Heeeyo! I am looking for something for a city patio/deck. I have a KJ Big Joe off-site, at another location, that I love. But I live in a small downtown apartment, and regularly find myself wishing I could do cooks at home. Im pretty open about fuel type - I even thought about electric, for ease of use. But I feel like flavor would be an issue. Also, in an ideal world, I would love it if I could use this cooker for tailgating/beach/camping, etc.
Thanks you guys!
EDIT: I should add that my apartment is OK with fire (especially if it is subtle 🙃)
I owned one for about a year. I would get the 360 over the original because it is bigger, opens front to back, and the vent set up is much better. See longer reply below
The WSCG is not a portable grill. A couple of people could easily load it into a pickup and haul it to wherever, but for tailgating or beach-going, in addition to the patio, the PK would fit the bill nicely
Cooking gadgets
Weber Summit Charcoal Grill Center
Weber Summit Platinum D6
Blue Rhino Razor
Dyna-Glo XL Premium Dual Chamber
Camp Chef Somerset IV along with their Artisan Pizza Oven 90
Anova WiFi
Thermometers
Thermapen Mk4 - ThermaQ High Temp Kit - ThermaQ Meathead Kit - ThermaQ WiFi - ThermoWorks IR-GUN-S - ThermoWorks Signals & Billows - ThermoPop -ThermoWorks ProNeedle - ThermoWorks TimeStick Trio x2 - and a Christopher Kimball timer - NO, I do not work for ThermoWorks...I just like their products.
Other useful bits...
KitchenAid 7-qt Pro Line stand mixer
A Black & Decker food processor that I can't seem to murder
A couple of immersion blenders, one a "consumer" model & the other a "high end" Italian thing. Yes, the Italian one is a bit better, but only marginally
Instant Pot Duo Evo Plus 8-qt + accessories like egg-bite & egg holders
All-Clad pots & pans, along with some cast iron...everything from 7" Skookie pans to 8.5qt Dutch ovens
Weber GBS griddle, pizza stone, and wok
Knives range from Mercer to F. Dick to "You spent how much for one knife? One knife?!" LOL
Can you have a live fire?
If it’s allowed, I would have a look at a WSM. Relatively light weight & easy to move...and easy to use.
If a live fire is not allowed...a small electric or pellet grill is probably your only option. But at the expense of portability...unless you have a look at the portable pellet cooker from Green Mountain. I have ZERO experience with any of their products...but Max Good has. ;-)
I have a Traeger Scout pellet grill which is portable but I would prefer either the Grilla Chimp or the Green Mountain portable. The Traeger is really small and the temp control at low temps is pretty poor. It is good on burgers and hot dogs though. Got it for our RV.
MonsterDuckMadness, I haven't used either of them, just going by reviews posted here on Grilla and GMG products. I talked to the guys at Grilla when they first introduced the Chimp and they seemed like a company I would like doing business with.
I agree with surfdog that you might need to check the apartment rules and also town regs on what you can use. Closest town to me prohibits grills on decks and balconies in any multi-family structure which includes apartments and condominiums.
I would give serious consideration to the Grilla Chimp. I have been satisfied with my Grilla OG. If you weren’t wanting to constantly load up a cooker into the back of a vehicle the OG has a workable footprint.
You may also consider PBC Jr. I enjoy my PBC and would definitely consider a jr for sq footage and portability.
I have not used either of these but am fans of both. The PK360 is surely a great choice. Also a fan of the quality of the Camp Chef products. This may be an option for you https://www.campchef.com/smokers-gri...ble-grill.html
I fee like I might be missing, something... You can smoke on that Camp Chef? It does look pretty cool, though! And I love the size. Thanks for pointing me in this direction.
Pros:
Built like a tank will never rust out, solid effective design, good looking, nice side tables. Will last forever.
Smoking – Very good at smoking, easy to adjust temps using the four vents. Easily holds at 250 for hours. Only limit is the size of the grill which will limit the size and quantity of meat. For long smokes you will have to add charcoal. (but you need a compact smoker/grill). I banked coals on the right side added chunks of wood and let it go low and slow. Right bottom open about ¾ left top adjusted to hit target temp.
Awesome for two zone cooking – Reverse searing steaks and thick cut chops. Really is amazing for this. Open up the top and the hot side will get ripping hot. Grill Grates work great on this grill.
Good at Indirect cooking. With vents wide open it would settle in at around 275-300 and just cruise. However, it would not hold at higher temps.
Great for direct cooking burgers thin cuts of meat hot dogs etc. Load it up with charcoal open both bottom vents and open the top and it will get super-hot for searing and high heat cooks.
Very stable temp control for smoking. Easy to adjust vents left, right, and top and bottom.
Nice heavy stainless grates.
Portable
Cons:
Cleaning ash not as easy as a Weber kettle with the ash catcher, need to hang a bucket under grill and sweep through ash hole. Not particularly difficult but not as easy as Weber.
I had a hard time getting it to hold at 350 when I wanted to indirect cook chicken. I like to cook birds at that temp to get crispy skin. Others on here have used fans and were able to hit 350+ temps but I didn’t want to do that. While that is a negative to me, it was also a positive when doing a reverse sear since it had a built-in limit to how high temps could get so I didn’t have worry about runaway temps.
I sold mine to buy a Weber Summit charcoal. I do not regret it, but I do miss the PK.
Last edited by Old Glory; January 8, 2020, 05:30 AM.
I like the look of the little stand that the PKGO comes with. Do you happen to know if the PKGO is based on the original, or on the PK360? The price is a fair bit different...
Very helpful to know about the temp issues. I had no idea temp was tricky on those bad boys.
My gear:
22 Weber Kettle
Napoleon PRO Charcoal Kettle Grill
Broil King Keg
Traeger Pro 34
Napoleon Prestige Pro 500
Pit Barrel Cooker
Blackstone Range Combo Griddle
My toys:
Weber Summit Charcoal Grilling Center (WSCGC) aka Mr. Fancypants
Pit Barrel Cooker (which rocks), named Pretty Baby
Weber Summit S650 Gas Grill, named Hot 'n Fast (used mostly for searing and griddling)
Weber Kettle Premium 22" named Kettle Kid, eager to horn in with more cooks in the future
Camp Chef Somerset IV 4-burner outdoor gas range named AfterBurner due to its 30kBTU burners
Adrenaline BBQ Company Gear:
SnS Low Profile, DnG, and Large Charcoal Basket, for WSCGC
SnS Deluxe for 22" Kettle
Elevated SS Rack for WSCGC
SS Rack for DnG
Cast Iron Griddle
Grill Grate for SnS
Grill Grates: five 17.375 sections (retired to storage)
Grill Grates: six 19.25 panels for exact fit for Summit S650
gasser
Grill Grates for 22" Kettle
2 Grill Grate Griddles
Steelmade Griddle for Summit gas grill
Fireboard Gear:
Extreme BBQ Thermometer Package
Additional control unit
Additional probes: Competition Probes 1" (3) and 4" (1), 3 additional Ambient Probes. 1 additional Food Probe
2 Driver Cables
Pit Viper Fan (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Pit Viper Fan new design (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Thermoworks Gear:
Thermapen MK4 (pink)
Thermapen Classic (pink too)
Thermoworks MK4 orange
Temp Test 2 Smart Thermometer
Extra Big and Loud Timer
Timestick Trio
Maverick ET 73 a little workhorse with limited range
Maverick ET 733
Maverick (Ivation) ET 732
Grill Pinz
Vortex (two of them)
18" drip pan for WSCGC
Ceramic Spacers for WSCGC in Kamado Mode: 2 sets each 1/2", 1", 2". The 2" spacers work best with the 18" drip pan. The 1+1/2 inch spacers work best with the 14 inch cake pan.
Two Joule Sous Vide devices
3 Lipavi Sous Vide Tubs with Lids: 12, 18 and 26 quarts
Avid Armor Ultra Pro V32 Chamber Sealer
Instant Pot 6 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Instant Pot 10 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Charcoal Companion TurboQue
A-Maze-N tube 12 inch tube smoker accessory for use with pellets
BBQ Dragon and Dragon Chimney
Shun Classic Series:
8" Chef Knife
6" Chef's Knife
Gokujo Boning and Fillet Knife
3 1/2 inch Paring Knife
I was wondering when someone would chime in for the PBC, pkadare . It's not as easy to grill on as a Weber 22" with an SnS is the only drawback, although I've grilled on a PBC a fair amount. The trick was to get a spatula with a short enough handle to flip those burgers more easily. You sure can't beat the flavor profile that comes out of it, though, for grilling or smoking.
HawkerXPwill be along any time now, I'm pretty sure.
As my esteemed colleagues have mentioned above lots of good choices to review. pbcYou didn't mention how many people you are cooking for.
pbc
Do you want to just "grill"?
pbc
Or Low n slow too? We all know the Weber kettle and PK can do both but do you really need a full size grill?
pbc
Weber has the Smoky Joe perfect for a smaller need. I've been known to mention pbc the PBC a few times. Great cooker, also has the JR., fire is well contained but as fzxdoc mentioned a little hard to grill on. Let us know what you decide.
pbc pbc pbc
Last edited by HawkerXP; January 8, 2020, 07:55 AM.
Smokin-It 3D
Weber Kettle with an SNS
Masterbuilt kettle that I call the $30 wonder grill
Bullet by Bull Grills gasser
Anova WiFi sous vide machine
Thermoworks Thermapen and Chef Alarm
You mention electric, so I’ll mention what I have. There are multiple sizes and the smaller units are portable. On The chat board for these unit’s, many people have the #1 and use it for what you mentioned as well, with their RV and when they travel. You also stated lighter smoke flavor, and I think there is a slightly lighter flavor, but I’ve been able to manage that with the amount of wood and I’ve never had anyone say it was light. One of the benefits is how easy it is to smoke food, call it lazy q if you want. There is no other smoker listed above that will be as easy as this, and that was what you mentioned, ease of use. Especially when you do overnight cooks. These aren’t the cheapest units, but they are solid. I’ve had mine for 3 years and love it. My dad has had his (a #2) for about the same, got his right after me because he lives in the mountains and was tired of fire restrictions dictating what he could cook with.
I have the 3D unit, fits whole packers and racks of ribs whole. The smaller units work great, but aren’t as deep so you may have to cut ribs in half and packer briskets, some shove in there and others separate and cook. There is also a WiFi unit, both that unit and my model use an Auber style controller. Works great and is dead accurate. Another benefit, you can set a low temp and use it as a cambro of sorts.
My best cook was last year, using both mine and my dads to smoke 70-80lbs of brisket and buttsfor my daughters graduation. Cooked like a charm.
I also have my gasser and a weber kettle that I use for other things, and I have MCS and am always looking at stick burners because I think they are cool but this thing works great for me.
If not cooking outdoors, I am cooking on the stovetop with my 14" carbon steel wok, 12" CI skillet, or in the oven with my two Lodge CI pizza pans, or two dutch ovens. I've also got a nifty Lodge carbon steel grill pan that rocks for veggies outdoors.
My son in law has a Masterbuilt electric smoker that he likes, and it would certainly be easy to use on an apartment patio or balcony. My personal feeling is that it does not give the same results I get smoking with charcoal and wood chunks, but you certainly don't have to deal with ash cleanup and lighting, which is a convenience. To me though, its more like the oven in my house, just with the addition of a pan to hold some wood chips. And it would not be suitable for tailgating unless AC power is available.
If you just want to smoke, and want something for tailgating, I think the Pitbarrel Cooker (PBC) would be ideal, as it only has the footprint of an 18.5" diameter steel barrel on your patio when not in use. Being a one piece body, it is much easier to move around and haul to the beach/football game/camping/etc than a Weber Smokey Mountain. And it can smoke a lot more food than a grill such as the PK360 or a Weber kettle in smoker mode. I personally like the idea of the Weber Smokey Mountain as a smoker, but being 3 pieces plus all the grates, feel it would be more hassle and mess to move around for tailgating.
If you want to grill also, I'll throw in my vote for a Weber 22" kettle plus the Slow 'N Sear. I've got a Weber Performer and with the SnS, I smoke on it more often than on my larger offset smoker, as it is more hands off and more fuel efficient. And cleanup is easier due to the ash cleanup mechanism. I think a kettle + SnS can hold more than a PK grill can when smoking. Seems the PK grills you can only use about half of the grate when smoking, giving you a square area to work in for indirect. With a SnS in the kettle, you have about 2/3 of the grate available for smoking. The PK wins for portability though, as for tailgating, you can take it off the base and carry just the capsule (body) of the grill with you.
Going back to the PBC, it can grill, but is limited since the grate is only 18 inches, and the grate is also recessed down in there, making it harder to flip stuff on the grate. But it does have the option.
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