PK Grills - PK300AF - Aaron Franklin Edition

[Huskee]

I haven't seen this posted here yet, forgive me if it has and I missed it.

https://shop.franklinbbq.com/products/pk-af-grill?variant=41096166211748

[Mr. Bones]

Kewl!!!

[smokin fool]

Franklin may not have invented capitalism but he's sure hopped on the bandwagon.
He has his own line of smokers, there was a post about his own charcoal yesterday and this today.
Who can blame the guy, strike while the irons hot.

[Troutman]

Yea check out the merc portion of his website for crying out loud. The guy is like the Mike Lindell of barbecue !!!

[58limited]

I've seen this PK, looks nice but would rather buy a regular PK due to the cost difference. My local grocery carries Franklin's charcoal. Haven't tried it as I've decided I prefer lump instead of briquets for everything.

[RonB]

Hmmm - I've not seen Mr Franklin cook on a PK?

Did I miss it?

[58limited]

In his book on steaks he mentions that his go-to grill at home is a PK. He shows how he sets his up for 2 zone cooking. This is where I got the idea of using a small log to keep the charcoal corralled to one side. It also adds some smoke to the cook.

[jhapka]

He also did steaks on a PK in his masterclass series.

[Michael_in_TX]

Hmmm - I've not seen Mr Franklin cook on a PK?

I thought I remembered seeing him cook on a PK. He does indeed have one at home. It's featured in his PBS series from 2015 (episode 7).

[Michael_in_TX]

(Also seems partial to B&B over Royal Oak....)

[BBQandLove]

I am impressed that instead of slapping his name on it and marking it up a bit for that, they actually added a number of design tweaks. I am tempted, but probably won’t happen.

[smokenoob]

Where do you hook the propane and put the pellets in?
$900!

[Byrang]

I saw one the other day at my local grill shop. It's pretty sweet, but I don't know if I want to pony up the extra cash just because Franklin slapped his name on it. Just my opinion.

[BBQandLove]

Can you buy this exact setup without Franklin’s name on it?

[au4stree]

BBQandLove, negative. The only other that is similar is the PK300 "new original". It doesn’t have the 2nd shelf and tray holders underneath. If I were to get another PK, the new 300 would be it

[Michael_in_TX]

You get genuine Franklin BBQ trays! I'm sure they are made out of lapis lazuli rather than commercial plastic for that price.

[Spinaker]

I have a few of these. They are cool.

[58limited]

New PK-O - jumped up to $500.00 (I paid $400 for mine). New PK300 - $600.00. New PK Franklin edition - $800.00 ($900 with 4 trays). If I was in the market for another PK I'd get the PK300. The Franklin model is cool but for me its not an extra $200 cool.

[TripleB]

I nabbed a PKO for $400 too. Got the PK360 when they first came out on a introduction sale and paid $700 (with the original ironwood shelves). They're up to $1000 now. I love PK products, but they are getting really expensive.

[Troutman]

Agreed he's striking while the fire is hot. I do like some of the extra features he's come up with on the thing but not for $200 bucks more. I'm not bashing the PK, have always thought it was an excellent cooker but for the amount of real estate it has I don't think it's got good bang for the buck to begin with. Then you slap the Franklin name on it and bam, you're way out of my league. Hard pass.

[nate373]

I briefly thought about buying one when I thought they would sell them in 600s but 800.00 before taxes that's tuff to swallow. It has nothing to with be able to afford it, more to do with feeling like a sucker for paying that much for a small backyard charcoal grill regardless of its build quality and I am saying this as an owner of 2 pk grills. I could be wrong but I don't even think it comes with stainless steel grates just nickel plated steel.

[Beefchop]

I have the same thoughts as Troutman. As much as I love the PK, the price per square inch of cooking space doesn't make it a good value to begin with, and even less so when you tack on a premium for the Franklin name. I guess I'm in the minority, but I'm not willing to pay much for the Franklin name. For a pit made by a professional fabricator who's been in the business for a 20 years? Sure. It does look like he's dropped his prices on his line of pits. I saw an article written in 2020 that said he was lowering the price on his 20x42" from $3,950 to $2,950. Single grate with a double walled firebox. https://www.texasmonthly.com/bbq/fra...kyard-smokers/ To each his own!

[Polarbear777]

As the value vs. money goes up, these are becoming impractical. I love my pk360, but I struggle to think how they can still compete.

In fact, apart from the color, I can't imagine why anyone wouldn't just get the 360 over the franklin 300 version, since most of the design changes were based on the 360.. considering how much they want for the franklin version.