Primo Ceramic Grills User Guide
- June 6, 2024
- PRIMO
Table of Contents
Quick Start Guide
Cooking Configurations
GRILLING & SEARING
Direct Cooking
one zone
Use this configuration for grilling meat such as steaks, chicken breasts, or
any foods that benefit from cooking directly over the charcoal fire.
GRILLING & ROASTING
Direct & Indirect Cooking
two zones
Use direct and indirect cooking zones to grill meat on the direct side, while
roasting tender foods like seafood & vegetables on the indirect side. 
BAKING, ROASTING & SMOKING
one zone
Indirect Cooking
Use this configuration for indirect cooking such as an oven or smoker. Cook at
low to medium temps for baking pizza or smoking meat. (Heat deflectors/racks
required)
Cooking Instructions
Lighting
- Build a mound of natural lump charcoal. Use a full firebox of charcoal for smoking and searing temperatures or half a firebox of charcoal for two-zone cooking.
- Light the charcoal with a fire starter cube or two. You can also use a chimney starter or an electric starter. Leave the dome open.
- Wait 5-10 minutes for the charcoal to build a small bed of embers.
- Close the dome, then fully open the draft door and the top vent by sliding the top disk all the way to the right.
Adjust the airflow as needed as the temperature rises to reach your target temperature. For grilling, you can set the draft door to fully open and regulate the temperature with the top vent. For roasting set the draft to one- third open.
Temperature control
- When you are 25°F (14°C) from your target temperature, close the top vent down to one-third open.
- Wait 1-2 minutes then increase or decrease the airflow of the top vent in ¼” increments to regulate the temperature. A¼” can change the temperature up or down by as much as 25°F (14°C).
**** It’s very easy to raise the temperature, but very difficult to lower it. For low temperatures, allow it to rise slowly.
LIGHTING TIPS
Charcoal can be relighted 2-3 times for multiple cookings. Use the ash tool to
stir the used charcoal, so the ashes will drop through the fire grate. Add 30%
new charcoal to the existing charcoal and build a new mound. This works well
for roasting and grilling temperatures.
You can’t have too much charcoal, but you can have too little.
NEVER use lighter fluid or any other combustible liquid to light the charcoal.
It will be absorbed by the ceramics and impart a fuel taste to your food.
Low temp cooking/smoking
- For low-temperature cooking, 225°F (107°C), start with a very small fire in one area of the charcoal
- Close the dome after 5 minutes with the draft door and top vent fully open. Allow the temperature to come up slowly and when it reaches 200°F (93°C), set the draft door to position 3, set the precision control top to position 3. Adjust the vent controls as needed to maintain the target temperature.
Internal Temperature Guide
The USDA recommended internal temperature for chops, roasts, & steaks is 145
o F+ (63 o C). The internal temperature for ground eat is 160 o F+ (71o C).
Beef, veal & lamb (roasts, steaks)
| Extra-rare | 115-120°F | 46-49°C |
|---|---|---|
| Rare | 125-130°F | 52-55°C |
| Medium-rare | 130-140°F | 55-60°C |
| Medium | 140-150°F | 60-65°C |
| Medium-well | 150-155°F | 65-69°C |
| Well-done | 160°F+ | 71°C+ |
| Beef, veal & lamb (ground)
---|---
| Poultry (whole, or pieces)
| Pork (chops, ground, roast, steaks)
| Seafood (fish, crab, lobster, shrimp)
| Medium- Well done | 140-160°F | 60-71°C+ |
|---|---|---|
| Well done | 160°F+ | 71°C+ |
| Medium- Well done | 140-160°F | 60-71°C+ |
Cook until the meat is opaque & firm
Always rest meat after cooking
During the cooking process, the natural juices in the meat are forced to the center. Resting meat after it is removed from the grill gives the juices time to redistribute more evenly throughout the meat and reduces the amount of bleeding when it is cut. Allow beef, lamb, poultry, and pork to rest on a plate and cover loosely with aluminum foil. The larger the cut the longer the rest. For example, a steak should be rested 3-5 minutes, while a whole turkey should rest for 20-30 minutes.