The Official Pellet Grill Smoker thread.

[rwalters]

Thanks guys, this is some great help. And enough new info to bring me to my next questions


Let's assume the budget is closer to $900. Max, max, max.



Controller - I'd appreciate more input on controller type. Generally it seems like you have to balance temp control and smoke output. PID are more precise and more expensive. I'm guessing that "cheap" PIDs hold temp but don't make much smoke. Any thoughts on how to choose? Or corrections to my understanding?


Capacity - I'm thinking around 500" of primary grilling space is a good place to start. Same as a 3 burner gas grill, plus it seems like you can buy a lot of secondary cooking space.



Insulation - Have to choice b/w insulated cook box or a blanket. Does it matter that much? Does one approach work better than the other? I understand I would have to find somewhere to store a very, very smelly blanket.



Searing - It's important to me Camp Chef's sliding grate seems like a great option. But, you can only get it on the older models or on the new ones that also have a searbox, which I don't understand. Conversely, a Grilla with grill grates seems like a viable option.



Wifi - Convince me I need it. It's about 10 steps from my back door to the driveway. Biggest selling point to me is that I could put a butt on at night, let it run, and then turn the temp down to a holding temp from work. It seems like wifi runs around $200 or more?



Probes - don't know what I should be looking for... One for the box and one for food, if wifi enabled?



If I'm looking at the Silverbac Pro and the CampChef SmokePro SG 24 at $750 and $700 (cause the accessories for these things are $$$) what concerns should I have, and what else would you tell me to look at/consider?

Ok, here’s my opinion. Take it for what it’s worth... lol.

With you pushing your budget a bit higher $750ish, and based on the types of proteins you mentioned you cook most often (chicken, plate short ribs, ribs and pork), I would absolutely go with the Grilla Grills Silverbac. I really feel at the 750ish price point you are going to be very hard pressed to beat it.

As far as “grilling” ability, with the exception of steak, which you didn’t mention, I think you’ll be quite pleased with the high temp indirect results for things like chicken, burgers, sausage, etc. It won’t be a “searing machine” but IMO you don’t need that power for anything other than steaks. High temp indirect heat produces really good/moist results.

As far as the PID questions, Grilla now offers their dual function controller where you can set it to PID behavior and it’ll keep a tight temp range, or you can turn that off and let the temps swing a bit more but also produce more smoke. Kinda cool.

As far as WiFi, that’s up to you... I personally love it on my MAK, but if I had to choose between WiFi on a lesser quality pellet grill vs no WiFi on a higher quality pellet grill... hands down I’d give up the WiFi and go with quality.

If you do go with the Grilla and decide that you still need the searing power from time to time, then personally, I’d recommend a small secondary cooker... something like the Weber Jumbo Joe or a small Weber gas grill... or even a small Blackstone griddle... something that can be easily stored away when not needed. But even then, I have a hunch that the Grilla will see 99% of all cooking duties.

Just my 2 cents

 

[smoke ninja]

That last pic... OH MY!!!!

The last pic is money!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Thanks. It was good enough to win me a throwdown and 4 lbs of oakridge bbq rubs. I'd like to get back into posting more cooks threads but nowadays I tend to just spam random threads with pron from past cooks

 

[GrantAshton]

If things go as planned, I should have my new MAK 2 Star next week.

I'll be transitioning from a Weber kettle & a WSM. I'm pretty confident about smoking on the MAK but I've a question about grilling.

If I'm planning on a reverse sear, should I remove a FlameZone cover before I start cooking? In other words, remove one cover, start the cook on low heat & cook over the covered section and then move to the uncovered section when I turn up the heat for the sear?

Or is it better to remove the cover just before turning up the temp for the sear?

I'm asking as I'm not clear if removing one cover in the beginning would significantly raise the temp in an undesired manner.

Also, does having one side of the FlameZone covered and one side uncovered allow for some form of two zone grilling?

(I almost always grill with a two zone fire on a kettle. I'm trying to get my head around what I will need to change as far as grilling technique with the MAK.)

 

[tom b]

For a reverse sear I typically remove one cover prior to start up first part of cook is on the top wrack over the covered side then move down for the sear

 

[GrantAshton]

For a reverse sear I typically remove one cover prior to start up first part of cook is on the top wrack over the covered side then move down for the sear

Thanks, Tom!

 

[rwalters]

If things go as planned, I should have my new MAK 2 Star next week.

I'll be transitioning from a Weber kettle & a WSM. I'm pretty confident about smoking on the MAK but I've a question about grilling.

If I'm planning on a reverse sear, should I remove a FlameZone cover before I start cooking? In other words, remove one cover, start the cook on low heat & cook over the covered section and then move to the uncovered section when I turn up the heat for the sear?

Or is it better to remove the cover just before turning up the temp for the sear?

I'm asking as I'm not clear if removing one cover in the beginning would significantly raise the temp in an undesired manner.

Also, does having one side of the FlameZone covered and one side uncovered allow for some form of two zone grilling?

(I almost always grill with a two zone fire on a kettle. I'm trying to get my head around what I will need to change as far as grilling technique with the MAK.)

You mentioned that you do a lot of 2 zone cooking on your kettle. You’re also asking about the reverse sear technique on the MAK. I am super familiar with kettles/2 zone cooking/reverse searing. The MAK in my opinion is a totally different cooking experience than the kettle. On a kettle, if you are cooking direct you need to be really careful not to burn the food. That is not something you will experience on the MAK. For things like chicken, sausage, burgers, kabobs, wings, etc... basically your weeknight type meats... just remove the Flame Zone covers, turn the MAK on and cook once preheated. I do 95% of my grilling with the Pellet Boss set to 400-450° (depending on what I am cooking) and the FZ covers removed. With a set temp of 450° and the covers removed, I see cooking temps at the grate right around 575°. For me, the only time I do 2 zone or reverse sear cooking is on thick steaks or larger cuts of meat. For those cuts I sometimes do what TomB described. But I also use other methods just depending on mood, timeframe and desired end result. Sometimes I’ll leave one or both covers off for the “indirect” portion of the cook but place a cast iron skillet on the main grate to create indirect heat to the meat that is slowly cooking away on the upper grate. When it’s time to sear, I’ll remove the meat, jack the temp and return the meat to the cast iron skillet when it’s smoking hot. There are other times that I’ll have my Otto Wilde broiler, which sits right next to my MAK, roaring at 1500° for a super quick sear once I pull the meat from the MAK. Numerous ways to do it... and to be honest, I like having a small secondary cooker sitting right next to the MAK for the screaming hot reverse sear type of cooks. In my opinion the 2 types of cookers play very nicely together. That said, for weeknight grilling... it’s all about the MAK set to 450° with FZ covers removed. No 2 zone, no reverse sear... just straight up simple, moist and tasty grilled results every time

 

[GrantAshton]

You mentioned that you do a lot of 2 zone cooking on your kettle. You’re also asking about the reverse sear technique on the MAK. I am super familiar with kettles/2 zone cooking/reverse searing. The MAK in my opinion is a totally different cooking experience than the kettle. On a kettle, if you are cooking direct you need to be really careful not to burn the food. That is not something you will experience on the MAK. For things like chicken, sausage, burgers, kabobs, wings, etc... basically your weeknight type meats... just remove the Flame Zone covers, turn the MAK on and cook once preheated. I do 95% of my grilling with the Pellet Boss set to 400-450° (depending on what I am cooking) and the FZ covers removed. With a set temp of 450° and the covers removed, I see cooking temps at the grate right around 575°. For me, the only time I do 2 zone or reverse sear cooking is on thick steaks or larger cuts of meat. For those cuts I sometimes do what TomB described. But I also use other methods just depending on mood, timeframe and desired end result. Sometimes I’ll leave one or both covers off for the “indirect” portion of the cook but place a cast iron skillet on the main grate to create indirect heat to the meat that is slowly cooking away on the upper grate. When it’s time to sear, I’ll remove the meat, jack the temp and return the meat to the cast iron skillet when it’s smoking hot. There are other times that I’ll have my Otto Wilde broiler, which sits right next to my MAK, roaring at 1500° for a super quick sear once I pull the meat from the MAK. Numerous ways to do it... and to be honest, I like having a small secondary cooker sitting right next to the MAK for the screaming hot reverse sear type of cooks. In my opinion the 2 types of cookers play very nicely together. That said, for weeknight grilling... it’s all about the MAK set to 450° with FZ covers removed. No 2 zone, no reverse sear... just straight up simple, moist and tasty grilled results every time

Very helpful. Thanks.

I rarely cook directly over the coals on a kettle. I just move things closer or further away depending on what is needed.

While I’m looking forward to learning how to grill on the MAK, I’ve never had a gas grill; I’ve always grilled on a kettle. So this will require learning some new techniques.

 

[blazinfire]

Ok.. I have to post this so I can feel special about being apart of an appreciation thread.

Here's some items I cooked yesterday on the Grilla Grillz Silverbac! If your looking to pull the trigger and interested with them I wouldn't hesitate from my experience so far.

 

[rwalters]

Ok.. I have to post this so I can feel special about being apart of an appreciation thread.

Here's some items I cooked yesterday on the Grilla Grillz Silverbac! If your looking to pull the trigger and interested with them I wouldn't hesitate from my experience so far.

Having a blast watching you enjoy your Grilla! It’s quite clear this ain’t your first rodeo as these results are clearly from the hands of a skilled pit-master. [emoji41]

Pellets or not, it’s still primarily the cook, not the cooker [emoji4]

 

[GrantAshton]

Another MAK question . . .

While reading older threads, I’ve seen references to temps and max fan speeds—such as, max fan speed of 60% with temp set at 245 degrees.

Is there a full chart that lists all of the percentages at 10 degree increments?

 

[rwalters]

Another MAK question . . .

While reading older threads, I’ve seen references to temps and max fan speeds—such as, max fan speed of 60% with temp set at 245 degrees.

Is there a full chart that lists all of the percentages at 10 degree increments?

Smoke-245° will not allow the fan to exceed 60% of its max rpm.

250-295° will not allow the fan to exceed 80% of its max rpm.

300° and up will allow the fan to rev to 100% if it’s max rpm.

The slower the fan the more smoke. Although I will say that I still get quite a bit of smoke into the 300’s. The MAK’s are truly designed to smoke!

 

[GrantAshton]

Smoke-245° will not allow the fan to exceed 60% of its max rpm.

250-295° will not allow the fan to exceed 80% of its max rpm.

300° and up will allow the fan to rev to 100% if it’s max rpm.

The slower the fan the more smoke. Although I will say that I still get quite a bit of smoke into the 300’s. The MAK’s are truly designed to smoke!

Perfect. Thanks!

(Let me know if this is the wrong thread for my MAK questions. I didn’t see one that felt like a better fit.)

 

[blazinfire]

Having a blast watching you enjoy your Grilla! It’s quite clear this ain’t your first rodeo as these results are clearly from the hands of a skilled pit-master. [emoji41]

Pellets or not, it’s still primarily the cook, not the cooker [emoji4]

I was telling some people last night That if I was a total newbie to BBQ and bought a pellet grill didn't know what I was doing.. I wouldn't have as much fun as I did yesterday! But as the day progressed I started doing that "dance" I mentioned in the build/seasoning/first cook thread. But with my experience cooking BBQ for the past 4 years (yes. I just found a FB memory of my first offset cooking in a down pour rain it was dated 4 years ago) yesterday was a complete blast. I was one of those guys that were refusing to buy a pellet grill cuz I didn't need more cookers. Don't regret it one bit.. Of course I'm the master at being lazy.. so a pellet cooker is right up my ally! HAHA!

 

[rwalters]

I was telling some people last night That if I was a total newbie to BBQ and bought a pellet grill didn't know what I was doing.. I wouldn't have as much fun as I did yesterday! But as the day progressed I started doing that "dance" I mentioned in the build/seasoning/first cook thread. But with my experience cooking BBQ for the past 4 years (yes. I just found a FB memory of my first offset cooking in a down poor rain it was dated 4 years ago) yesterday was a complete blast. I was one of those guys that were refusing to buy a pellet grill cuz I didn't need more cookers. Don't regret it one bit.. Of course I'm the master at being lazy.. so a pellet cooker is right up my ally! HAHA!

LOL! You da man [emoji1306]

 

[blazinfire]

LOL! You da man [emoji1306]

yeah. I'm gonna be da man doing the happy dance while eating left over ribs and stuff in a little while for dinner

 

[Hot Spot]

Smoke-245° will not allow the fan to exceed 60% of its max rpm.

250-295° will not allow the fan to exceed 80% of its max rpm.

300° and up will allow the fan to rev to 100% if it’s max rpm.

The slower the fan the more smoke. Although I will say that I still get quite a bit of smoke into the 300’s. The MAK’s are truly designed to smoke!

Is it the Pellet Boss causing swings that makes more smoke or is there more to it?

 

[rwalters]

Is it the Pellet Boss causing swings that makes more smoke or is there more to it?

Good question! On the ‘Smoke’ setting you’ll see a 20° swing between 170-190°. Once you get past the Smoke setting (starting at 200°) you’ll see much smaller swings. The level of smoke production is driven primarily by two things...
1) The algorithms of the Pellet Boss controller itself and how it is programmed to feed pellets into the fire/maintain set point. I have spoken with the owner of MAK Grills numerous times about it, and find myself fascinated by the amount of time and thought that goes into “dialing in” a controller.
2) MAK uses a variable speed fan that can be dialed way back to allow for a very low volume of air to move across the fire. With little air movement at the lower temps, the pellets are allowed to smolder much more than a pellet grill that does not offer this capability.

The end result is as clear as day once you start cooking on a MAK... especially if you have had another pellet grill in the past. They are smoking machines

 

[Hot Spot]

So with a very low volume of air across the fire, how does it end up being different than a kamado which some find to have a stale or dirty taste due to low air flow? Just trying to understand this.

 

[BKING!]

So with a very low volume of air across the fire, how does it end up being different than a kamado which some find to have a stale or dirty taste due to low air flow? Just trying to understand this.

Because the wood pellets are burning. Remember that in a pellet smoker, open pit, or stick burner that BOTH heat and smoke is coming from wood. The wood fire cleans up the nasty wood combustion by products and leaves only the good stuff. In a Kamado wood is smoldering so if you use too much wood the food can taste bitter. The slower fan speed makes the way the Mak “drafts” more in line with a stick burner.

 

[rwalters]

Exactly what he said^^^^^

You are asking great questions. I see you are a kettle guy... so it’s super smart to be wrestling through this stuff if you are toying with kamado vs pellets. It’s not that kamados are bad cookers... heck, there are lots of guys that have and love them. That said, as a former Kamado Joe owner, I can tell you from firsthand experience that the low n slow end result of a cook is not at all the same. Simply put, I did not realize how dirty the smoke profile was from my KJ’s until I had a stickburner (M1) and pellet cooker (MAK) sitting in my backyard. I almost immediately lost interest in the kamados. Perhaps just a personal preference... but my entire family was on the same page as me... and the food from my MAK (no longer have the M1) has received WAY more compliments than I ever got from the KJ food. So, to me, it seems that pellet cooked food appeals to more people because of the clean and pleasant flavor profile