The Gas Grill Review and Gas Grill Rating Guide - Helping you choose the Best Gas Grill

Primo Grills and Smokers

The Only American Made Ceramic Grill

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I have an intense interest in Primo Grills because of this whole ceramic grill revolution. There is something so elegant and perfect about them that you just have to dream what it would be like to have one. Right now, I'm thinking about how nice it would be to replace my Char-griller. Not because it doesn't do the job, it's just doesn't run on auto-pilot.

The key question you want to ask yourself is whether you have a deep rooted need to be a hardcore barbecue dude, or whether you'll take the same results from a much easier, albeit more expensive, process. I like learning how to make my smoker get the best results, but sometimes it would be nice to set it and forget it. That's possible with grills like the Big Green Egg (BGE) or a Primo Grill.

In my personal quest to own a ceramic cooker, I will now have to decide between an XL Primo Oval, or the venerable XL Big Green Egg. I'm not sure what the differences are, not having personally compared the two side by side. If you have experience with a Primo Kamado or Primo Oval, write a review so we can compare. Curt McAdams wrote a solid review of his XL BGE on this site and you can check that out as well. I'm pretty sure he told me it's way bigger, but I will leave that debate up to the experts, which I hope to be as soon as I can scrape up the cash!

So What Are Primo Grills?

As with the Big Green Egg, these cookers are modeled on the kamado-style ceramic cookers of old. Really old. But when something works, who cares how old the concept is?

These grills are able to retain heat much more efficiently than metal grills and smokers. And because smoke and heat rises, no special modifications are needed as there are on Texas style horizontal smokers.

When you can retain heat, you have better conservation of your fuel, so those of you who churn through charcoal trying to keep your unit at the proper temperature, add up that cost before you choke on the price of one of these babies. It just may be worth it in the long run. And since they don't rust, the long run will be pretty long.

Kamado Style vs Oval Style Primo Grills

The newer oval design do a couple of things for you. First, there's more space. But more importantly maybe, you can do indirect and direct cooking at the same time using the firebox divider. While you can use plates for 100% indirect cooking in the Oval, that's the only option using the Kamado style simply because it's round versus oval.

Highlights of Primo Cookers

This product, as with other similar brands is designed to last. That's why they can offer a 20 year warranty on the ceramic parts. The metal parts are covered for 5 years
Highly efficient use of fuel because the ceramic is such a good insulator.
Very easy to control temperature because it's so well insulated.
If you want to be different, you will definitely WOW your neighbors.
These cookers are all season in all climates. Cold weather will not affect your cooking at all.
All kinds of cool accessories are available if you like to spend money and have cool gadgets.
You can set a long smoke up and pretty much forget about it. Unlike traditional smokers, you won't have to tend to your fuel as much, or not at all.