One of the priorites for Goldens’ was having the cooker made domestically.
ferred choice for serious grillers. Typical kamado cookers on the
market today are made of ceramic because it’s a good insulator, but the material isn’t perfect. Despite its weight (routinely over 250 lbs.) and being difficult to transport, the cookers are fragile. Te steel bands which hold the shells together can rust. Problematically, those bands at- tach to a hinge, and if the steel band isn’t tightened well the shells can fall out. Also, those bands fatigue and need to be replaced. When it’s fatigued, the ceramic cracks due to the heat and reheat cycles, and fail- ure can begin with just the smallest of cracks in the firebox. The shells also must be removed when replac- ing the sealing gasket that runs along the shells’ rim. Could a strong, portable cooker be light enough to take to cookouts and tailgates? It would need to be attractive to consumers and last long enough to be an heirloom, not to mention be built in the U.S. “(Development) began with us
trying to walk through what are the elements of a cooker that need to be preserved and what are the elements of the cooker that are pain points for the user,” said George Boyd Jr., vice president, Goldens’. “We saw elimi- nation of steel bands holding ceramic shells and the lack of durability as being two of the primary deficiencies that we can take advantage of, so we engineered toward eliminating those user pain points.” Goldens’ converted the standard
Baby-back ribs are one of the many foods that are grilled on Goldens’ cooker.
ash grate, firebox and fire ring found in a typical kamado grill into a single cast component. It’s a thick- walled cast iron shape that provides durability and resiliency. The design allows for air insulation between the heat source and the exterior of the cooker, extending the heat cycle life. Tere are no bands to hold the top
and bottom together, since the hinge is integral to the casting. Te product can also be fitted with a trailer hitch attach- ment so it can be taken to any tailgate.
18 | METAL CASTING DESIGN & PURCHASING | Jan/Feb 2017
“Tis is an heirloom product,” Boyd
said. “Tis is just like your grand- mother’s frying pan that came down a couple generations. Tis is something your great-grandkids will be cooking on, so that’s pretty awesome.” Te cooker, which was prototyped in nobake sand before being cast for production in green sand, has a 20.5 in. diameter and 330 sq. in. cooking area. Te 100% cast iron construction is made in Goldens’ casting facility with a powder-coated exterior. Split-design
All images courtesy of Goldens’.
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