Pit Talk -- Comments and Questions Regarding These Pellet Pits > MAK

How Do I Grill on a MAK 2-Star?

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pmillen:
My BIL and I took four hours to assemble my new 2-Star.  I'll write a description of that effort another time.  I have three ribeyes to grill in a couple of days and I don't have comprehensive instructions.

I see that I need to remove the FlameZone covers expose the holes in the FlameZone pan.  After that I'm pretty much lost.

* What temperature should I set?
* Grill with lid open all the time or closed?  (Temperature setting is probably not important if the lid is always open.  The temperature will never be reached.)
* Do you have any Best Practices to offer?

Bentley:
I could tell you what I think you should do...but will let those with more MAK experience hopefully guide you!

ylr:
Saw a guy on YouTube who cranked the grill up to max, and kept the lid closed while he grilled the steaks, but the vid was over 4 years old, and I have no way of knowing if there have been any changes in the grill since then. He cooked the to what looked like medium well, and declared they were medium rare, so I'm questioning his knowledge a little....  ;)

Will the three steaks cover the flame zone? If so, maybe you can leave the lid up, but I'd still keep the temp as high as it could go.... :2cents:

glitchy:
I think it grills a little better with their sear grate. You just pop the covers off and run 450° or high/grill. Once up to temp you want, grill. Lid closed, like a gasser. I’ve front seared steaks by just opening the front cover and putting a half rack in 2nd slot, then turning grill down to 300° after searing and leaving the lid open 4-5 mins to cool. I’ve reverse seared moving steaks to warming box while it heats up to grilling temps. Grilled wings, chops and burgers just grilling whole time etc.

That being said, I bought the flat drip pan and haven’t had the flamezone pan on more than once or twice in last year. It does just fine, but so much easier to smoke on MAK and sear on gasser. I still grill burgers with the solid pan at 425-450°.

pmillen:
Thanks, Glitchy, for the advice.

I asked MAK CS essentially the same question.  Here's their reply.

"The best way to sear is to set the MAK to GRILL. This turns the auger continuously allowing for a better sear.
 
"I usually close the lid, but you can keep it open.
 
"My best tip would be to give your grill about 30 minutes to reach searing temperatures before you start. I also like to take the steaks out of the fridge about 45-60min before cooking so they aren’t cold when I grill them."

(I didn't get far enough through the Pellet Boss menu to see that there's a GRILL choice.)

I think I'll keep the lid open.  The Cookshack Charbroilers don't come with a standard lid.

If I were MAK I'd include these instructions in their instruction book or a YouTube video.  But that's just me.


EDIT:  I can't stop adding to the post.

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