Don Montgomery’s Homemade Tandoor

What caught my eye about Don’s homemade Tandoor was the double ring at the top. It looked different, and I found pleasing on the eye, certainly makes it interesting. I then started thinking what has he done here, has he used a double layer of insulation? Talking to Don he trimmed off what became the upper pot in the cooking chamber as well as removing the bottom. This enabled the pots to fit better in the big outer pot. Rather than throw away the ring he decided to use it as a decorative element. It also helped hold the thin layer of gravel (pearlite actually) to keep the vermiculite in place. 

Don had originally used pearlite for insulation but was not happy with the results, so then went for vermiculite. With the vermiculite the outer pot measured under 150 F from top to bottom. Don also raised a good point about the weight of the two products. The pearlite bag weighed 40 lbs, whilst the identical size bag in vermiculite was about 4 lbs!  

Don has sent me some excellent pictures which he is happy to share. What is great about the pictures is they clearly show the build with no need for words. Two things I will call out, first he used a thin aluminium strip to pack the vermiculite down at the bottom of the oven. Second, checkout the cooking. The naan looks pretty good, and he has some nice chicken tikka and beef kabob using Alton Brown recipes. He also used pieces of carrot and radishes on the end of the skewers to make sure that the food did not slip off.