Take your braai to the next level Introducing America’s PK Grills

Technology is constantly upgrading and it feels like there’s a new iPhone, laptop, camera and gadget being launched every quarter. But how many revolutionary features, battery life hours and extra pixels are they really packing into these new products? And is it really worth breaking the bank to get them?

We’re sure you’ve heard someone a little older lament that “things don’t last like they used to” – your grandmother’s 50-year-old fridge still keeps lettuce crisper than your new Wi-Fi, app-integrated, beeps-and-speaks-to-you smart fridge. We’re often seduced by the ‘new’ (ignoring the exorbitant price tags) because of marketing gimmicks and the promise of better. But is newer really better? Sometimes what’s more important is how things are made, and not when. Take the Centennial light, a 30-watt bulb manufactured by Shelby Ohio in the late 1890s. Installed in 1901 at Fire Station 6 in Livermore, California, this incandescent light bulb has been burning almost continuously for over a century earning it the title of the world’s longest-lasting lightbulb. A moment of silence for all the modern lightbulbs that sometimes shatter on the way back from the store when you hit a speed bump a little too hard.

Both this famous bulb and your grandmother’s fridge serve as examples that when things are built to last, they do. There’s no need for constant technicians, upgrades, troubleshooting and the ever-helpful ‘bang it until it works’ approach. When things are built to last, you don’t need the newer model of anything. And this is what we should be looking for when we shop – not the shiniest and newest on the shelf, but long-lasting quality.

As the purveyors of the finest braai, grilling and smoking equipment in South Africa, Firesmiths is proud to say that we’re launching something in the SA market that will blow your apron and braai tongs clean off, and long-lasting quality is at the heart.

If you’re in the market for a new braai, an upgrade or just want to invest in quality, then look no further than Portable Kitchen (PK) Grills. The brand made famous in the States for its hand-poured cast aluminium design and unique four-vent system is finally on our shores.

These grills have been satisfying customers since the 1950s when founder Hilton Meigs designed the grill as a ‘portable kitchen’ that he sold from the back of his car. Now, more than 60 years later, the simplicity of those early days is PK Grills’s greatest strength, with both the material and grill shape identical to Meigs’s design.

They continue to focus on what’s most important – not built-in thermometers, complicated grates and racks and trying to satisfy every colour preference under the sun. They focus on the fundamentals – fire and airflow.

They understand the struggles of having to use a makeshift fan to get your coals to crackle with that satisfying ember glow, or worse, blowing on them like your life (and rack of ribs) depends on it; they understand the struggles of leaching heat and not being able to reach an optimal temperature. PK Grills are designed with strategically placed vents for optimal airflow and are made from robust cast aluminium for superior quality, heat retention and rust resistance. Aluminium also conducts heat four times more efficiently than steel, leaving traditional braais out in the cold.

“Absolutely the best grill ever. We still have the one that my dad bought in 1954. Mom cooked at least 10,000 pounds of beef on it, my brother took it to college, and my son took it to college…”

PK Grills are so confident in the durability of their grills that they offer a 20-year warranty. That means, if you’d been able to purchase one of these when the Springboks had their disastrous Rugby World Cup run in 2003 (which they have thankfully made up for now), it would still be under warranty. That’s thousands of boerewors, buttered mielies and baked potatoes later.

Choose from the exceptional PK Grills range and find your braaing partner for life:

OriginalPK™

There’s nothing fancy about this original grill, and that’s a good thing. It comes with the classic four-vent system so you can precisely control airflow for hot and fast, or low and slow cooking, and a squatty cart for mobility. A cooking surface of 787 cm² and interior of 10 363 cm³ means family braais are in the bag.

PK360™

The OriginalPK’s™ bigger brother. It’s taller and comes with a larger cooking surface of 914 cm² and a 13 649 cm³ interior which means you can fit as much as you need.

All-new OriginalPK™ – PK300AF™

This grill is the love child of PK Grills and master griller, smoker and chef Aaron Franklin. It’s got all the goods of the All-new OriginalPK™ but includes a belly bar to rest your tongs, speed racks that fit standard sheet pans for prep or to offload cooked meat, and two cast aluminium shelves that lock the capsule in place and fold down when not in use. This model is a bit of an upgrade from the OriginalPK™ and comes with more shelf space, a temperature probe access door, a wider and more precise lid and other enhanced features. It’s still got ‘original’ bones but with a little oomph.

PKGo™

This little guy has all the braaing prowess of the OriginalPK™ – the signature vents and aluminium body – but at a fraction of the size. It also opens up into two Hibachi-style grills to double your cooking surface area. Perfect for camping or a braai on the go.

As South Africans, we’re a braai people, a braai nation if you will, and PK Grills are the perfect companion. Whether you live in the highveld or the coast, PK Grills are built to last and give you endless days (even decades) of braaing satisfaction.