Primo Large Round Kamado Review

Primo’s Large Round Kamado is a high quality ceramic cooker. Their unique porcelain coated steel, reversible cooking grates have a clever design. They are two sided. One side places the cooking surface up high and flush with the felt insulation, flip it over and the surface drops down 2” closer to the coal.

A powerful spring-loaded lid hinge makes lifting the heavy dome easy and thick felt upper and lower gaskets seal the two halves. The built-in heat indicator gives a vague idea of the temperature in the dome, not the grate where the food is. As always, we suggest getting your own, accurate digital thermometer.

The cast iron top damper is a large disc which pivots on a spring loaded Allen screw for rough adjustments and a daisy wheel with five small slits for subtle air control. The Allen screw is meant to hold the damper in your set position and prevent it from flopping open when you lift the lid. The damper still moves unless you open the lid very carefully. It’s better than nothing, but could be improved. The lower intake vent is a precision fitted stainless steel left-to-right slide allowing fingertip air control.

Gunk can accumulate inside the upper damper after a couple low and slow cooking sessions. Wipe it off with a paper towel while the grill is still warm because it can drip down onto your cook surface and food. If you alternate low and high heat cooks, this won’t be much of an issue.

Good as Primo Round is, we strongly prefer their unique Oval Junior and Oval XL. All kamados are heavily insulated and make excellent outdoor BBQ smoker/ovens in hot or cold environments. They smoke, roast, bake and sear beautifully, and produce moist, juicy foods because they need very little air flow at lower temps and the ceramic retains humidity. While every manufacturer claims their products are the best, we put Primo Ovals at the top of the list because they make the only kamados in this price range that can provide 2-zones simultaneously and 2-zone capability is essential to outdoor cooking.

In addition to the deflector, Primo offers baking stones, rib racks, chicken sitters, extender grates and more. Movable ceramic feet that elevate the hot ceramic a few inches above your deck or patio come standard with this model. A cart with side tables is optional.

Primo is the only kamado substantially made in the USA and displays an excellent example of American workmanship. Built to last many years, the ceramics come with a Limited Lifetime Warranty plus a 20-Year Guarantee and the metal has a 5-year warranty. The Primo website has a user forum where owners can solve problems and exchange ideas.