Best Charcoal Grill Ever?
I love my PK Grill. I promise I'll try to make this not sound like an infomercial. I truly do love to cook on it. I have cooked many memorable meals on it and it’s been on several trips with me and my family. It’s just really fun to cook on. Fun to cook on? What does that even mean? Well, first there is something to be said about working with something well made. It’s a precision tool for your backyard cooking experience. This thing isn’t flimsy. It has a riveted vent system that is simple, elegant and very functional. The cooking grid is arranged in such a way that makes for a wonderful two zone cooking system for everyday cooking. The grill grate height is also low enough to make it a super efficient direct cooker. This thing is also a miser when it comes to charcoal consumption, which appeals to my cheap side. I am addicted to saving money.
Enough about my spending habits. The PK grill is built to last. It’s cast aluminum, which means that it conducts heat really well. How does this translate to cooking food? Well, when using it to cook indirectly it promotes an even amount of heat in the cooking chamber and mitigates “hot zones.” You do pay for it though, cast aluminum isn’t cheap. Our friend Greg Rempe from the BBQ Central Show famously said “Buy the best and only cry once.” He makes a good point, if you buy a cheap cooker you’re likely going to replace it in a few years depending on how you treat it. The PK is a very robust grill, I grill sometimes 5 nights a week (no joke), and this thing is up to the task. I love how simple its design is, the vents for instance are riveted on and slide open and closed without any effort. The positioning of them is perfect, two on each side both top and bottom. So no matter where you make the fire and cook your food you’ll be able to feed that fire with oxygen and draw the smoke across your food if desired. Jay would be happy that i’m mentioning the built in table as well. The PK original comes with a small aluminum shelf right next to the cooking surface. If you’ve never owned a grill with table space you’re seriously missing out. That’s my biggest complaint about the standard Weber kettle.
My favorite things to cook on the PK have to be steaks and chops. It does a wonderful job at these and has earned the nickname (not from me) “The Steak Champ” for its success in competition cooking. It probably has to do with the fact that the cooking grate is so close to the fuel source. The cooker can easily be converted into a smoker too, in the sense of configuring it for 2 zone cooking and letting it ride low and slow for extended cooks. The cast aluminum makes it ideal for even cooking. This baby will cruise for a long time at traditional bbq temps. I will make a recommendation though, run lump charcoal through this thing. The ash production from briquettes, especially from my beloved Kingsford brand can fill the PK up with only a few cooks. Lump charcoal typically has low ash production, which can save you time cleaning. It produces more wood flavor in cooking too, delicious.
So what are some must haves to go with this cooker? I would say the ash basket is awesome. It makes using lump charcoal super easy. One of my complaints with lump is that it becomes what I call marbles over time. Little pieces that fall below through traditional charcoal grates. The PK branded one for the original is perfect. Second most used accessory is the “Littlemore” cooking grid. It provides essentially the full cooking grid’s space on one side of the cooker. This is especially useful when cooking a large amount of food. The last thing I might recommend is a cover depending on how you store your cooker. This is something I use because not everyone cooks under a patio Jay.
If you’re considering a new cooker or a charcoal grill, you’d be crazy not to take a look at PK’s line up. We have affiliate links on our support page, and are excited to feature their products on our site. You won’t be disappointed. Tell them the Grill Coach sent you!
Now get out there and grill!