. The grill has a cast iron cover with reversible cooking grates and stainless steel vent door. The grill can be used to cook a variety of food items including fish, turkey, steaks, vegetables, and more.
The US manufactured grill boasts of the highest quality constructions that give it added durability. The ceramic Kamado grill comes with a 20-year warranty of the ceramic parts. The grill is designed to offer great temperature control and retention of moisture.
This grill can provide a smoke temperature of 950 F and a maximum temperature of 7500 F. This grill has 7mm grill spacing that ensures that the grill stays on the grill instead of dipping in the fire. The reversible grill racks allow you to grill the food at different temperatures.
Highlights
- Cooking Area: Primary – 14.5 inches; Secondary – 12 inches
- Temperature gauge
- Ceramic scratch resistant porcelain glaze
- Reversible grill rack
Things to Consider When Buying a Kamado Grill
The above are the best Kamado grills that you can buy on a budget. Make sure that you focus on the build quality when selecting a grill. Inspect the outer casing to ensure that it’s made of quality build material. Consider buying a grill with a ceramic cover and cast iron grates and they offer the best heat.
The time it takes the grill to become ready for cooking is also an important consideration. You should consider buying a grill with the lowest starting time. The best Kamado grills have the startup time of less than 15 minutes.
The surface of the grill should be sufficient enough for cooking the amount of food that is sufficient of the guests. A grill with a diameter of 10 inches may be suitable for small guests. But for large guests, you should buy a grill with a cooking surface of at least 20 inches.
You should also consider accessories available with the grill. You should look for a grill with racks, side shelves, drip pan, and grill cover. These are must-have accessories when buying a grill.
Lastly, the grill should be easy to clean. Consider a grill with a removable tray that allows easy cleaning of the grill.
Our Final Thoughts
If you’re looking for a budget Kamado grill, then any of the above options will suit you well. They differ slightly in features, but all will help improve your grill game and take it to the next level. Backyard barbecues will never be the same.
