Temperature Variables Between Main Grate and Upper Grate

[Dave R.]

To preface this, I'm still in a learning curve mode for the MAK 2 Star. With the exception of steaks all cooks have turned out a little over done or dry. Example a meat loaf was over done somewhat when using the upper grate (my fault for not monitoring it closer). Skipping forward a couple days ago I cooked a spatchcocked chicken. I set the pellet boss to 325 and set a thermoworks smoke grate temperature probe on the upper rack within inches of the MAK thermocouple. What I was told prior was that yes the upper grate is typically hotter but only by 15* to 25*. What the smoke probe was showing was 45* to 50* higher than the pellet boss readout. Lets see now the temperature should be roughly 325 but easily reaching 375, not what I want. I did adjust the pellet boss down to 295 which in turn saw the smoke probe readout lower to 345* to 350* which seemed OK at the time. So my question to you seasoned MAK users is are you seeing upwards of 50* higher temperatures on your upper grates?
Another unexpected and probably can be attributed to my learning curve is once the spatchcocked chicken reached an internal of 160* it only took a matter of less than 5 minutes for it to rocket to 180* +. Yep, turned out a little dry but not that bad. I was surprised how quickly that temperature jumped once close to the target temperature so asking for confirmation that is what I should expect at all times. When it comes to grilling steaks etc. I'm not at all concerned about the main chamber temperatures as long as it is hot. I simply probe with a thermapen often and remove when target temperature has been achieved.
Sorry for the long post but wanted to make sure I was clear on what I'm seeing. Thanks in advance as my anal side is wanting to know.

BTW I do have extensive experience in temperature controls I.E. PID and fuzzy logic just to name a couple.

[teesquare]

Great information from you, as a basis of what you are experiencing.

I will be brief in my input - as I am traveling, and have highly variable internet access.

1. I remove chicken when it reaches 157-160F, and tent it with foil for a few minutes. The IT will continue to rise to 165F. ( My compliments on your conscientious effort to observe food safe temps. )

2. Seeing a 50 degree temp differential between lower and upper grate is not surprising...in fact I would say it is expected. Be sure to take that into account when setting your cook temp. Bear in mind that the temp probe is located in the left rear corner of the MAK. at the height of food on the lower grate... You can always finish the skin on the lower grate for a few minutes prior to removing it from the MAK - if you are wanting a more crisp skin. THere are some other tricks for crisp chicken skin you may want to try as well. Let us know if that is part of the equation you are seeking to resolve.

There will be more and smarter folks along shortly...I am headed back out into the Sonoran desert.

[rwalters]

Howdy!  I can add a couple of cents worth of thoughts based on my experiences.

1) Although it's been awhile, I remember seeing a main/top grate temp differential of approx 25 degrees on my 2 Star.  Maybe it's a bit more, but to be honest, it has never been a problem.

2) Safe to assume that you are aware of the term "carryover cooking"?  If not, carryover cooking (sometimes referred to as resting) is the phenomenon that food retains heat and continues to cook even after being removed from the source of heat. ... The larger and denser the object being heated, the greater the amount of temperature increase due to carryover cooking.  So, if you are pulling a chicken from the grill that has been cooking at 325-375 when the internal temp is at 160ish, you can typically expect an easy 8-10 degree (sometimes more) increase in internal temp due to carry over cooking.  I typically pull chicken when they hit 155 in the breast.  But to be honest, I rarely cook whole (even spatchcock) chickens... as I much prefer individual parts.  By cooking each part indivdually, I am able to pull each piece off at the exact desired temp, which gives my much better and more consistent results.

3) Please don't take this as a knock against you... but I can assure you that your MAK will turn out insanely moist food IF the internal temp of the food coming from it has a correct ending point (after carry over). 

4) If you do not have a Thermoworks Thermapen, then please do yourself a favor and make the purchase.  Out of all of the cooking gadgets I have purchased over the years, I could honestly toss 99% of them in the garbage and still turn out great food IF I have nothing other than my Thermapen.  It's a complete game changer!

5) Regarding the top grate being hotter... there is another way to think of that in an advantageous way.  For example, if I am cooking ribs, I can set my Pellet Boss at 210 and know that my ribs are cooking in an ambient temp closer to 230-235.  Why do I find that a good thing? Well, one thing that we know to be true about all pellet cookers... the lower the set temp on the control, the more smoke production you'll see.  I get a TON of smoke with the Pellet Boss set to 210

Hope some of this helps a bit

[mrbbq]

Dave---a couple of things...  1) Your grill is still brand new, and still in the seasoning process. The stainless is most likely shiny and is refracting heat at maximum levels. Once the interior becomes more dulled down with smoke, etc. the refraction will lower and the internal cooking chamber temps will be more in line with the setpoint temp.
2) The Thermocouple measures the temp on a minute by minute basis, and the Pellet Boss(r) AVERAGES the overall cooking chamber temperature. The probes you are using are measuring the temperature at that specific place on the cooking grates, and are not averaging the temperature. That is why you see a difference in the temps.
If you place your probe at the same spot as the Thermocouple, you will most likely see that the temps are much closer. Remember a 10 degree variance in temp is well within our specs.
Happy Cooking to you!

[Dave R.]

Thanks for all of the replies. Makes more sense now. I do have a thermapen and now understand I should be using it more often if for no other reason than to verify the pellet boss thermocouple and the Smoke probes. I had not considered the seasoning of the grill aspect MrBBQ so thanks for setting the record straight. I was simply wondering as the information I had was to expect maybe a 25* difference and when it was double I went looking for my head scratcher as it did have me wondering some. I'll continue to play with things and heed the advise and wisdom shared here. Bottom line when I grow up I want to be as capable of creating a masterpiece cook as most others here are able to do. I'm kind of an instant gratification type I guess.