a review article by Steven Hicks

Several years ago, I bought my first Qwik-Cook Grill after seeing an infomercial, starring Dick Butkus.  Rarely do I watch an infomercial unless it is about some type of cooking gadget.  I was amazed me at how fast it cooked the food.  It appeared that this thing was actually cooking hamburgers, steaks, chicken, etc., using flaming balls of newspaper.  The folks in the infomercial were being paid, of course, to say that the food was delicious. 

As I later found out, the burgers and other meats cooked on the Qwik-Cook Grill  are delicious!  I have been a Qwik-Cook Grill enthusiast ever since!  I now own several Qwik-Cook Grills and can highly recommend them.  I can have my burgers cooked and ready to eat before my friends can find their charcoal and lighter fluid.   It cooks very fast.  Afterwards, there's very little clean-up--just a few cold ashes to dump and the wire grill can go into the dishwasher. 

I do not sell or own any stock or other interests in the Qwik-Cook Grill.  I created this page because I could find very little information about this product on the Internet.   Therefore,  I decided to create this web page and offer my own experiences and opinions on the Qwik-Cook Grill.  I welcome your comments, questions or suggestions, (and recipes, maybe!)

Please feel free to e-mail me: 

shicks[no spam]@aristotle.net

I have often seen slightly different variations of these "newspaper grills" under several different trade names.  Other names I have seen include Kwik-Cook Grill and E-Z Grill.  They are made in China (and have been for decades) and shipped to the US in bulk, where they are individually boxed under whatever name the US importer wants to call them.

Early in 2004, I began to receive e-mails from around the country telling me that Qwik Cook Grills were available in "Dollar General Stores" under the name "Richard Petty Grill".  They were reportedly priced at $10.00 each, plus tax.  The Dollar General Stores in my neighborhood--in central Arkansas--don't have them, but folks in Texas, Louisiana and Florida emailed to say they were available there.

UPDATE - In July 2004, I talked with the home office of Dollar General Stores.  They have no more "Richard Petty Grills" in their warehouses.  All have been delivered to stores.  (they have 6700 stores in 29 states!).  They tell me this was a "one time purchase" and, although it is possible they could buy more in the future, no more are available at this time.  So, if your Dollar General has any left, you best grab one.  I found only one Dollar General store in Arkansas with "Richard Petty Grills" in stock, and it was 60 miles away.

NOTE:  I have determined that the "Richard Petty Grills" do NOT include  instruction or recipe booklets packed inside the box.  The only instructions are on the outside of the box and unfortunately, there are no recipes.  However, they do include an electronic meat thermometer, powered by two AA batteries;  it resembles a large plastic fork with two metal tines.

I have not seen the Dick Butkus infomercial in years.  I last saw it on Bravo around 1999.   As far as I can tell, the US distributor of Qwik Cook Grills, Safari Industries,  is now out of business.  I was fortunate that someone sent me a copy of the infomercial on tape.  Lots of great ideas! 

Prior to the Spring 2004 discoveries at Dollar General Stores, the grills were getting a little hard to find.  I have seen a couple of them in flea markets and I sometimes see new ones on eBay.  That's where I purchased my last new one for about $15.00 plus shipping.  It's my first square Qwik Cook Grill.  Many have e-mailed me to ask where to buy one online. This online store called Cajun Outdoor Cooking, in Louisiana, seems to be the best source at this time:

http://www.cajun-outdoor-cooking.com/arctic_grill/table_top_newspaper_grill.htm

If you find Qwik Cook Grills for sale in ANY store, ANY where, please e-mail me!  I get lots of e-mail from people wanting to know where to buy one.

Steve's Tips for Using a Qwik Cook Grill

aka, Kwik-Cook Grill, Richard Petty Grill, Speed Grill, E-Z Grill, Newspaper Grill

1.  Use a good pair of leather work gloves for wadding those balls of newspaper.  Using gloves makes this job much easier and you will not end up with soy ink all over your hands.  Also, the gloves will come in handy when it comes time to empty the ashes and dis-assemble your grill for storage.

2.  Is your old Qwik Cook Grill beginning to rust?  They rust quite easily if you leave them outdoors in the rain just once.  Always empty the ashes, dis-assemble the grill and store it indoors in a dry place.  However, you can bring an old rusty grill back to life just by sanding it by hand, inside and out, and then spray paint it with a coat of high-temperature gas-grill paint.  You can buy a can of gas grill paint at any home center or hardware store for less than $3.00.  I just repainted mine and it looks brand new. (picture below)

3.  Here's a good storage tip:  Throw away that ratty old cardboard box your grill came in.  Obtain a plastic milk crate (from a discount store--don't steal one from a milk truck).  Fill the bottom of the crate with about a week's worth of newspapers.  Store your disassembled Qwik-Cook Grill in the milk crate along with everything you need to cook:  the grill parts wrapped in newspapers, matches in a Zip-Lock bag, roll of aluminum foil, leather work gloves and a cheap metal hamburger flipper and perhaps some metal tongs.  Whenever you're ready to cook, everything is all together in one box.

4.  If you've lost or never had an instruction book for your Qwik Cook Grill, then you might not know that you should--in most instances--cover the bottom half of the wire grid with aluminum foil.  You can "flip" the grill after most of the cooking time and flame broil your food for a few minutes.  But, you might get a few ash particles on your burgers.

5.  I reviewed the infomercial from the mid 1990s and the host recommends grilling four burgers for four minutes on the foil side and then "flip" the wire basket and grill for four minutes longer for a total of eight minutes (your cooking times may vary).  Often, I simply grill burgers on the foil for the duration of the cooking time, but I do turn them over half way through.  The photo is my freshly re-painted Qwik Cook Grill cooking my burgers at Tyler Bend Recreational Area on Arkansas' famous Buffalo River.

shicks[on spam]@aristotle.net  Do I need to tell you to remove the [no spam]?

Qwik Cook Grill Instruction and Recipe Booklet in PDF