Just a few further thoughts (I'll add to them after I get a little more familiar with it and also try to use it as a smoker)...
1. It's well made, minimal things that can easily break. However I am a bit sad there's already scratches on the handle just from removing the protective plastic with my fingernail. BUT, at the end of the day it's a travel grill... I'm gonna do way worse to this thing over its lifetime.
2. Weekday cooks are still gonna be done on my MAK. I may use this to sear a steak now and then, but when I add a gasser that will be the go to. This has nothing to do with the PK, it's just the nature of charcoal. Startup time to being able to grill the cheese was roughly the same as what my MAK would take to get to 550+. However, it's the tail end of the deal that makes this a weekend only cooker for me. The pellet grill, I burn only as much fuel as I need to, then shut it down and it's done. This thing, I feel like I'm wasting a little bit... not that these briquettes cost all that much, but still.
3. I'm looking forward to doing a pork butt, but I'm not so sure how grease management works on this thing. I feel like it might roll out the front if you did something like a pork butt or wagyu burgers.
4. The air management is super simple and everything moves freely. The charcoal responds extremely quick to any changes, which isn't something I remember when I was using a knock off brand kettle.
5. I can probably bring this to work and feed 20 people burgers with the flip kit, I can definitely do a spatchcock chicken, and maybe even a medium sized turkey. Once I get more comfortable with temp management, I could even do a nice prime rib roast.
Obviously I'm more or less a novice to charcoal since I haven't used it in 20+ years, so some issues I have are gonna be on me.
Bottom line, this thing rocks. It's not super expensive when you consider the warranty on the important parts of the grill and it seems to have lots of versatility.
1. It's well made, minimal things that can easily break. However I am a bit sad there's already scratches on the handle just from removing the protective plastic with my fingernail. BUT, at the end of the day it's a travel grill... I'm gonna do way worse to this thing over its lifetime.
2. Weekday cooks are still gonna be done on my MAK. I may use this to sear a steak now and then, but when I add a gasser that will be the go to. This has nothing to do with the PK, it's just the nature of charcoal. Startup time to being able to grill the cheese was roughly the same as what my MAK would take to get to 550+. However, it's the tail end of the deal that makes this a weekend only cooker for me. The pellet grill, I burn only as much fuel as I need to, then shut it down and it's done. This thing, I feel like I'm wasting a little bit... not that these briquettes cost all that much, but still.
3. I'm looking forward to doing a pork butt, but I'm not so sure how grease management works on this thing. I feel like it might roll out the front if you did something like a pork butt or wagyu burgers.
4. The air management is super simple and everything moves freely. The charcoal responds extremely quick to any changes, which isn't something I remember when I was using a knock off brand kettle.
5. I can probably bring this to work and feed 20 people burgers with the flip kit, I can definitely do a spatchcock chicken, and maybe even a medium sized turkey. Once I get more comfortable with temp management, I could even do a nice prime rib roast.
Obviously I'm more or less a novice to charcoal since I haven't used it in 20+ years, so some issues I have are gonna be on me.
Bottom line, this thing rocks. It's not super expensive when you consider the warranty on the important parts of the grill and it seems to have lots of versatility.
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