A ceramic grill or sometimes referred to as a kamado style cooker is based on an older style of cooking from Japan but in the last forty or so years it has gained popularity as being used for outdoor grilling, barbecuing and smoking. The ceramic grill is made by several manufacturers but all are basically the same design.
First it is called a ceramic grill because it is made from two cast pieces of ceramic material. The ceramic material does not conduct heat very well so you can have a raging fire inside the unit with little heat on the outside of the grill. The ceramic material is durable and will stand up to the element for years to come.
The basic design is the grill is two pieces a bottom larger part and a lid that fits tightly over the bottom. The entire grill is shaped similar to a football (US). There is a firebox in the bottom of the unit that the charcoal is put into. The fire box is raised and has holes in the bottom for both airflow to feed the fire and let the ash fall through for easier clean up. There are two vents on the grill one on the bottom below the fire box to draw air into the grill and a vent on the top of the lid to help regulate the amount of air passing through. It is through the adjustment of these two vents that the temperature is regulated. More air means a hotter fire and that means both vents are wide open.
You use either lump, briquettes or extruded charcoal for fuel in a ceramic grill. When you are finished cooking you shut the air supply off by closing both vents, the fire goes out and you have a base of unused charcoal to start with next time.
Most makers of the ceramic grills offer accessories to be able to do other types of cooking. You can do indirect cooking or smoking while keeping the temperature at a lower range for long slow cooking. You can get the grill very hot for those steaks. With the lid shut you have a wood burning oven with which you can bake bread or make a pizza. You can buy fan units with digital monitors that hook up to the bottom vent allowing you to keep a steady temperature while not having to stand and watch it all the time.
The ceramic grill is just about the most versatile outdoor grill I have ever worked with. I prefer cooking with charcoal because of the natural wood tastes it adds to food. I have baked, smoked, roasted and grilled on my ceramic grill. It is seven years old, sits outside without a cover and shows very little signs of wear. The one major downfall of these grills is that they are expensive. You can expect to pay around 500 US dollars for a smaller unit and up above 1000 for a large one. Do your search under ceramic grills or kamado style cookers to find all makes. They are reliable, fun and built to last. Since getting a ceramic grill I have not used a gas grill at all.