Pizza-ready kamados

A pizza-ready kamado is a ceramic kamado that, with a deflector and stone, holds a steady 350-400 °C with the lid closed and bakes pizzas in 4-7 minutes. What matters is a good seal, a dedicated deflector and enough room above the stone for the dome to brown the top while the base crisps.

The Big Green Egg Large is our test bench and, with the ConvEGGtor, a very reliable pizza maker. The Kamado Joe Classic III comes with its half-moon deflector system and is our overall pick. If you bake large pizzas or several in a row, the Big Joe III or the Monolith LeChef Pro 2.0 XL give more surface and more thermal mass. For couples, the Joe Jr bakes small pizzas on very little charcoal.

Let us be honest, as we always are from Torrevieja and without paid reviews: a kamado is not a Neapolitan oven, but it is the only cooker that makes pizza on Saturday and brisket on Sunday. If pizza is all you want, a dedicated oven makes more sense. If you are torn between the two big names, see Big Green Egg Large vs Kamado Joe Classic III and, for the setup, how to make pizza in a kamado.