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Old New Grill Company

Desert Whaler

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Many of you probably have already seen them, but if not check out PK Grills.
It was a company started in the 50's and I think the new owners may have bought the rights, castings, business etc. and re-started it.
Pretty cool old school cast aluminum w/ cast iron grates etc. Real simple design.
They came out with a new one called the 'PK GO' small portable, but pretty feature rich, but a cool simple little charcoal grill.
They're [NOT] made in Arkansas [ANYMORE][ and come with a 20 year warranty.
I saw a thread somewhere asking what portable grills people take to the river, then later i saw the PK and thought it would be killer for that.
I have no affiliation, and I haven't bought one . . . YET.
Here's a link . . . pretty cool that the lid comes off and you can have 2- Hibachi's
There's some pretty cool videos demonstrating online if you look
https://www.pkgrills.com/pkgo-w-flipkit/
 
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sintax

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yup, its on my list.

I want to just get one of their classics I think. I'm going to wait until I take the plunge on my smoker though, currently I have a kamado that can do double duty for grilling / smoking so i dont NEED it, but I want it!
 

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2 Years later and I'm resurrecting this old post.

I finally broke down and ordered one of these & it'll be here Tuesday.
Couple things I found out,
1st - The price on their site has gone up to $400.00 ! I was able to score one new with the 'Flip Kit' for $200.00
2nd- The 'brand' PK Grills was founded in Tyler, Texas in 1952, and later moved to Arkansas . . . sometime in the 1970s a fire shut down production and they closed up shop. Someone revived the company in the late 1990s and it's been steadily growing ever since. The original PK's were cast and built here in the US, but has since moved the casting production to china unfortunately.

I him'd & hawed about dropping coin on more Chinese made bullshit . . . but based on the 'simplicity' of the design, I pulled the trigger. Unless there is some weak-ass material used, or there is a flaw in the castings . . . I think it's a fairly safe purchase, albeit I wish it was still built in the USA.

The grill still comes with a 20 year warranty so I do feel good about that.

I'm a rookie/ hack cook . . . I have the standard backyard gas grill, an old shitty Weber charcoal grill, and a small table-top Traeger Ranger which I dig.
I've been wanting to play around with some charcoal / wood / indirect heat grilling / high temp searing. . . and since I just cook for my Dad & I, this seems like a good entry-level grill that has some high quality features. We'll see.

I'll do some follow-up post(s) after I get it going etc.
 

sintax

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Too funny, I bought one last year as well, and two weeks later they announced the new remodeled “classic”

So far I’m very happy with it. It’s rock solid for indirect cooking, I can dial it in and it’s stays. Great for grilling too.
 

Racey

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I have an "Original" with the slide carbs, It's a great grill/bbq. I rarely use my pellet grill anymore (although i will admit i personally think the pellet grill makes better chicken wings). I think i have had the PK for maybe 2 years now, i use the thing probably 3 nights a week minimum.

It's also super simple to break down and throw in the bed of your truck and take to the river or camping etc.

What's super nice about a grill like the PK is that you can cook low and slow, or get the thing absolutely roaring hot to crust a steak (Something that a traeger will never do)

The biggest learning curve is just figuring out how big of a coal load you need at the start for your desired temp, and how much unlit you need if you are doing a low slow cook, and charcoal position strategy, on low long cooks you can pack one side of the grill with a line of charcoal unlit, then pour in a small amount of lit coals from your chimney and let it just burn down the line. I cook some dry rubbed ribs for about 5 hours at 220, and never have to open the lid to screw with the coals, it holds within a 15 degree window no problem. It's all about getting the feel of the carbs and the coal load.

If you are thinking about buying one i definitely recommend, they are well built and work awesome.

I highly recommend getting the "Grill Grates" for searing steak, You can load the grill up with a huge bed of coals with the lid open and cook directly over the coals, the grates allow the extreme heat through to sear, but stop flames from reaching the meat as the fat drips off. They work amazingly well.

Also lump charcoal and a chimney to start. I use brown paper with a little cooking oil or fat on it to light the chimney.
 

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Here are some of @wash11 NY strips from a week or two ago, they have to be at least 16oz each. You can see how the "GrillGrates" direct the flame ups around the sides, not onto the meat.

PK1.jpg



PK2.jpg
 

Racey

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Slow smoking Pastrami, you can see how the coals are arranged down the left side, start the burn at the bottom and it works it's way up the line.
PK9.jpg


Take it on trips, light weight and breaks down in 30 seconds.
PK7.jpg


PK6.jpg


PK5.jpg
 

Racey

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This charcoal is available at Albertsons usually. It's great stuff.

El Diablo 3.jpg



Here some good advice, just happend to find these pics on Google when looking for the bag pic, and this is IMPORTANT info.

When you are buying lump charcoal, squeeze the bottom of the bag and make sure it's not full of a bunch of broken pieces that have turned to dust.

You can't really cook over any lumps smaller than a golf ball, they will fall through the coal grate too quickly.

You DO NOT want bags that open up to find this:
El Diablo 1.jpg


About half that bag by weight is totally useless and will be thrown out.

You want coals that look like this:
El Diablo 2.jpg
 

Desert Whaler

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@Racey . . . Killer intel & those cooks look awesome !
Just got the mini 'PK Go' model in the mail yesterday . . . need to go snag a chimney & a bag of coal manana.
I plan to order the grill grates as well.
I have a small table top Traeger Ranger that I dig . . . but packing it to the river is a pain w/ all the accessories, the generator etc.
I've always wanted a good quality small portable grill & it looks like this one is gonna be the ticket.
Thanks for all the tips / advice. 🙏🙏🙏
 

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So I got the 1st cook under my belt with this little grill.
Played it safe and did a Malcom Reed recipe for crispy wings using corn starch and a easy-peezy spicey sauce.
Threw on some seasoned grilled/ skewered veggies as well.
Barely used a 1/2 chimney of charcoal . . . that little grill gets hot & holds the heat very well.
Overall I'm super impressed, especially considering I'm a newb.
Pops was stoked on the grub as well. Gonna try a couple rib-eyes tomorrow.

Here's the little R2-D2 unit . . .
DSC01205.jpg


1st attempt
DSC01202.jpg
 

Racey

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So I got the 1st cook under my belt with this little grill.
Played it safe and did a Malcom Reed recipe for crispy wings using corn starch and a easy-peezy spicey sauce.
Threw on some seasoned grilled/ skewered veggies as well.
Barely used a 1/2 chimney of charcoal . . . that little grill gets hot & holds the heat very well.
Overall I'm super impressed, especially considering I'm a newb.
Pops was stoked on the grub as well. Gonna try a couple rib-eyes tomorrow.

Here's the little R2-D2 unit . . .
View attachment 1084100

1st attempt
View attachment 1084101

Looks Awesome! 👍👍👍👍

When doing steaks i build the grill half loaded with fully lit coals, the other half no coals. Lid open the whole time.

After letting the steaks come to room temp i will let them set at the cold edge of the grill for 10- 15 minutes getting just a bit of the heat so they can come up to about 100 degrees F, rotate them a few times to keep them warming evenly.

Then 90 seconds, rotate 45 degrees 90 more seconds. Flip, 90 seconds, rotate 45 degrees 90 seconds.

If you have a flair up just close the lid till the flames go out then open it back up.
 

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Thanks @Racey . . . I tried your method and it worked great !
I got a little spooked at first with the flare-up as I didn't wanna wreck Pops' steak, but it came out tasting insane.
I picked up a bag of B&B 'Post Oak' and I threw a small piece on the coals the size of a raquetball & waited till it wasn't lickin flames before I tossed the steaks on.
Man . . . what a difference in flavor the charcoal has over propane !
I just used a light hit of kosher salt, pepper, & garlic before going on the grill.
Grilled some seasoned corn and made a generic salad and called it good.
Not fancy at all, but I'm diggin the experience.
Thanks again for the advice / tips. 🙏
DSC01208.jpg
 

Racey

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Thanks @Racey . . . I tried your method and it worked great !
I got a little spooked at first with the flare-up as I didn't wanna wreck Pops' steak, but it came out tasting insane.
I picked up a bag of B&B 'Post Oak' and I threw a small piece on the coals the size of a raquetball & waited till it wasn't lickin flames before I tossed the steaks on.
Man . . . what a difference in flavor the charcoal has over propane !
I just used a light hit of kosher salt, pepper, & garlic before going on the grill.
Grilled some seasoned corn and made a generic salad and called it good.
Not fancy at all, but I'm diggin the experience.
Thanks again for the advice / tips. 🙏
View attachment 1084416
Hell yeah brotha! Looks fantastic 👌👌👌👌👌

Really hard to beat charcoal for home grilling. Good call on the chunk of post oak, i usually throw a chunk of something on for a little hint of wood when hot grilling too.
 

sintax

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Thanks @Racey . . . I tried your method and it worked great !
I got a little spooked at first with the flare-up as I didn't wanna wreck Pops' steak, but it came out tasting insane.
I picked up a bag of B&B 'Post Oak' and I threw a small piece on the coals the size of a raquetball & waited till it wasn't lickin flames before I tossed the steaks on.
Man . . . what a difference in flavor the charcoal has over propane !
I just used a light hit of kosher salt, pepper, & garlic before going on the grill.
Grilled some seasoned corn and made a generic salad and called it good.
Not fancy at all, but I'm diggin the experience.
Thanks again for the advice / tips. 🙏
View attachment 1084416

Well done man!

Grab a tri-tip sometime, do your standard salt, pepper, ground garlic and parsley. Fire up the grill as @Racey mentioned, keep all the coals on one side. Open the vent under the coals, but close the vent over the top, and flip it on the other side. Closed on the bottom and open on the top for indirect.

Let your roast come up to temp, sear it off good over the hot coals on all sides. Move it to the indirect side, and let it go until you get to around 126-128, pull it and let it rest.

My Pk will run right around 350* in this indirect setup.
 

Desert Whaler

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Really diggin this little PK Grill !
Did a couple butterfly'd pork chops with a honey/ bourbon glaze a la 'Malcom Reed' recipe. Killer BTW.
Some veggie skewers and some apple sauce.
Kinda 'Janky' as far as the pairing I guess . . . but whatever, it'll make a turd. LOl.
IMG_2283.jpeg

IMG_2285.jpeg
 

sintax

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Really diggin this little PK Grill !
Did a couple butterfly'd pork chops with a honey/ bourbon glaze a la 'Malcom Reed' recipe. Killer BTW.
Some veggie skewers and some apple sauce.
Kinda 'Janky' as far as the pairing I guess . . . but whatever, it'll make a turd. LOl.

One of my favorite Malcom recipes is his Jerk Pork Chops. Everyone who I’ve made them for as been really stoked on them.

I have started doubling the habaneros, since I can’t find scotch bonnets
 

Desert Whaler

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This charcoal is available at Albertsons usually. It's great stuff.

View attachment 1083101


Here some good advice, just happend to find these pics on Google when looking for the bag pic, and this is IMPORTANT info.

When you are buying lump charcoal, squeeze the bottom of the bag and make sure it's not full of a bunch of broken pieces that have turned to dust.

You can't really cook over any lumps smaller than a golf ball, they will fall through the coal grate too quickly.

You DO NOT want bags that open up to find this:
View attachment 1083102

About half that bag by weight is totally useless and will be thrown out.

You want coals that look like this:
View attachment 1083103
I half-heartedly looked for the El Diablo . . . haven't found it . . . yet.
Saw a small 7 lb. bag of that Cheapie 'Sonoran' brand at the local Mexican supermarket, for $4 . . . so I said what the heck & tried it.
Won't make that mistake again . .. it was either logs the size of my forearm, or shake LOL !!!
I was able to scavenge a 1/2 chimney of the useable size pieces. Really like how it burns & tastes !
I had a 20 lb. bag of B&B Lump Mesquite transferred to my local Ace Hardware . . . gets here friday.
I've been happy w/ B&B briquettes, we'll see how their lump is.
Will report back.
 

Racey

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I half-heartedly looked for the El Diablo . . . haven't found it . . . yet.
Saw a small 7 lb. bag of that Cheapie 'Sonoran' brand at the local Mexican supermarket, for $4 . . . so I said what the heck & tried it.
Won't make that mistake again . .. it was either logs the size of my forearm, or shake LOL !!!
I was able to scavenge a 1/2 chimney of the useable size pieces. Really like how it burns & tastes !
I had a 20 lb. bag of B&B Lump Mesquite transferred to my local Ace Hardware . . . gets here friday.
I've been happy w/ B&B briquettes, we'll see how their lump is.
Will report back.
Light the big ones and after 15 mins you can break them into smaller chunks with coal tongs
 

Desert Whaler

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@Racey . . . finally cooked with that B&B Lump Mesquite.
Overall I'm very happy. It's sized better, with a nice mix. Doesn't sound like there's a ton of dust in the bag.
The stuff burned crazy hot without any poppin or crackin . . . and the food had a very nice flavor . . . new favorite for sure.
One thing I didn't realize is that 'Duraflame' purchased B&B a year or so ago . . . I've read a few complaints about their quality control.
One thing that slipped by me was on the bag it now says Premium Lump Charcoal (then in little words) 'with' Mesquite, then 'Premium hardwood blend'.
So they've obviously changed things up in their marketing . . . and I'm guessing now it's a 'blend' , which sucks.
Still gotta try that diablo . . .
 

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@Racey . . . any experience with these?

3-piece Grill Grates for the PK Go . . . impulse buy at 30% off.
Hard anodized aluminum with small holes in the valleys . . . supposed to get real hot while reducing excess flare-ups.
Can be flipped over and used on the bottom / flat side as a griddle.
Might be a gimmick . . . 🤷‍♂️

_DSC7422 2.JPG
 
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Racey

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@Racey . . . any experience with these?

3-piece Grill Grates for the PK Go . . . impulse buy at 30% off.
Hard anodized aluminum with small holes in the valleys . . . supposed to get real hot while reducing excess flare-ups.
Can be flipped over and used on the bottom / flat side as a griddle.
Might be a gimmick . . . 🤷‍♂️

View attachment 1180046

Yes they are AWESOME for steaks, they absorb and distribute the heat super evenly so you can get those nice grill marks, and they also stop any flare up flames from coming through to the meat, which is very helpful when cooking steaks that have lots of marbling.

You can also run them upside down if you want a flat skillet sear
 
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