Let's Talk BBQ
FORUM SPONSORS => MAK Grills => Topic started by: mikeharold on September 16, 2016, 06:07:33 PM
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So as many of you know I had been going round and round on which new cooker I wanted and finally pulled the trigger on a MAK 1 star! Ordered it from Big poppas smokers and have to say they are great to deal with. Talked to someone before I ordered and she gave me a coupon code and they sent me a ton of their seasonings, a hat, a frog mat and something else I think. Only hiccup was with shipping of the unit. Hadn't received a tracking number and was expecting to get a call for delivery. Called BPS and no one knew where my smoker was :(. Michelle at BPS got on it and started making calls to MAK and turns out it didn't get picked up by UPS and was just sitting in shipping and had been overlooked. If I hadn't called who knows how long it would have sat. It was originally supposed to have shipped on Sept. 6. Finally got it picked up a few days ago and got it delivered yesterday, almost a week delay.
So got it home and unloaded out of my trailer and assembled last night after work and did the burn in, ready to go for tonight! Going to do a spatchcocked chicken as that's about all we have let in the freezer right now. Got it seasoned and airing out in the fridge right now. Thinking I will start it on smoke for about 30-45 minutes then turn it up to about 350 and flip the bird skin side down till it's done. Want to get some smoke on it and try to get as crispy skin as I can too. This sound like the right approach? About how long all together til it should be done? This is my first cook on a pellet grill at all so just trying to get a good idea so we aren't starving and ready to eat at 9! Wouldn't make the wife very happy, though it has happen more than once or twice in the past :-[.
And a couple of pics too. Good things come in big boxes strapped to a pallet! And set up and at the ready on the patio. Action shots later!
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Congrats on your new cooker Mike!
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You got yourself a beauty right there. Congratulations 8)
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Congrats!
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Congrats Now I'm jealous I want one
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Congrats. Now get it dirty
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Congrats. Now get it dirty
Yeah, what he said! :D
You're going to love it!
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Oh it's gonna get dirty, don't worry! I love to BBQ and shes gonna get used, but not abused.
Any input into how I plan to do the chicken? Think that should work fine, just curious about rough timing.
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Oh, and thanks for moving the thread Tent, realized after I posted that it should go in here or the pellet smoker section.
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I think your plan sounded fine. I pull with an IT of 160 in the breast and let it rest.
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Fantastic! MAK only makes "no compromise" quality, best engineered pellet grills. And - I will bet you are already looking at some of the accessories ;D
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Fantastic! MAK only makes "no compromise" quality, best engineered pellet grills. And - I will bet you are already looking at some of the accessories ;D
Oh yes I am! Wanted to wait till I got it to figure out what I wanted to add. I know I want to add a rack....or 2, just need to figure out what works best for how I wind up using the grill.
Speaking of accessories, are there other compatible temp probes? I checked my Maverick probes and they don't work with the pellet boss and vise versa. Wondering if there is a slightly more affordable probe that works with the boss.
Just started the chicken and I'm like a little kid with his Santa wish list toy on Christmas morning! Who says life sucks the joy out of you?!
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Check out Thermoworks for probes. Outstanding company and top notch products of all kinds.
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Congrats on the new MAK!! You are going to love it!! I still love mine.
Art
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Congrats on the new cooker!
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Fantastic! MAK only makes "no compromise" quality, best engineered pellet grills. And - I will bet you are already looking at some of the accessories ;D
Oh yes I am! Wanted to wait till I got it to figure out what I wanted to add. I know I want to add a rack....or 2, just need to figure out what works best for how I wind up using the grill.
Speaking of accessories, are there other compatible temp probes? I checked my Maverick probes and they don't work with the pellet boss and vise versa. Wondering if there is a slightly more affordable probe that works with the boss.
Just started the chicken and I'm like a little kid with his Santa wish list toy on Christmas morning! Who says life sucks the joy out of you?!
It's all in the attitude! Stay thirsty my friend..... ;) :D
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Nice grill Mike!!! I know you'll like it! Don
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So just finished up with chow and have some first impressions.
Wound up smoking the chicken for a little over an hour then finished off at 350. Didn't do it skin down for the 350 portion and may try that next time. Flavor was good, seasoned with big poppas desert gold which I like cause it's close to the profile of my go to seasoning I make myself. Skin had a nice golden color and looked great(pics later) but wasn't quite crispy. Smoke was light which I was expecting and will probably hit it longer on smoke next time if I have the time, but that's a personal thing and am not complaining. But was it juicy and tender you ask? Oh was it ever!! I was very surprised and pleased with how moist and tender it came out. Probably one of the more moist chickens I have done in quite some time. Wife was raving about it, but she wasn't picking up any smoke flavor. This comes from a lifetime of heavy oak BBQ for her and I. I could taste the smoke but would like a little more. Again, that's personal taste but I think it came out great for a first go. Have to say I was pleasantly surprised and rather happy with the results and look forward to to getting this thing dialed in!
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Congratulations, remember bacon first ;D
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Congrats on the MAK Mike! Pellet grills do a good job of smoking but it's not the same as a stick burner. Yes, pellets ARE wood but it's not the same environment so you will always get a mild smokiness, never heavy. I actually like that about them. Wings are great on my Traeger as are ABTs. That MAK is a far better built grill than my Traeger so I know you'll have a lifetime of enjoyment out of it!
Makes me think it's time to order another smoker myself! ;) ::) :P
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I like!
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Congrats on the MAK Mike! Pellet grills do a good job of smoking but it's not the same as a stick burner. Yes, pellets ARE wood but it's not the same environment so you will always get a mild smokiness, never heavy. I actually like that about them. Wings are great on my Traeger as are ABTs. That MAK is a far better built grill than my Traeger so I know you'll have a lifetime of enjoyment out of it!
Makes me think it's time to order another smoker myself! ;) ::) :P
Think you should go couch shopping before you get another grill, make sure it's comfortable to sleep on! Waiting to hear what you think of that UNNI. That ones been rolling around in the back of my head as well.
What's your typical method on wings? Have a wedding to go to this afternoon so no BBQin today but am thinking of doing wings tomorrow. Oh, have a pork butt in the freezer too....hmmmm. Curious to see how the butt compares to the last one I did on the PBC. That was probably the best pulled pork I have done yet and it only took like 6 hours!
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Mike, I have a new couch so I'm good there, lol!!
As for wings, I put them on a cookie sheet cooling rack and place that onto a half sheet pan (cookie sheet) and let them dry out in the fridge for as long as I have time for, at least overnight. I actually buy the stackable cookie cooling racks and load one on top of the other and then place that whole thing, sheet and all, into the Traeger. I do this with ABTs too. You may not need to do any of that since I am sure your MAK has a lot more room than my little Traeger.
I like to start mine off with smoke (smoke setting) and let them go for 30 minutes to an hour and then ramp up to 225° for a bit and I also flip and change ends since the Traeger has hot spots I have to move them around a little. I then ramp it up to 350° to finish them. They come out a little smokey and very tender and just crispy enough. Once you ramp that temp up, you really have to keep an eye on'em or you'll have burnt wings in no time flat.
As for seasoning, we use Mad Hunky "Hot Whang" seasoning (http://madhunkymeats.com/product/hot-whang/)
Really good stuff!
Here's what I am talking about in reference to stacking them (ABTs but same principle)
(http://www.tpdatlanta.com/bsk/appza03.jpg)
For clarification purposes, when I say "we" I mean my wife. She's the wing master. I just sit back and watch her go!
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Perfect, going to give that a go. We usually just make a simple sauce ourselves with butter, garlic, sriracha and salt and pepper. Very simple but good with just a little spicy kick. We went to Zion national park in Utah a couple years ago and went to a local spot to eat and they had the best wings I have ever had and have been trying to replicate that for a while now with mixed results. They had a peanut butter sauce on them that wasn't real heavy on the peanut butter with a nice spicy bite and great crunch. They were so good and it was a pleasant surprise. Time to start experimenting a little more!
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Many people when using a pellet grill for the first time, comment on the "lite" flavor of smoke. This is probably from coming from years of actually "oversmoking" on other pits. Wood flavor should be another component of the overall flavor of the protein, not the main headliner.
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I knew the smoke flavor was going to be light and that's not an issue. Most of my BBQin has been done on an open pit over oak for years and that has a totally different taste than any other methods and tends to have quite a bit of smoke to it. That's not always a good thing though. Have to say that last nights chicken was not only the easiest I have done, but probably one of the most tender as well. The wife and I loved it!
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Glad you and your wife are enjoying your new MAK :)