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Anyone try a PK Grill yet

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    Anyone try a PK Grill yet

    I am intrigued by that new PK Grill http://amazingribs.com/bbq_equipment...l-aka-pk-grill

    It looks like something my Dad had, when I was a kid.

    Has anyone tried one yet?

    #2
    I saw that on the News the other day, seems quite interesting. Could make a great Tailgating toy.

    Comment


      #3
      I'll blame smarkley if I end up pulling the trigger on the AR bundle. Let me get off the internet before I do something stupid.

      Comment


        #4
        check the bragging thread http://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/for...the-wild/page2

        carolts found one used for a steal.

        Comment


          #5
          Hey, I'm new to the site and looking for the right forum to ask some questions about the PK grill. It says to go to the equipment review section for specific grills but I don't see anywhere to post. Any help would be appreciated?

          Comment


          #6
          I've been on the road for the last three weeks...but back in time for the long weekend. In the meantime the new grates, including the "little more" raised one, arrived. Going to try out the PK today. Now I just need to decide what to do for the first cook.

          Comment


          • Jerod Broussard
            Jerod Broussard commented
            Editing a comment
            20 hour 12 pound pork. No crutch.

          • carolts
            carolts commented
            Editing a comment
            Too jet-lagged for that this weekend! But then again...

          • carolts
            carolts commented
            Editing a comment
            The boys wanted smoked meatloaf, so meatloaf it is!

          #7
          So, the first cook on the PK went ok, but I'll have to change my approach to it slightly. I was thinking of it as an aluminum kamado like my Primo, but it's not nearly as efficient. Blame the cook, not the tools, as it's been at least 30 years since I owned my last charcoal grill (kamado and PBC don't count, apparently).

          That said, the results were delicious but took longer than expected due to my not using enough coals. Both the firebox and grid space are huge compared to my Primo Jr. In direct mode this thing will be plenty adequate for my needs. Indirect with the littlemore grid is also spacious. Using the 2 pound meatloaf meter, I had room to spare in the PK, while my Primo Jr. just barely gets the meatloaf out of the direct coal path.

          Replenishing the coals was easy...just lift the hinged side of the cooking grid. The littlemore doesn't block the hinged side, so you can add coals without moving it. I would like some sort of coal corral but that's just to make up for my lack of briquette stacking skills. I used Stubbs for this cook.

          Temperature control was very good. Using the four vents in various combinations will definitely support low and slow. The apple chunk smoldered nicely without flame until I opened up all the vents at the end to grill up some eggplant slices.

          Using this with Grillgrates is on my to do list. One note: Four standard 13" grates would fit if not for the curved corners on the PK...this is why the custom set being sold has those cut-off corners. Looks like a killer combination to me.

          According to PK, my grill dates from before they restarted the brand. In grill-years, it's ancient. Yet, the new grates fit like a glove and the lid and base seal tight. The only smoke leak I saw was around the top vent when I had one closed for indirect cooking. It was only a few wisps and not of any consequence. This thing is built to last. The cart and shelves were useful and the whole thing is light and easy to move. The cookbox lifts straight out of the cart (remove the side shelf first) and is very portable. I could see using this on the beach or tailgating with a couple of bricks for a base (note ash issue below, though). The lid lifts straight off without messing with any hardware, which was nice for cleaning it up initially. I'm not sure if I'll brush the ash through the bottom vents or just take it apart and dump them.

          As others have noted, the bottom vents let ash fall out onto the lower shelf. A catch pan would be the way to go. It's also a bit of a pain to string temp probes into the grill. Because the lid and base seal tight, you need to run them through the vents. I tried using the top vent but you have to fuss with the wires every time you open the lid. I will try the bottom vent next time but I'm not sure how much that will interfere with the temp control when I'm using multiple probes.

          This is a different beast than I'm used to but I think I'm gonna like it. I can definitely see potential as a cold smoke box as well.

          If anybody else is using one of these, any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated.
          Last edited by carolts; May 24, 2015, 11:14 AM.

          Comment


          • Meathead
            Meathead commented
            Editing a comment
            Grill Grates just sent out a note that 3 of the top 5 at the national steak cookoff used PKs with GGs.

          • carolts
            carolts commented
            Editing a comment
            My PK GGs arrived late last week but I haven't had a chance to play with them yet. I have them for everything now except the PBC. I even had a "custom" set made for my Primo Jr. I love those things!

            This site has definitely given me the bug...the PBC, PK, GGs and Thermoworks purchases are all a direct result of the excellent info here and on the main site. You guys rock.

          #8
          CHef Ryan and I use one all the time. Mostly for grilling, especially steaks because the coal is so close to the cooking grate.

          Comment


          • carolts
            carolts commented
            Editing a comment
            Do you use temp probes and how do you route them?

          #9
          The PK arrived yesterday, I put it together this afternoon using the pic on the side of the box and common sense as a guide(it didn't come with a manual or assembly instructions). Only two tools required: a straight screwdriver and a wrench capable of accommodating a 7/16" nut.

          Washed it down, dried it out, coated it with oil then threw in a chimney of charcoal and a few pieces of apple to season for 30 minutes. Stirred the coals, let it settle for 5 minutes and put on a couple of thin ribeyes, 4 minutes later I had the best steak sandwich I've ever eaten.

          I can see why it's often called the kettle killer, it'll be hard to fire up the Weber when this is sitting next to it.

          YMMV.

          Best,
          Bill

          Comment


            #10
            That thing makes a lot of sense to me. I think it would be the perfect companion for my BGE. I'm getting close to pulling the trigger on the PK!

            Comment


            • carolts
              carolts commented
              Editing a comment
              Go for it! It's a very nice compliment to a ceramic cooker.

            • billg71
              billg71 commented
              Editing a comment
              Don't have a BGE but it's the best grill I've run across in 40 years of burning meat for just your basic hot and fast grilling. Haven't tried it as a smoker, it seems like it would work well but I like the Smokey Mountain for low-n-slow, it's hard to beat. YMMV.

              Best,
              Bill

            #11
            Hey, I haven't seasoned my PK yet but will be soon. This is going to sound really dumb but did you use real apple slices or the apple wood chips and what was your reason for using them in the seasoning process? I've never seasoned a grill before.

            To Carol's comment on the coal corral I found a YouTube video that might be helpful. https://youtu.be/6_9LnVZNuIg. Hope that link works for ya! I haven't actually been able to find that specific basket but something like it seems like it work fine. As for the temp probe routing I was having the same thoughts. What if we just placed the thermometer base on the left side (I have a ledge next to it) instead of on the side cart? Seems like it would be a pain thru the bottom vent.

            Thanks for the info so far,

            Matt

            Comment


            • FLBuckeye
              FLBuckeye commented
              Editing a comment
              When I got my new WSM, I followed Harry Soo's technique (also recommended by MH) for seasoning. Link: http://amazingribs.com/tips_and_tech...ain_setup.html

            • billg71
              billg71 commented
              Editing a comment
              Matt, I used apple wood chunks, to answer your question. On the sidebar about "Seasoning a new grill or smoker" on this page: http://amazingribs.com/tips_and_tech...our_grill.html Meathead recommends "Fire it up, toss in some wood, say eight ounces or so, and get it as hot as you can for about 30 minutes with all the vents open so anything left from the factory or shipping will burn." So I did. It worked for me, YMMV.

            • carolts
              carolts commented
              Editing a comment
              Found a similar basket at Home Goods for 19.99. Tommy Bahama of all things! Tried it out last nite and it worked like a charm. Given how the removable handle doesn't fit too securely it would make a lousy shaker basket (its stated purpose). As a coal corral, perfect.

            #12
            I saw that basket at Lowes last weekend and almost picked it up...grabbed a round one instead for cooking veggies and to see how sturdy it was. It should do the trick as it's stainless but a little more than I wanted to spend that day. Seems to work just right, so I'll probably pick one up this weekend.

            I'm going to be playing with the probe routing some this weekend. I would think it has to be thru one of the vents to keep the nice seal between the top and bottom, but could be wrong.

            Comment


              #13
              Has anybody tried a Nomex gasket on this grill? It seems like it would seal around a temp probe cable.

              Comment

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