Pit Boss Ceramic Kamado Grill Review

If you’ve always been interested in earthenware cooking popularized by the Chinese, charcoal-fueled kamado grills are its modern counterpart. They look like ordinary backyard grills, but with exceptional insulation thanks to their ceramic construction. The kamado grill’s interior absorbs heat and consistently maintains this heat throughout cooking, which results to evenly-cooked meats. It solves many of the temperature inconsistencies faced by those living in places with cold weather, since outdoor climate and temperature doesn’t affect kamado grills.

These are just some of the reasons why ceramic kamado grills have become a popular sub-niche in the grilling world. Many grill manufacturers have released their own version of the kamado grill. One of them is Pit Boss.

The Pit Boss Ceramic Kamado Grill

Pit Boss has two ceramic Kamado grills – the 22-inch (71220) and the 24-inch (71240) versions. From the Ceramic Series, these grills can both accommodate lump charcoal. They’re made with thick, ceramic walls that trap heat inside and emit evenly throughout the chamber, so that your meat gets evenly cooked with juices sealed in.

Pit Boss Kamado Grill Design

Don’t be fooled by this fly-shaped, black and gold kamado grill. The egg-shaped ceramic body is equipped with a calibrated top damper and bottom slide vent, which gives users a way to control heat when needed. This function allows you to slowly smoke meat, sear steak, bake pizza, and more.

The Pit Boss Kamado Grill has a two-layer stainless steel cooking grids, which offer 567 square-inch (for the 22-inch model) or 662 square-inch (for the 24-inch version) of cooking space. They’re also designed with two, foldable bamboo side shelves (that look like fly’s wings when unfolded) and serve storage space for your utensils and cooked food.

These grills come with heavy-duty hardware to secure the delicate ceramic body in place. It has wood handle, which serves perfect finishing for the all-black grill. The lid is closed tightly with spring-loaded hinge. The Pit Boss Kamado Grill also has locking wheels that offer portability and stability when in use.

Note that the Pit Boss Kamado Grill is a pretty heavy grill. It weighs a whopping 180 pounds; and since the ceramic part can crack when dropped, this means at least two people should move or assemble the grill.

Features

There are plenty of things to love about the Pit Boss Kamado Grill, but here are several note-worthy features:

• Two-layer Cooking Grates – Unlike regular grills with only one grate directly on the heat, the two-tiered stainless steel grates of the Pit Boss Kamado Grill doubles grilling space. You can switch grates while cooking to adjust cooking of food if needed.

• Cast Iron Calibrated Damper – This function lets you control temperature with a user-friendly damper system, allowing you to adjust heat for slow-cooking meats or cooking food that require less heat.

• Plunger – The shock-absorbing plunger provides additional protection from bumps and slams, extending the life of your grill significantly.

• Exterior Thermometer – The large, exterior thermometer (located at the center of the lid) gives you a no-fuss way of monitoring your temperature from outside the grill.

• Dual Shelves – Because the grill is designed to take up less space as possible, the foldable shelves placed on both sides provide an optional area when needed. Simply fold it down once you’re done for compact storage.

• Classy Design – The Pit Boss Kamado Grill is a handsome-looking grill. It is made with heavy-duty, 1-inch ceramic exterior body with fire bowl, 304 stainless steel cooking grids, heavy-duty swivel casters, a super-strong lid hinge, cast-iron calibrated vent, and glossy black finish with black metal trim and wooden finishing.

• Free Ash Removal Tool – Because kamado grills use lump charcoal as fuel, it is inevitable for ash cleanup. Fortunately, Pit Boss includes an ash removal tool as freebie.

Like other types of kamados, it’s perfectly normal for the Pit Boss Kamado Grill to take longer time to warm up than other types of grills. However, once kamados reach the required temperature, they stay at that temperature for quite a while.

Pros

• Rust-proof ceramic
• Easy-to-read external thermometer
• Handsome bamboo finishing
• Two layers of cooking space
• Exceptional use of materials from inside and out
• Foldable storage shelves
• Highly portable (thanks to four wheels with 2 lockable wheels when you need the grill to lock in place)
• Efficient calibrated vent provides accurate temp control
• Changeable thermometer (if the built-in version gets damaged)

Cons

Many of the problems associated with the Pit Boss are about damaged ceramic exterior, which seem to be due to handling/shipping. Although the Pit Boss Kamado Grill has a thick 1-inch ceramic construction, the fact that ceramics can be fragile during freight.

Those who are used to pellets/wood chips may feel that the Pit Boss Kamado Grill limits their cooking possibilities. This is because kamados are lump charcoal-fueled. While a bit of wood chips can be mixed into charcoal, it isn’t recommended to use 100% hardwood with this type of grill.

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Verdict

Pit Boss claims that its Kamado grill lets you produce “World Class BBQ Your Own Backyard” and this claim could possibly come true. Ideal for those making a switch from traditional BBQ grills, this offering from Pit Boss can turn any steak as juicy and perfectly-seared as your locally-bought steaks from your favorite restaurants.

The Pit Boss Kamado Grill offers value-for-money with this model, particularly since the company clearly spent time with the design and ensuring durability. All parts of the Pit Boss Kamado Grill are of high-quality, up to the smallest screws and gaskets.

There are tons of kamado grills in the market today, most notably from Vision Professional, Kamado Joe Classic, and Komodo Kamado, but they’re priced $1,000 to $6,000. There are features from high-end models that would clearly be absent from the Pit Boss’ Kamado Grill.

However, what Pit Boss Kamado Grill offers is an entry-level solution for kamado-type grilling, but with the same durability, temperature efficiency, snazzy design, and portability of other higher-priced kamado grills. Except Pit Boss’ kamado version cost a whole lot less.