Going Kamado

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Now that my sister and her husband moved back to the area from Indiana, it's not uncommon for us to get together at my parents house. That was the case this past Father's Day when my mom messaged me to say that my dad was going to be grilling.

It's still kind of funny to me that my dad would have to be the one cooking since it was Father's Day after all. If anything, we should have been catering to him, but like any blue blooded American guy, it's never an imposition for him to flex his grilling muscles.

Especially when it comes to his Kamado.

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He got this grill a couple of years ago and there is a pretty funny story behind that.

A couple funny stories actually...

Like me, my dad doesn't make a big purchase without doing his fair share of research first (I wonder where I get it from). After working 30 years in an auto plant and finally retiring, he decided he was going to splurge a little and buy himself this style of grill.

He initially looked into the Big Green Egg (BGE) which is arguably the most well know Kamado style grill out there, but he eventually settled on the Kamado Joe line. The key selling point for this brand of grill over the BGE was the fact that it had a hinged lid that has a spring to keep it open.

He had apparently read a fair number of reviews from people who go their hands smashed when the lid on the BGE suddenly closed on it's own. He went out to Amazon and placed his order.

This is where the funny part comes in. When it was time to deliver the grill, they had to send it on a separate truck. This style of grill is so heavy that they couldn't send it on a regular UPS truck. They actually had to hire a freight service to deliver it.

The driver parked on the road and when my dad asked if he needed help he confidently said "nah, I got this". He then proceeded to drop the grill and break one of the parts. From what I understand, the grill was still functional, but after spending over $1000 on the grill, my dad understandably didn't want a broken unit.

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The driver left the grill and my dad reached out to Amazon. They said they would gladly send him another one given the fact that it was the drivers fault. He asked about the old one and they said not to worry about it.

For a hot second, my dad thought he was going to end up with two Kamado grills. I wouldn't have minded that at all because you know the "broken" one would have found it's way to my garage. Clearly, Amazon wasn't going to let that slide and when they safely delivered the replacement, they also took the broken one away with them.

My dad has been using this grill for quite some time now and he is really quite proud of it.

Shortly after he bought it, he also bought the stand you see it mounted on. It took myself, my friend, and his two sons to lift the thing to put it in that stand. This thing is heavy!

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Earlier I said a couple of funny things right? The other thing I find funny is that he really doesn't use it to its full potential.

A grill like this is specifically made to retain heat. It does that very very well. It's basically begging to have a pork shoulder, brisket, or rack of ribs placed on it, closed up, and left alone to work its magic for 12 to 16 hours.

My dad on the other hand mainly cooks burgers and dogs on it. Sometimes an occasional steak, but those are all things you could easily do on my Weber Kettle for 1/4 of the price. This thing is just begging to be put through its paces and hopefully one day (a long long long time from now), I will eventually get that chance.

It makes him happy, and really that is all that matters right?

I still just have to chuckle when I see a tray of meat come off the grill like the one above.

It was delicious of course, but that is just a given.

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Finally, we closed out the Father's Day lunch with some strawberry shortcake. It was quite possibly the best thing I have had to eat this past month. A lot of people use store bought biscuits or that spongy angel food cake stuff when they make strawberry shortcake.

Not my mom though, she makes her own biscuits just like she has done since I was a kid from a box of Bisquick mix. They end up having lots of peaks and valleys for the strawberries and juice to collect in when you cut them in half.

This plate was absolutely amazing. She warmed the biscuits just enough that the butter would melt on them, then I added the strawberries and finally the whip cream. It was divine!

If you have ever considered buying this style of grill, I recommend you skip the BGE hype and "Go Kamado", my dad seems to love his, and if you are an avid BBQ'er like me, you will likely get your moneys worth over the life of the grill. Actually, it will probably be something you can pass down from generation to generation.

Assuming you can find three or four strong people to move it!

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All pictures/screenshots taken by myself or @mrsbozz unless otherwise sourced