Grates

Kamado grates and cooking surfaces are everything that sits above the coals: stainless steel or cast iron grates, griddles, skillets, woks and rotisseries. They change the way heat reaches your food, and they need to match your kamado's exact size and be made of a material that can handle direct fire.

Material is the main criterion. Cast iron stores heat and gives better sear marks; you'll find it in the Big Green Egg cast iron grid for the Large or the Kamado Joe half-moon cast iron grate for the Classic. Stainless steel, like the Onlyfire universal grate, needs far less care in damp weather. The second criterion is versatility: a 42 × 24 cm reversible Lodge griddle or a Petromax FP35 skillet opens the door to squid, vegetables and desserts. Rotisseries such as the JoeTisserie Classic are a useful treat, not a first step.

We cook on a Big Green Egg Large in Torrevieja, and our cast iron gets dried and oiled after every use, because in coastal humidity unprotected iron will rust. We don't take money for reviews and affiliate links are marked. How to season, clean and get the most out of skillets, griddles and Dutch ovens is in our guide to cast iron and Dutch ovens on a kamado.