New to The PK

The PK grill has had my interest the past few years but I wasn't interested in buying one new. (The majority of my grills/smokers are second hand in some way or another.) I've watched PK's come and go on Craigslist/Marketplace. A few weeks ago I saw a PK pop up on Marketplace that I thought was more than a fair price that he was asking. The PK is more of a want than need. So I held off. The next day the seller dropped $80 off his asking price. The seller only had it listed one day and he already knocked $80 off his asking price. This told me that he was looking to move it quick and wasn't looking for top dollar. So I made an offer that was an additional $50 off his new lowest price. He accepted. Wooo!!!!

The seller was actually a really nice guy. He had a couple gravity feed smokers, a Weber Kamado, and a late 70's Weber Performer that was super cool. He said he bought the PK to get into steak competitions but never got around to doing them. So he was simply looking to move it to clear up space.

Here's a couple pictures of what I picked up:







I fired it up for the first time this afternoon. I didn't want to get too crazy with it being my first cook so I did some Caribbean Jerk chicken thighs. I'm happy how they turned out.



I'm all ears for any tips or tricks from any of you PK owners. It seems to be a fun little grill!

Hey thanks for the info. You are 100% right about the grill being flipped around. I tossed it on the cart after cleaning it up when getting it home. I ended up rotating it before using it this afternoon.

I'm looking forward to doing some steak on it. I was told if I flip the food grate upside down the lip around the grate will hold the GrillGrates from sliding all around. I was told that will save a bunch of frustration with them. I've never used them prior. So that will be interesting to see how they work.

The can't believe how good it draws air. I've never seen such blue colored smoke come from anything I've owned. That was cool to see.

ttkt57 said:

I got one of those for my PK300. Works great!

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The basket was the deciding factor on the purchase. I did some research prior to purchasing the PK and just the cost of the basket alone was close to the sellers asking price for everything. I'm glad to hear you guys like the basket for your PK!

ttkt57 said:

The PK300 (similar to yours) with the Burn Shop charcoal grate you have is the best little steak cooker I've ever owned. Light up a full chimney of good lump, let it get screaming hot, put a couple of thick steaks on there, and it's just magic.

I see no need for the sear mark gizmo. In fact, I think you get better crust (better flavor) without it.

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I used some pretty crappy charcoal briquettes this afternoon. They burned up pretty quick. (I usually only use briquettes for my gravity feed smoker so it doesn't clump up.) I'm usually strictly lump charcoal for anything else. I'm not sure why I went with briquettes this afternoon. I should have used lump charcoal.

ttkt57 said:

Kingsford Original works OK (see pic above) and is less costly than good lump, but I agree that lump is better.

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I had to fill up the basket twice with charcoal for about an 1.5 hour cook this afternoon. I had the basket set in the 1/4 setting. I mostly blame myself as I'm still learning vent settings. I'd imagine I wouldn't need two chimneys full of lump for an 1.5 hour cook.

Hotch said:

Nice add to your cookers!

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Thanks Hotch!

WilliamKY said:

I've been eyeballing a PK300 for awhile now. I love the retro look of the Original but the New Original is sweet too. I'm really torn between the two. Yours is a beauty. Nice score.

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I'll have to look at the next time I use mine to see if I can somehow tighten the temperature adjustment slides as they were pretty baggy and moved all around when opening the lid. The PK300 rotating vents would be nice but maybe draws less air? I could see the benefit for both models. I don't think you will go wrong either way!