The "Duchess Cooker" - An All aluminum kettle made by maker of PK Grills


 
Jon Tofte

Jon Tofte

TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
You probably have seen pictures of the PK Grill. It is an all cast aluminum grill that was made for decades in Arkansas before the company (Hamlin) had a fire and financial difficulties and then shut down. Much more recently, the name was purchased and the original design faithfully brought back. These are supposed to be really excellent cookers. You only very occasionally see an original edition one for sale because they last forever and get handed down among family. (The new PK company also brought out a larger, more modern looking charcoal grill - apparently based at least in part on a design Hamlin had in the works - that gets rave reviews.)

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Back in the day, Hamlin also experimented with a couple other models. One was a small round kettle, about the size of an 18" Weber. However, this was also all cast aluminum with molded in cast aluminum vents just like the larger PK. These are really rare, but there is actually one for sale very close to me for $200. With so many unfinished projects and low funds, I really can't justify this, but I sure would love to have it for collector's sake:

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Looks like it has a wide opening swing up grate to allow for adding fuel for a low and slow indirect cook

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I love the molded-in cast aluminum vents

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https://www.letgo.com/en-us/i/1960-...ue-grill_3cff52fe-3ca6-453c-922f-ea085e0b39c9
 
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Can't tell from the seller's pictures, although she assured me they were both present and working. I am guessing they are like the original PK grill top vents, only because I think I see a hint of that in one picture.
 
My next door neighbor had one just like the top left picture never knew what it was. Have to see if he still has it don't see it in the yard anymore.
 
Brian,

That would be a great find. You could probably wire brush it to new and cook on it forever! Thick cast aluminum holds heat almost like a Big Green Egg but almost indestructible.
 
Jon Tofte said:
Brian,

That would be a great find. You could probably wire brush it to new and cook on it forever! Thick cast aluminum holds heat almost like a Big Green Egg but almost indestructible.
Click to expand...

Jon,

Guessing it went to one of his kids or maybe its stashed somewhere else under the deck. I have a Performer, a Silver C and a UDS so really would not have any use for it anyway down to 3 grills as my daughter took the 1000 home.
 
I had a PK stolen off my patio in 1989. Led me to buying my first Kettle. But I wish I had the PK.

A college buddy of mine had the round one on the bottom. He was pretty good with it. His specialty was indirect cooking chuck roasts.
That was early 70's.
 
That grill is probably the dawn of aluminum charcoal grills as we know it. The vent is definitely interesting, i wonder if is factory riveted. Cool find 🤙
Yep aluminum all the way. All grills should be made of it. And round-for charcoal perfect shape for cooking.
I always wonder how much would cost weber to make a kettle out of aluminum vs porcelain steel ? or maybe offer it as an option.
I saw the new PK but it was $800 definitely expensive so maybe there is my answer....
Tried as I might with a small Warm Morning all aluminum gas grill to turn it into charcoal grill did not work..I drilled holes in it, I used a steel tray but in the end it melted. But done right AL i still think is the way to go for a charcoal grill.
Thanks for sharing the pics.
 
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I have serious gear lust for that PK360. At $800, it's pricey, but a bargain compared to the Weber Summit Charcoal.



EDIT: It's $700 when you go to buy it on their website. And Jon, they sell grill grates for it on their website! ;)
 
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I have a Dutchess Cooker. Found it at an estate sale for $10.😬 It is my go-to grill, although it is a bit small. The problem, of course, is that once the charcoal and cooking grates wear out, there is no way to replace them. I emailed the new PK Grill folks, and they have ZERO interest in reviving this grill or producing replacement parts. Also, the cart is a bit rickety, but it is likely 60 years old, right?

I took a pic of the hinged cooking grill and the bottom vent for you guys. The vents are riveted, but they all work well. One vent on the lid; 2 on the bottom. Plenty of ventilation to keep coals rippin’ hot.

Almost forgot. One feature I really like is that the bottom half of the shell is squared off (vs the spherical shape of a Weber kettle). I find that I get more even heat than with a Weber as I can spread the coals out uniformly and they don’t have the annoying tendency to congregate in the middle.

Anyway, I love mine and wouldn’t hesitate to buy another if I come across a decent example.

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Wow, well $10 was a steal and a half! That would drive my friends at the FB PK Grills group crazy! Yours even still had the bottom vents present!

I was actually working on mine yesterday. Here are a couple thoughts:

This grill is supposed to have a charcoal grate that leaves a space for airflow. It is also important because putting charcoal right on the cast aluminum bottom can lead to burn-through. The original charcoal grate was made of cast iron. I wonder if that was on purpose to increase radiant heat. It also had two round shields to try and protect the two vents from ashes. The PK vents are completely separated (good!) so you can open one (under charcoal on one side) and close the other (under the food with no charcoal below) to do indirect bbq.

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The good news about the grate is that you can buy a regular grill grate meant for the medium sized Big Green Egg which will fit perfectly. You can buy stainless, but I went with cast iron to be closer to original. I also added two cast iron coasters/trivets to substitute for the original grate's shields:

Cast iron grate & trivets.jpg

My grill didn't have the bottom vents. You are right that the "new" PK company isn't currently interested in producing or carrying parts for the Duchess. They did refer me to someone who makes stainless replacements, though. I primed the outside side of his nice vent covers and then painted with ulra high heat silver to make them look closer to original. (No paint on the side facing in to the grill!)

Replacement Vent after painting.jpg

For the top cooking grate, I am where you are. The old nickel steel is hard to make decent after years of neglect, and it is not a regular size. You can buy a custom carbon steel grate from The Burn Shop:
theburnshopwf.com

Custom Grill Grates

If you are ready to purchase a custom grate, please fill out the order form and in the description please include the diameter/dimensions of the grate you are wanting. Also describe the design you are wanting or include an image in the file attachment. We will confirm
theburnshopwf.com theburnshopwf.com

I am planning on contacting Mark Barron of Killa Grilla about making a stainless steel replacement with the same fold-up side as the original. I am hoping he will be interested and look at this as a new product not a one-off. Mark's thick stainless will make fine grill marks for high heat, but that design lets you switch to indirect low and slow as well.

Here is a picture of the outside of mine after cleaning up. Not too bad for a grill as old as me (60:rolleyes:). I opted to only clean the old powder coated finish. I could have spray painted, but I will just wait and see if someday I can get the powder coating redone. It is a much better finish than you can get from rattle can paint:

Cleaned up Outside from top front.jpg

Once I get my current top grate at least adequate to cook on, I am going to try this thing out! I hope to do a comparison between the PK Duchess and a Weber 18" kettle.
 
Jon,
Mine actually does have a charcoal grill, just impossible to see under all the ash! I did 2 chimneys worth of charcoal the other evening as we were doing a mess of lamb chops and some grilled asparagus. Yum! It’s heavy carbon steel wire, not cast iron, but I suspect your grill is a bit older than mine. Your handle is different (and WAY cooler than mine). I have no doubt that I’ve got a few more seasons of use left in my grates/grills, but please keep me in mind if you can coax Killa Grilla to make new flip-up cooking grills. That would be the impetus I need to fabricate a new base/cart. I’m a metal fabricator by trade, but don’t want to expend a bunch of effort on a grill that I can’t use in the future.9C6BA8FB-F924-45FC-B7AE-57FAF9951DB4.jpeg68110156-41ED-45D7-8D88-B45F735EE81B.jpeg
 
That is so cool! Looks like you are getting lots of fun use out of your classic find. I have already been told on the PK FB group that while mine looks nice all cleaned up, it’s time to get it dirty! I couldn’t agree more. Still need to do a little more with the cooking grate and then I will fire her up!

Besides the charcoal grate and red vs black handle, the other difference I see is that yours is the “4-legged” model while mine only has 3. I think the original PK company experimented along the way. There seems to be a lot variations in all their old grills.
 
Jon Tofte said:
Back in the day, Hamlin also experimented with a couple other models. One was a small round kettle, about the size of an 18" Weber. However, this was also all cast aluminum with molded in cast aluminum vents just like the larger PK. These are really rare......
Click to expand...

I sure wish I would have known this about a year ago. I remember one of those being
posted that hung around for about 3 weeks. The seller had no clue what it was, and
said so in his post. I specifically remember it being listed for $30.
 
I joined PK Grill Fanatics on FB. I’m doing this brined, spatchcocked chicken right now. Kinda grey and chilly in Seattle; freezing my buns off!!
 

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Yeah, but looks good, though! Might be better than here pushing 90 degrees and swatting sand fleas that come out during early evening :rolleyes: !
 
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