PK Grills Grills & Smokers

The PK Grills PK360 is a cast-aluminum charcoal grill and smoker with a capsule-shaped body and 4-vent airflow control for precise two-zone cooking. PK Grills makes rustproof, heirloom-quality American charcoal cookers.

The PK300 is the modern version of the capsule-shaped cast aluminum grill PK has built since 1952, sitting below the PK360 already in the catalog. Cast aluminum conducts heat several times faster than steel and cannot rust, which is why 60-year-old PKs still turn up working. The four-point venting system — a damper at each corner of the capsule — is what makes its two-zone cooking unusually controllable for a grill with no fan or controller.

PK's collaboration with Aaron Franklin, sitting $100 above the standard PK300. Same rust-proof cast-aluminum capsule and four-vent layout, but with a redesigned lid seal, cast-aluminum wheels with rubber tires, two folding cast-aluminum shelves that lock the capsule to the cart, and an all-aluminum cart instead of the PK300's. It is the PK300 with the parts most owners complain about upgraded.

The original 1950s PK capsule, still in production, on a knock-down aluminum cart with stainless hardware. PK calls it 'King of the Tailgate' because the capsule lifts off and the cart disassembles without tools, so the whole grill goes in a trunk. The PK300 and PK300AF use a newer, redesigned capsule; the PKTX is the classic one, sold in classic silver.

PK's portable: a cast-aluminum clamshell on a molded cradle with cast iron cooking surfaces, 204 sq in, 39.5 lbs. The FlipKit is the second grate and charcoal grate that lets it be run as a covered grill or flipped open as a double-sided hibachi. It carries the same 20-year warranty as the full-size PKs, which is unusual for a portable.