FAQs

Grease build-up can cause your chimney top to stick. If you have a stainless steel chimney top, try to tap around the chimney top plate to see if you can pop it free from the grease. Heating up the chimney top will help liquefy the grease and free up the top plate.

You may want to clean the chimney top from time-to-time. The easiest method is to carefully wipe it down with a soft cloth before it fully cools after a cook, to remove any excess grease build-up on the outside. Stainless steel chimney tops can also be taken off and washed by hand in the sink using chlorine-free dish detergent, water and a non-abrasive cloth. If that doesn’t help, contact us using our contact form.

It can be scary to see a crack. It’s important to know that cracks relieve the stress of your firebox’s repeated expansion and contraction. They do not affect your grill’s performance. You may continue using your firebox until it no longer supports the fire ring.

If the firebox breaks, please fill out our warranty claim form. Not every field needs to be filled out, but the more information you can give us, the better we can serve you. Please remember to include proof of original purchase if you have it (such as a receipt, credit card statement, or check register with check #, date, and price shown).

Contact your local Authorized Saffire dealer for replacement gasket. If you do not have an Authorized dealer near you, you can order from us here.

The Crucible Kamado Firebox is Saffire’s patented twelve-brick design. Made of refractory fire brick, the firebox is rated up to 2,700 degrees Fahrenheit! Not only is it extremely resistant to damage, in the event that any bricks do crack they will be held in place by the Crucible shell, so you can continue to use it anyway.

You can read more here.

If your kamado isn’t keeping a set temperature, it is 99% likely you have a sealing issue. Don’t worry, it’s not hard to fix.

First, an Explanation

Your kamado works by sucking ambient-temperature air in through the bottom vent, super-heating that air by pushing it through the burning hot coals, and finally allowing the hot air to escape through the chimney top so more can come in the bottom. You need air to fuel the coals. More air-flow means a hotter grilling/smoking temperature; less air-flow means a cooler grilling/smoking temperature.

However, when you have air getting into your kamado grill/smoker outside of the expected control vents, you have a problem. It’s no longer within your power to fully control the temperature of your grill. The result? A kamado that wants to climb in temperature no matter how much you close down the controls, and extra fuel usage for every cook.

How to Find a Seal Problem on a Kamado

1. Check your gasket. The gasket sits at the opening of the grill. Usually the base of the grill and the dome of the grill will have a gasket stuck on with adhesive. This is your seal. If it’s damaged, or missing, that is likely the problem.
2. Check your dome alignment. If your dome is offset from your base, it might not be doing a good job sealing up. This just requires a visual inspection to confirm. Look for smoke while grilling, or look for soot marks just above where the dome meets the base. Soot marks are a sign of smoke leaking out during previous cooks.
3. Check the touch points on the seal. Another issue could be one side of the dome is connecting too much with the base, while the opposite side is up slightly. You might notice this with a visual inspection. Look for obvious gaps between the dome and the base of your grill. Look for soot marks above where the dome meets the base. If you don’t see anything out of the ordinary, try the “paper test”. Basically, just open the grill, put a piece of paper onto the gasket material (leaving part of the paper sticking out of the grill) and close the grill on top of the paper. If the paper slips out when you pull on it without any force at all, that means there isn’t enough pressure in that area to form a good seal. Do the paper test all the way around your grill. If any part of the grill fails the paper test, you know where the leak is.
4. Check the chimney top. This is much less likely, but sometimes the chimney top could be letting more air escape/come in than you’d expect. Check that the chimney top doesn’t have soot marks around the bottom.* This is a sign that you might need to replace the gasket material underneath the chimney top.** Close down the chimney top all the way during a smoke, and verify that no smoke is escaping from, or around, the chimney top.

* Please note that soot/grease on the top of the chimney top is normal, as that is where smoke is meant to escape the grill.
** Most kamados, like our Saffires, have a chimney top that just pops on over the gasket material. Ask your manufacturer if this is the case for you. Chimney tops tend to get stuck on with grease; to remove one get it hot first during a cook and remove it after the cook using oven mitts. (This will prevent you from snuffing out the fire, and will use up the remaining charcoal in your grill.)

How to Fix a Seal Problem on a Kamado

1. Replace any gaskets that aren’t sealing correctly.
2. For gaps between the dome and base, you need to adjust your dome. If you own a Saffire, contact us for support. We think our customer support team is really amazing!

(Disclosure: This FAQ written by the customer support team.)

Don’t use lighter fluid to light your charcoal! Lighter fluid can damage your grill, and using it voids your warranty. We recommend using Rutland fire starter squares, an electric charcoal starter, or even a chimney starter over ever using lighter fluid in your Saffire.

Lighter fluid is absorbed by ceramics, and may effect your food quality. If you use lighter fluid by accident, immediately scoop out the polluted charcoal and throw it away. If you suspect the lighter fluid had contact with any ceramics, leave your grill open for a few hours to allow as much of the chemical to evaporate as possible. Then put in fresh charcoal and start your grill with the suggested charcoal starters. Let the grill slowly climb to 600 degrees Fahrenheit. Once there, adjust the air vents to hold the temperature at 600 for 2+ hours. If you detect the smell of lighter fluid in your grill, or a strange taste in your food, do this process again.

That’s a good question. Here is what we often see customers purchase, and what we believe are the most useful products. We’ve organized them by order of importance (in our opinion).

1. Ash Tool (Comes with All Grills)
2. Heat Deflector (Comes with All Platinum Grills)
3. Multi Rack (Comes with All Large and XL Grills) — See “Does the Multi-Rack Fit My Grill” below for sizing information
4. Crucible Firebox (Comes with Large and XL Grills)
5. Smokin Chip Feeder (Comes with All Platinum Grills)
6. Wood Chips/Chunks & Charcoal
7. Secondary Cooking Grid
8. Grill Cover
9. Upgrades for Handles & Side Shelves — Bamboo to stainless steel upgrades
10. Pizza Stone
11. Grid Lifter
12. Rib/Roast Rack
13. Chicken Rack
14. Wireless Remote Thermometer
    • Maverick Thermo – Radio connection. www.MaverickThermometers.com
    • Auber Instruments Thermo www.AuberIns.com  Wi-Fi___33 Connected to App on Phone.  AC Power (No Bluetooth or battery) 2 probes.
    • www.FireBoard.com  Wi-Fi___33 + Bluetooth + built in Battery + up to 6 probes.
15. Saffire Mounting Plate for Wireless Thermo — Fits: Auber, Fireboard, Flame Boss

When you are on our Shop page, you can sort the items that come up for you by popularity. Just click on the sort drop-down list near the top of the page and choose how you want to sort the products shown.

However, here are some quick access links for simplicity’s sake.

• Most Popular Accessories
• Most Popular Parts
• Most Popular Grills

You can cook virtually anything on a Saffire kamado. With a Saffire, you can grill, smoke and bake.

Grilling/Searing

Grilled food is usually associated with those sear lines you find on burgers, steaks, and hot dogs. Searing is technically a very hot grilling method that quickly crusts the outside of your meat while leaving the inside medium rare/rare, but the grilling and searing process is the same.

Foods you can grill/sear in a Saffire include:

• Filet Mignon
• Ribeye
• Tri-Tip
• Flank Steak
• Lamb Chops
• Pork Tenderloin
• Burgers
• Hot Dogs
• Pork-Stuffed Pineapple
• Kebabs
• Rabbit
• Duck
• Chicken Wings
• Chicken Breast
• Turkey Breast
• Quail
• Shrimp
• Carrots
• Zucchini
• Squash
• Eggplant
• Fruit (Apple, Pineapple, Pear, Avocado)

Pan-Frying

Some foods just don’t sit on the cooking grid correctly, or you really just want something fried in butter. For these foods, a cast-iron pan will do.

Foods you can pan-fry include:

• Ham
• Breaded Chicken
• Stir-Fry
• Fajitas
• Bacon
• Sunny-Side Up Eggs
• Scrambled Eggs
• Omelet
• Toast
• Pancakes
• Fries
• Fritters
• Dumplings
• Broccoli
• Cabbage
• Corn Kernels

Smoking

Smoking is usually done with tough meats, as it slowly tenderizes them, but basically anything can be smoked.

Foods you can smoke in a Saffire include:

• Brisket
• Baby Back Ribs
• Spare Ribs
• Pork Shoulder
• Pork Belly
• Whole Chicken
• Whole Turkey
• Sirloin
• Chuck Roast
• Leg of Lamb
• Lamb Shoulder
• Salmon
• Perch
• Rainbow Trout
• Cod
• Herring
• Striped Bass
• Tuna
• Swordfish
• Mackerel
• Lobster
• Clam
• Oyster
• Cheese
• Eggs

Baking

Baking involves heating your food from every direction, usually at lower temperatures (300-500 degrees F). We’re also going to include basically anything that is cooked in a pot here as well.

Foods you can bake in a Saffire include:

• Pizza
• Breads
• Pot Pies
• Casseroles (any kind)
• Lasagna
• Cookies
• Mac and Cheese
• Rice (kamados were originally strictly rice cookers!)
• Baked Potatoes
• Mashed Potatoes
• Beets
• Chili
• Beans

Saffire is a specialty kamado for specialty buyers at a bargain price. Dealerships can be confident that Saffire customer service will support them and their customers. If you have any questions about our dealer service, please contact us for details.