Slow 'N Sear Deluxe Kamado Charcoal Grill Ceramic Smoker from SnS Grills

SnS Kamado is a true two zone grilling/smoking piece of art. Delivery was only 2 days! Great surprise for fathers day. Assembly is easy and in less than 45 minutes you can have this bad boy up and running (2 people required). Quality of build is impresive and the amount of accesories is above all Kamados I saw in the market. My only sugestion is to improve the hinge to open it (the top is quite heavy).

I was very excited when I decided to take my grill game up a notch. I’ve spent the last several years using the sous vide method for meat and my gas grill is made to sear at high temps. After watching a rep from SNS on the popular Sous Vide Everything YouTube channel, I thought it was time to cash in several years of my Amazon rewards and give it a try I do feel bad writing such a scathing review for a smaller company trying to compete with other more established brands. My problems started off immediately. Upon delivery and installation, the SNS basket would not fit. It was sitting about 1/2” above the top rim of the kamado base. So after contacting customer service (they were nice) they had me measuring the firebox insert. They then sent me another firebox that took about a week to arrive. This one was clearly shorter, however the diameter of the firebox was about 1/2” larger than the first. It wouldn’t slide all the way down inside the kamado base. At this point I was trading phone calls, emails and photos with customer service. They admitted I wasn’t the only one with this problem and offered to send me another firebox or a new grill. I should have taken the grill, but I felt 1 more try on just the firebox was ok. (The packaging on everything is very intensive…took me over an hour of breaking down boxes and 3 weeks of trash pickups to discard all the packaging from the original shipment & 2 additional fireboxes. Everything was packing like Russian nesting dolls.) The new firebox was clearly “modified” but fit. I was happy and assumed everything was ok. While waiting weeks to finally try the SNS part of this kamado, I used it several times with “some” success in a traditional fashion. However getting the temp under 300 was difficult. Once the grill was final ready to use as a full blown SNS setup, I then found it practically impossible to light the charcoal properly. I watched the videos & tried multiple methods. So I started using a chimney to get the coals lit. No biggie. But it’s IMPOSSIBLE to get fully lit coals under 300. As I type this, I’ve spent over an hour practically choking off the air (See photos). I’m afraid to leave the cook because my only overnight attempt burned out. If I barely open up the vents it quickly wants to settle at 350-375. I have a buddy that’s an expert on the BGE & owns 3 different sizes. I’m amazed at the temp control he can get and at 225-250 the vents open more than I open to only go down to 300. I’m convinced the problem is in the engineering or the defective bottom (wrong size) kamado base. Something just isn’t right with the airflow, or air is getting in around the vent. 2nd issue. When the grill gets hot…400+…the top vent sticks really bad. If you try and adjust it just spins the entire housing. There’s a spring loaded adjustable screw, but it’s as loose as it can get. The problem is where a notch is cut out and the 2 pieces are joined. At higher temps the metal is clearly expanding and they bind up. As soon as the grill cools, everything moves easily again. Just do yourself a favor….buy a kamado locally, and save yourself $100’s of dollars.

Took a few cooks to get the hang of the temp. It’s an amazing grill. No regrets.

Excellent quality Kamado Grill. SNS has a great attention to detail in all the products they manufacture. Grilling and grilling tools by BBQ enthusiasts for BBQ enthusiasts.

So I've used my Slow-N-Sear Kamado a few times now and I'm really digging it. I love that it holds temp for many hours without using a ton of fuel to do so. It provides great smoke flavor and cooks evenly.

As a convert to, and fan of, kamados since 2012, I've used several brand of kamados. While kamados have a number of HUGE advantage over other types of cookers, each of them has suffered from the same issues: 1. Limited two-zone to no-zone cooking ability. 2. Less smoke flavor than other types of smokers. 3. Difficulty getting a GREAT sear without expending lots of time and charcoal getting there. The Slow 'N Sear Kamado addressed all three of these while also being able to do traditional kamado style cooking. It's a killer all-in-one combination of smoker, roaster, griller, searer, and baker. I've owned mine for a few months and have done dozens of cooks on it from the typical steaks, chops,and burgers to pizzas, fish, and side dishes. With the Slow 'N Sear equipment and accessories that come with it, this kamado is the most verstile cooker I've ever owned. The cost may seem steep to those of you not yet into kamado cooking, but once you understand the advantages of kamados (I did a couple of videos on my YouTube channel about that topic.), you'll understand the great value switching to a kamado lifestyle offers. If you'd like to see more about this cooker, check out my BEERNBBQBYLARRY YouTube channel. Not only do I have some videos cooking on it, I also did a full review of it.

I purchased this grill through SnS and received the grill in June 2022. To the detailed negative review: practice grilling more. I have no problem keeping my grill at 225-250°. It took some practice but I figured it out. The review: this is an amazing grill. The quality is excellent and the customer service is one of the best I’ve experienced. They answer their phones. They troubleshoot with you. They stand behind their product. I maintained a 250° grill for over 12 hours and had plenty of charcoal left over the next morning. I made my first pizza with temperatures approaching 800°. My wife wasn’t too keen on spending this much money on a grill but she even admits it is worth even more than we spent. If space is prime and you want a grill that can do everything, the SnS Kamado is the grill to buy!

I’ve owned the SNS Kamado for about three months now and am blown away by the versatility of this grill. I purchased the grill because I own all the Adrenaline BBQ accessories for the Weber Kettle and already knew what great quality products they make. I have done six overnight brisket cooks on it without the aid of a temperature control device. It holds temps rock steady all night long. The boiling water in the water reservoir of the SNS really aids in smoke ring production. For grilling, I mostly use it with the SNS installed for SERIOUS searing power, but when I want to cook my entire meal on the grill, switching to a traditional kamado set up makes it easy to do with so much cooking real estate. The best part is the world class service. I’ve never seen a company more committed to the customer experience and also engaged in making us better cooks in general. You should definitely check out the Slow n Sear owners and fans Facebook group to see what I’m talking about. The president of the company engages with all of us daily and is always there to answer our questions.