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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....

[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.

[urnmor]

I normally do not sear on my 2 star. I will sear before hand then place on a hot grill with out the flame zones (temp around 400 to 425) cook with lid closed to an internal temp to about 129 to 131.  Take off of grill and sear one more time again in a very hot pan (about 425) on both sides for 1 minute let rest and serve.   

[pmillen]

That seems like a reasonable method.  I doubt that I'll do a second sear.  Why do you do it?

[pmillen]

There's something about my mind that causes me to take everything literally and view everything as black or white.  Also, if there's a possibility that some instruction can be interpreted different from the intended meaning—I'll interpret it differently.

As I reread the MAK instructions–
"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."

He writes that he usually closes the lid.  Then, he goes on to suggest that I preheat the grill, with the auger running constantly, for 30 minutes.  That sounds like a recipe for an overheated pit.  I plan to preheat the pit at 400 to 425°F and then switch to the GRILL setting and cook with the lid open.

I'll let you know how the steaks turn out.

[NorCal Smoker]

I have owned a MAK 2 Star since 2011. I upgraded to a new 2 Star in 2020. The first one was great, but the newer models are much improved. That said, I used to grill all the time on the older model that only had a flame zone on half of the grill. I always grilled at max temp and lid closed, and it always came out great from my perspective. But, I always used grill grates (which arte not recommended by MAK, they say it limits air flow).  I had the MAK grilling grate as well, but never liked the results.  I felt the original (not MAK)  grill grates limited the amount of grease that would fall directly on the flame zone and limit flare ups.  I have not grilled on the new dual flame zone MAK as I feel my gas grill with grill grates cooks good enough and takes less time to heat up.

My take on MAK not recommended grill grates is to discourage competition from their less than effective grate. The fact that they sell a griddle which I also own and blocks more air flow than grill grates is why I would still use my grill grates on at least half the grill.

I don't know if you own grill grates, but if you do I would use them on half the grill. If not, put directly on the lowest grate. I would raise temp to Max and run for at least a half hour to warm up the entire grill. Keep the lid closed as much as possible to maintain heat. You will understand when you see the temperature loss when you put the steaks on.

I can't wait to see the results!  Your post made me realize I need to start grilling on my MAK again.