Has it really been nearly 4 months since I have added a new post to the site? Wow, I can’t have that happen again. Well, life has been busy and I have had fun playing around with a couple new grills including the Kudu Grill. So I guess it is time to put up a Kudu Grill review and let you know what I think about this grill.
Disclosure: This post is monetized with affiliate links. If you buy something through them I earn a commission which helps support this site and lets me buy more meat so I can write about it.
What is the Kudu Grill?
The Kudu Grill is an open fire grill that is inspired by the South African braai grills. Unlike most charcoal or gas grills the Kudu Grill is more like cooking over an open fire. With the Kudu grill you can use charcoal or wood and cook directly over the coals. But there is much more to it than that.
One very unique feature about the Kudu grill is the movable, adjustable grill grate. The “Elevation Bars” on the Kudu allow you to move the grates around, move them over the fire, move them away from the fire, and raise and lower the food to control the temperature.
Most charcoal grills control the temperature of the coals with vents to increase or decrease airflow. There are no vents on the Kudu but the ability to raise and lower the cooking grates and move the food away from the coals allows you to effectively control the cooking temperature.
One of the most important techniques to master on the grill is using 2 zone cooking. To achieve that on most grills you have the heat on one side of the grill and the meat on the other. On the Kudu Grill you can lower the grates all the way down to get some intense searing heat or raise them up for a more gentle “indirect” heat.
Here is a video showing the unboxing and assembling of the grill that will give you an idea of how the grates adjust:
What can be cooked on the Kudu Grill?
Depending on how many grills you currently own (I think I am up to over a dozen???) one thing you want is versatility. If you only have one or two grills you want to have something that will cook a variety of foods. If you are an addict like me you can start to get grills that specialize in certain foods but for 99% of the world you will want to be able to cook multiple foods well.
First off, the Kudu Grill isn’t a smoker. There are some ways to smoke food on it (more on that later) but where this grill shines is grilling. Depending on where you have the grates positioned you can cook stuff like burgers and hot dogs and thin cuts of meat like flank steak hot and fast. Raise the grates up and you can cook thicker cuts like tri tip or picanha effectively.
One thing I wanted to do while researching this Kudu Grill review was cook multiple different cuts. So far I have cooked flank steak, sausage, spatchcocked chickens, tri tips, ribeyes, Denver steaks, NY strips, chicken breasts, and probably a couple other cuts I am not remembering right now.
Like I mentioned earlier there are some ways to smoke food on the Kudu Grill. One of the accessories they sell is the Smoker Dome.
With the dome on the Kudu Grill can effectively smoke smaller cuts like chicken and tri tip. I have seen some people cook ribs on theirs but I haven’t tried that yet. Someone even commented on one of my videos that they did a brisket. By trapping the heat and smoke in the dome you are basically cooking on a smoker. Raise and lower the grate depending on what temperature you want. Personally I wouldn’t try a long cook like a pork butt or brisket but I definitely want to give ribs a try.
Other cuts I want to try on this grill are flanken short ribs, chicken wings, hanger steak, skirt steak, carne asada (either skirt or bavette), and some pork steaks.
One big benefit to cooking directly over the coals is as fat renders and drips onto the coals it produces a great, flavorful smoke. You don’t want too much dripping down but a few drips every few seconds can impart some great flavor to the meat. And if things start flaring up too much? Just swing the grate away from the coals for a few seconds to let the flames die down.
I will get into more specifics on how to cook different meats on the Kudu in future posts but in this Kudu Grill review I mostly just wanted to focus on the grill itself.
What are the best things about the Kudu Grill?
Overall I do really like this grill. Here are a few of my favorite things about the Kudu Grill I found while preparing this Kudu Grill review:
Adjustable height on the cooking surface – Like I mentioned before the key feature on the Kudu Grill is the ability to adjust the height of the grates. Being able to easily raise and lower the grates is a feature that isn’t seen on most grills. This gives you a lot of instant heat control. With most charcoal grills it takes a few minutes for the temperature to adjust if you open or close the vents. Raise the grate on the Kudu or swing it off the grill and you instantly lower the cooking temperature.
Great selection of accessories – Aside from the standard grill grate the addition of the cast iron pan is a nice touch. This allows you to cook some vegetables or potatoes or whatever while the meat cooks. If you want to read a good Kudu Grill review showing the cast iron pan being used Christie Vanover of Girls Can Grill has a good review. Kudu also has a rotisserie attachment (I really want to get one of those) for $99. The Dutch oven and hanger are great if you want to cook some beans or a pot roast. And the smoker dome allows you to hold some heat in so it isn’t just a totally open grill.
It is fun to cook on – One selling point of pellet grills is that they are pretty much hands off. Set the temp, put your meat on, and walk away. While that sort of convenience has its place I think it takes the fun out of grilling. I like the active nature of the Kudu grill. You kind of have to be by the grill, checking the meat, making sure there aren’t any major flare ups, adjusting the grates, and overall just keeping an eye on your cook. Yeah, if you are cooking a whole chicken or tri tip or something like that that takes a bit longer to cook you can walk away for a few minutes. I like being engaged when I am cooking so the active nature of the Kudu grill is attractive to me.
Very well built – The Kudu Grill is very solid. It is made of fairly thick metal and is built to last. There isn’t a lot of wobble to it and even with the grates swung out away from the grill there is pretty much no danger of it tipping over.
It is a fun, social grill – The Kudu Grill is the type of grill people will want to stand around while you are cooking. Since it is a pretty hands-on grill you will be by it and your friends and family can come hang around it and chat. It also looks pretty cool so your friends will have questions about it.
Easily portable – If you are a camper, tailgater, or someone who needs a portable grill the Kudu Grill is a great option. It can be taken apart and put together in just a couple minutes with no tools. Take the legs and the elevation arms off and you are good to go. They even make a carrying case you can buy so you can easily throw it in the RV or truck.
What are the worst things about the Kudu Grill?
I have yet to find the perfect grill (spoiler alert: it doesn’t exist) and the Kudu is no exception. Here are a few things I don’t like about the Kudu:
There are no vents or drains in the charcoal pan – Removing the ash from a Weber Kettle is easy. Just turn the ash sweeper a few times and you are good to go. With the Kudu since the charcoal pan is solid there is no easy way to clean it out. You have to scoop the ash out with a little broom and dustpan or shovel. I totally understand why it is designed that way but it is a bit of a pain.
Not a good bad weather grill – I live in the Pacific Northwest and the weather can be all over the place. Rain, snow, and wind are very common occurrences here. Since the Kudu is open there is no good way to grill in bad weather. With my Weber or PK Grill since they are covered I can put the meat on and close the lid. On the Kudu it is just open to the elements. I have cooked in a light snow shower (video below) with the cooking dome and that wasn’t bad but I wouldn’t want to do that in the rain.
Also, again, since there is no drain in the charcoal pan you really have to keep the grill covered so it doesn’t fill up with rain. The cover that you can get is a very good cover but it is a bit of a hassle to wait a couple hours after cooking for the grill to be cool enough to put the cover on.
I wish the grate got lower – Even at its lowest setting there is still a few inch space between the cooking grate and the coals. This makes it a bit tougher to get a great sear on your steaks. Using charcoal baskets helps the coals get closer to the cooking grate and you can always make a bigger pile of charcoal to solve that problem.
Who is the Kudu Grill for?
If you can only buy one grill I wouldn’t make it a Kudu Grill. I think there are much more versatile grills that can grill, cook, sear, smoke, and barbecue. The SNS Kettle Grill would probably be my choice right now if I could only have one grill. A Weber would be a close second and a PK Grill would be third.
But if you already have another cooker or two the Kudu is a great addition to your cooking arsenal. If you have a pellet grill or kamado to use as a smoker the Kudu is a perfect option as it excels where those other cookers fall short.
The Kudu is also great for RVers, campers, tailgaters, or anyone else who needs to cook a lot on the go. Since it is easily portable and durable it can survive many football seasons of use. It is also the type of grill that can just live in your RV all year round.
I would also recommend the Kudu for people who like cool looking grills. Some people just see their grills as a way to cook food and of course that is their primary purpose but there is also value in having a cool looking grill on your patio.
If you regularly cook for groups of people the Kudu Grill is a great option. You can easily cook up a mess of carne asada skirt steak for tacos. Of course burgers and hot dogs will be great to cook on the Kudu. I have fit 12 butterflied chicken breasts on it as well. It has the capacity to cook a lot of food. And the cast iron pan or Dutch oven allow you to cook an entire meal without having to run back and forth to the kitchen.
This grill isn’t for someone who just wants to turn on their gas grill and cook a couple chicken breasts ones a month or so. Since it burns charcoal or wood it takes at least 20-30 minutes for it to be ready to cook. But nothing good ever came easy did it? The extra flavor you get from charcoal or wood is definitely worth the extra time or effort. And BTW, NEVER use Match Light. Get a charcoal chimney and light your coals that way. Or just pile them in the bottom of the grill and use a couple fire starters.
Kudu Grill Review Final Thoughts
Overall I really like the Kudu Grill. It is a very well built grill and it is fun to cook on. There are some drawbacks and it isn’t the type of grill that will replace everything else on your patio but overall the benefits and good things about it outweigh the bad.
With a starting price of $500 these aren’t cheap grills and aren’t for everybody. But if you are the type of person that really enjoys grilling and want another grill to add to your arsenal the Kudu Grill is a great option. I would recommend going with at least the Blaze Package ($599) which comes with the cover, cast iron pan, and smoker dome. For $999 you can get pretty much everything Kudu sells including the Dutch oven, rotisserie, fire rings, carrying case, charcoal baskets, and a cutting board.
Go visit KUDU Grills and buy your own Kudu.
Hopefully this Kudu Grill review answered some of your questions and convinced you that you need one. If you do have any more questions hit me up on Facebook, Instagram, or Youtube and let me know how I can help.
