Does anyone have a PK Grill?

[idahorn 26]

Aaron Franklin has a new book Franklin Steak, which is nearly as intensive as the one on barbeque.  In it he extolls the virtues of the PK grill; a small aluminum box that was made in the '50's and '60's and has recently been revived by some guys (a lawyer and some techies) from Arkansas. He says it is the best thing for grilling steaks and goes into great detail-as you would expect, on sourcing, aging, and cooking steaks.

Just wondered if anyone has one of these things in the corner of the garage or shed out back.

[tx 3 putt 77439]

a buddy had one in college, that's all we used. his was vintage from 50's/60's. works damn great

Edited June 1, 2019 by tx 3 putt

[Landomatic 3813]

I mean, he’s a BBQ genius no doubt, but what does he know about steak?

[idahorn 26]

Lando- He seems to know quite a bit; the two subjects are not mutually exclusive.  He discusses everything from the prehistoric aurochs (ancestor to cows and bison) to various myths about things like tempering the steaks to salting them before cooking.  If you are genuinely curious about what he might know about steaks, you might consider reading the book.

[EE2B 1565]

Pretty cool story:
https://www.pkgrills.com/about-us

[baboso 6057]

My folks had one when I was growing up.  Nice little grill, think they bought it at Western Auto.  I know they didn't pay 1960s equivalent of $370 for it.

[Deej 76930]

He could start using a Coleman camp stove, write a book about it, and raise the prices on them ten fold.

[Landomatic 3813]

3 hours ago, idahorn said:

If you are genuinely curious about what he might know about steaks, you might consider reading the book.

I think I’ll wait for them to make it into a movie.

[pops 7006]

19 hours ago, idahorn said:

Aaron Franklin has a new book Franklin Steak, which is nearly as intensive as the one on barbeque.  In it he extolls the virtues of the PK grill; a small aluminum box that was made in the '50's and '60's and has recently been revived by some guys (a lawyer and some techies) from Arkansas. He says it is the best thing for grilling steaks and goes into great detail-as you would expect, on sourcing, aging, and cooking steaks.

Just wondered if anyone has one of these things in the corner of the garage or shed out back.

Does he say what is better about it than a Komodo type cooker....or even a Webber kettle?  I would think heat is heat, but I'll defer to Mr Franklin. 

[dcbc 14510]

I can't imagine that the PK is $200+ better than a 22.5" Weber Kettle.

[Dewey 3294]

I can't imagine that the PK is $200+ better than a 22.5" Weber Kettle.

The steak had a richer flavor...

I stick with my cast iron skillet

[dcbc 14510]

12 minutes ago, Dewey said:

The steak had a richer flavor...

I stick with my cast iron skillet

Ha!  I see what you did there.

I may have made the best steak I've had in a while the other night.  Just another chimney of charcoal for a better sear, let it heat up a lot longer, and seared with the lid on, but cracked a bit.  I'd been looking at the vortex and Weber charcoal baskets before that night.  But now, I realize that I just need more fuel toward the end.  I can get it stacked close enough to the grate  for what I want to do. 

Was better than the time before when I Had the cast iron almost red hot on the grill.  But it's hard to scoop butter off the grill grate.  So for that, cast iron works well.

Edited June 2, 2019 by dcbc

[WhatTheBuck 28798]

On June 1, 2019 at 12:10 PM, EE2B said:

Pretty cool story:
https://www.pkgrills.com/about-us

Is that the grill, out of focus in the background in that first pic? Seems some sort of description of the design and construction and what makes it such a good grill would've been helpful. It's made from aluminum? I guess that means it doesn't weigh too much.  Doesn't retain heat, either. I'm not sure why that's a good thing. 

[kevwun 15916]

Aluminum doesn't absorb heat as well as steel, but if the heat source is already inside of it, I don't think that matters much.  It could even help cook something like a steak quicker if some of the heat is getting reflected back.  They are heavy duty and have a tight fitting lid, I imagine that is why they work well.

Edited June 3, 2019 by kevwun

[baboso 6057]

They are cast aluminum and fairly thick.

[NoName 16407]

Amazing Ribs (Meathead's site) has them as a platinum - their highest score: https://amazingribs.com/equipment-reviews?field_manufacturer_target_id=386

 

here is one of their full reviews: https://amazingribs.com/grill-smoker-combination-grill-smoker-tailgater/portable-kitchen-pk360-grill-and-smoker-review

[baboso 6057]

Didn't one of our Persian brothers buy one and bragged about it on the old site?  I think it was Icono.

[BabaYaga 15320]

On 6/1/2019 at 7:55 PM, Dewey said:

The steak had a richer flavor...

I stick with my cast iron skillet

YEP!  Seared in Irish Butter & herbs and then a few minutes under the broiler.  Hard to beat.  Those little grills with their high walls do a good job concentrating a tremendous amount of heat to a small surface area.  I had a Lodge cast iron hibachi grill back in the day that was similar.  Just no need anymore once you start using a skillet and they are too small for burgers, etc for larger groups of people.

[Landomatic 3813]

Does Weber make one?  If not, I'm out.

[C-Man 27264]

My cooking buddy bought one for us to use at the Texas State Steak Cookoff in Hico. He’d been to the Kansas City event and said that’s all those dudes use. It gets screaming hot. We didn’t win, though.

[pepper brooks 580]

I have a buddy who has one, and swears by it.  

[conVINCEd 21469]

17 hours ago, C-Man said:

My cooking buddy bought one for us to use at the Texas State Steak Cookoff in Hico. He’d been to the Kansas City event and said that’s all those dudes use. It gets screaming hot. We didn’t win, though.

Define screaming hot.

[Smax 3800]

Webber grate ontop of your chimney starter, good enough Alton good enough for me

[C-Man 27264]

3 hours ago, conVINCEd said:

Define screaming hot.

A third of a chimney of charcoal and we were humming along at 650 degrees for several hours. I've seen where you can get it up to 700 or 800 if you want, maybe higher.

[conVINCEd 21469]

Thx.

[idahorn 26]

pops-  Franklin likes the BGE type cooker for roasting, smoking, and baking--but not steaks.  He believes in 'two zone' cooking for steaks.  A really hot zone, with the charcoal on one side of the grill to sear the meat and a cooler side to cook the interior of the meat more slowly.  Hard to achieve two zones in any size BGE (and also easier than on a Weber).  He has two other versions of the two zone cooking for steaks.  In one he separates the hot and warm zones with a hardwood log.  This leaves the cool side cooler and also creates wafts of hardwood smoke to enhance the flavor of the meat. His third two zone method adopts the Spanish method which slow cooks the meat first, then, after a surprisingly long rest, sear them-turning frequently.  The third method gets pretty involved.

He recognizes that cooking steak on a 100% wood fire may be best, but suggests that this is even more involved and may take two grills.  My PK should be here late this week, so I'll be doing some experimentation--with Franklin's book in one hand and a Carlsberg in the other.

Edited June 4, 2019 by idahorn

[Chewbacca 7787]

8 minutes ago, idahorn said:

pops-  Franklin likes the BGE type cooker for roasting, smoking, and baking--but not steaks.  He believes in 'two zone' cooking for steaks.  A really hot zone, with the charcoal on one side of the grill to sear the meat and a cooler side to cook the interior of the meat more slowly.  Hard to achieve two zones in any size BGE.  He has two other versions of the two zone cooking for steaks.  In one he separates the hot and warm zones with a hardwood log.  This leaves the cool side cooler and also creates wafts of hardwood smoke to enhance the flavor of the meat. His third two zone method adopts the Spanish method which slow cooks the meat first, then, after a surprisingly long rest, sear them-turning frequently.  The third method gets pretty involved.

He recognizes that cooking steak on a 100% wood fire may be best, but suggests that this is even more involved and may take two grills.  My PK should be here late this week, so I'll be doing some experimentation--with Franklin's book in one hand and a Carlsberg in the other.

Why would you cook a steak any other way than reverse searing it?

[Steel Shank 9432]

We cook on one of these at a buddy's ranch. Dependable as shit. Always delivers the goods. Like your momma.

[Junior Miller 1502]

That's a ton of money for a grill to just use the cook steak. Especially when my oven plus a $25 cast iron skillet already makes one as good as I've ever eaten

[Fat Bastard 606]

I have one. Bought it 6 years ago when they were still going for $200. Great grill.  Very durable. I grill everything on it as I don’t own gas. The grill grates suck ass. Shitty flimsy stainless steel ones that don’t give you any grill marks. But it cooks hot and stays hot. We primarily like it because once you remove the grill grate, it’s north-south dimension is ideal for our skewers to grill kabobs with. It’s exceedingly painful to find a grill that can accommodate our skewers and maintain good air circulation to keep the coals hot. This does a good job at doing that

Edited June 5, 2019 by Fat Bastard

[conVINCEd 21469]

48 minutes ago, Junior Miller said:

That's a ton of money for a grill to just use the cook steak. Especially when my oven plus a $25 cast iron skillet already makes one as good as I've ever eaten

My oven maxes out at 500.  The higher temps are of interest to me.  I sous vide steaks and want the quickest sear possible.  You can get a Green Egg real hot, but given that I have a sunk cost in a Weber grill (maxes out at around 600) and an offset smoker, I’ve never felt motivated to get an egg.  If this can get super hot in a small package, and not set off the smoke alarms in my house (cast iron on the stove),  I’m interested.

[NoName 16407]

8 hours ago, Junior Miller said:

That's a ton of money for a grill to just use the cook steak. Especially when my oven plus a $25 cast iron skillet already makes one as good as I've ever eaten

you just throwing it in the cast iron and broiling it @Junior Miller?

[deft 6880]

Doesn’t compete with my groker

[4th and 5 4915]

My Weber will run north of 800, haven’t seen hotter on campus, or in this thread. 

[BabaYaga 15320]

10 hours ago, Junior Miller said:

That's a ton of money for a grill to just use the cook steak. Especially when my oven plus a $25 cast iron skillet already makes one as good as I've ever eaten

Yep.  I vacillate back & forth between a reverse sear and more recently the direct heat/sear (more often than not) - but I'm never without my growing collection of seasoned cast iron skillets.  Get the broiler going nice and hot and adjust the oven grates as high as they can go so it's nice and close.  Seared and swimming in Irish Butter and herbs - hard to beat!

I can see those being perfect for needing something fairly mobile when you need to get away from the house (tailgating, etc.) and a step up from a kettle grill.

[Junior Miller 1502]

3 hours ago, NoName said:

you just throwing it in the cast iron and broiling it @Junior Miller?

I've done a couple of ways that came out great. Use the oven to reverse sear at low temps and while the steak rests heat the cast iron in broiler then sear. I've also heated a cast iron on the gas grill and done it outside. I prefer the cast iron to just searing straight from the grill so I can sear with butter and thyme, and that's especially true if I'm doing filets for the wife. 

Edited June 5, 2019 by Junior Miller

[smuggs 9353]

I had a PK original that I ended up giving to my mom after I won a larger pit at an auction. It was small and a pain in the ass to cook for my family of four. Chicken was next to impossible without constant flare-ups but I didn't have the grill grate panels which would have helped. If they made a version that was significantly longer and deeper I'd be interested.

 

[horncyclist 1391]

I got a PK original for Father's day based on Franklin's book. Did some Ribeyes and tried a reverse sear smoking first with a log dividing the hot and cool zones (over Franklin's objection, co-author Jordan McKay dubbed this the "Franklin Formation" in the book). Did a full chimney to build up the fire for the sear and combined with the fat drippings, things got a little out of control. Before then though it was incredibly hot, burning around 800 degrees. Really excited about this thing and love the buy it for life cast aluminum design. 

What have others been doing with theirs?

[idahorn 26]

I have given up trying to cook ribeyes on any grill, with the possible exception of my BGE.  The abundant fat simply causes too many flares.  Will try KC strips on my next PK experiment.  I tried a Prime ribeye last night using the reverse sear (oven...cast iron) and it was meh.

My Dad learned, in the 1950's, how to cook steaks (T-bones usually) from a hotelier in  La Rochefoucauld, France (we lived not far away in Angouleme).  Let the meat sit out for awhile; put it on the hot grill.  Cook the first side only long enough to turn the meat gray.  Turn it over and apply salt, garlic powder (a very light dusting), and fresh ground pepper.  By the time you have done this (as quickly as possible) turn the meat again (hopefully still gray on the second side) and apply the same seasonings again.  Let it alone until the first side you seasoned is about as browned as you like, then flip it to the second size.  Cook that until it has reached the doneness you prefer.  I've had a lot of steaks in NY, D.C., SFO, New Orleans, Denver, KC, Chicago, Austin, Houston, and LA. Many of these were very good, but none has ever been quite as good as this method.  I think it's the tiny bit of garlic.  Not sure my Dad ever had access to Prime beef (mostly Commissary stuff-probably Select) but his steaks (and mine when I do it his way) are unmatched.  The French guy put some compound butter on the plated meat and a little peppery watercress--but that is gilding the lily.

My late spouse liked to make a Béarnaise sauce to go with steak, but I doubt I will ever do that out of reverence for her memory.

[dcbc 14510]

3 hours ago, idahorn said:

I have given up trying to cook ribeyes on any grill, with the possible exception of my BGE.  The abundant fat simply causes too many flares.  Will try KC strips on my next PK experiment.  I tried a Prime ribeye last night using the reverse sear (oven...cast iron) and it was meh.

My Dad learned, in the 1950's, how to cook steaks (T-bones usually) from a hotelier in  La Rochefoucauld, France (we lived not far away in Angouleme).  Let the meat sit out for awhile; put it on the hot grill.  Cook the first side only long enough to turn the meat gray.  Turn it over and apply salt, garlic powder (a very light dusting), and fresh ground pepper.  By the time you have done this (as quickly as possible) turn the meat again (hopefully still gray on the second side) and apply the same seasonings again.  Let it alone until the first side you seasoned is about as browned as you like, then flip it to the second size.  Cook that until it has reached the doneness you prefer.  I've had a lot of steaks in NY, D.C., SFO, New Orleans, Denver, KC, Chicago, Austin, Houston, and LA. Many of these were very good, but none has ever been quite as good as this method.  I think it's the tiny bit of garlic.  Not sure my Dad ever had access to Prime beef (mostly Commissary stuff-probably Select) but his steaks (and mine when I do it his way) are unmatched.  The French guy put some compound butter on the plated meat and a little peppery watercress--but that is gilding the lily.

My late spouse liked to make a Béarnaise sauce to go with steak, but I doubt I will ever do that out of reverence for her memory.

Coals on one side meat on the other.  Cook to desired internal temp doneness flipping about every 5 minutes for even cooking.  Rest for as long as it takes to add coals and get the grill raging hot (10--30 minutes - doesn't matter).  Add pepper to steak and sear about 2 minutes per side on the grill (on the side side where the coals are) with the lid on, but slightly cocked.  Serve. 

With this method, the cut of meat doesn't matter.  The interior will be just right, and the exterior will have a nice crust.

[pops 7006]

5 hours ago, idahorn said:

I have given up trying to cook ribeyes on any grill, with the possible exception of my BGE.  The abundant fat simply causes too many flares.  Will try KC strips on my next PK experiment.  I tried a Prime ribeye last night using the reverse sear (oven...cast iron) and it was meh.

My Dad learned, in the 1950's, how to cook steaks (T-bones usually) from a hotelier in  La Rochefoucauld, France (we lived not far away in Angouleme).  Let the meat sit out for awhile; put it on the hot grill.  Cook the first side only long enough to turn the meat gray.  Turn it over and apply salt, garlic powder (a very light dusting), and fresh ground pepper.  By the time you have done this (as quickly as possible) turn the meat again (hopefully still gray on the second side) and apply the same seasonings again.  Let it alone until the first side you seasoned is about as browned as you like, then flip it to the second size.  Cook that until it has reached the doneness you prefer.  I've had a lot of steaks in NY, D.C., SFO, New Orleans, Denver, KC, Chicago, Austin, Houston, and LA. Many of these were very good, but none has ever been quite as good as this method.  I think it's the tiny bit of garlic.  Not sure my Dad ever had access to Prime beef (mostly Commissary stuff-probably Select) but his steaks (and mine when I do it his way) are unmatched.  The French guy put some compound butter on the plated meat and a little peppery watercress--but that is gilding the lily.

My late spouse liked to make a Béarnaise sauce to go with steak, but I doubt I will ever do that out of reverence for her memory.

Reverse sear in the oven while the BGE is going with all vents open and a cast iron grill pan on the grates. Add avocado oil or clarified butter to the pan just before you put the steak on.  Your pan will be 700 plus after resting and zero flare ups. 

Edited June 22, 2019 by pops

[4th and 5 4915]

Weber all burners on high. Get scalding hot. Throw ribeye in middle. Give it 2-3 minutes, flip, then turn middle burner off to eliminate flare ups. Bout 4 minutes, flip back to side one and turn the grill off. Give it 1-2 minutes and done. Should be about 10 minutes for a nice thick steak. Let it rest.