I didn’t know that the sear zone produced more smoke. How so?
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The Official Pellet Grill Smoker thread.
- Thread starter Rib Rub
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I didn’t know that the sear zone produced more smoke. How so?
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BKING!
is Blowin Smoke!
Not sure. That’s what is advertised though at BPS. Just placed the order. Maybe a stupid question but when wanting to sear do you just remove the grease plate plate on top of the perforated plate or the heat deflector and grease plate?
I don’t have one but best I can tell is that the sear zone completely replaces the current grease plate. The sear zone has lids that cover the holes when you’re smoking and that acts like the grease plate. Remove those covers to sear.
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rwalters
Quintessential Chatty Farker
I have the new Funnel Flame Zone setup on my 2 Star. Not sure I buy the argument that it adds to the smoke production as my old 2010 1 Star had none of the latest and greatest and it put out SERIOUS amounts of smoke! As far as quicker heat up times... absolutely true! As far as better pellet consumption, not sure... but, I have never been disappointed with MAK’s pellet consumption. As far as how to use it, yes, remove one or both of the covers when grilling. No, it’s not like searing over a bed of raging lump charcoal, but it (IMO) is one of the best everyday grills I have owned... and I’ve had my fair share. Also, the setup will look much different than what you are used too... it will completely replace your current setup:
Another thing I really like about the new Flame Zone is that it keeps the direct heat from hitting the interior walls of the cooking chamber. For the 2 Star that means no browning of the stainless over time when grilling at high temps on a regular basis. For the 1 Star that means much less wear and tear on the exterior powder coated finish. I have zero browning on my stainless and I grill often. Looking at older (prior Funnel Flame Zone) 2 Stars, there is often more brown on the exterior walls of the cooking chamber than shiny stainless...lol.
Also, you definitely don’t “need” it, but the MAK searing grates (I have 2) completely changed things for me. Being we eat with our eyes first, that addition changed things big time for me.
BKING!
is Blowin Smoke!
I have the new Funnel Flame Zone setup on my 2 Star. Not sure I buy the argument that it adds to the smoke production as my old 2010 1 Star had none of the latest and greatest and it put out SERIOUS amounts of smoke! As far as quicker heat up times... absolutely true! As far as better pellet consumption, not sure... but, I have never been disappointed with MAK’s pellet consumption. As far as how to use it, yes, remove one or both of the covers when grilling. No, it’s not like searing over a bed of raging lump charcoal, but it (IMO) is one of the best everyday grills I have owned... and I’ve had my fair share. Also, the setup will look much different than what you are used too... it will completely replace your current setup:
Also, you definitely don’t “need” it, but the MAK searing grates (I have 2) completely changed things for me. Being we eat with our eyes first, that addition changed things big time for me.
So on the 2nd pic with the square deflector do I keep that in at all times?
rwalters
Quintessential Chatty Farker
100% yes! You run the chance of warping the Flame Zone pan above it if you remove it (MAK confirmed). Plus it assists in providing very even heat side/side front/back when grilling. This isn’t like a Memphis or Kuma or most other direct flame pellet grills that only provide a small area for searing/grilling. The MAK provides intense heat across the entire cooking surface, much like a gas grill. With the Pellet Boss set to 450° (the highest I grill) I see temps at the grate around 575-600°. Plenty hot for grilling. Take the controller up to “Grill” and you’ll see grate temps of 625-650°. At those temps it’s to hot if you are grilling fatty meats... you WILL experience flare ups at those temps. 425-450° has been a great non-flare up grilling temp.
BKING!
is Blowin Smoke!
100% yes! You run the chance of warping the Flame Zone pan above it if you remove it (MAK confirmed). Plus it assists in providing very even heat side/side front/back when grilling. This isn’t like a Memphis or Kuma or most other direct flame pellet grills that only provide a small area for searing/grilling. The MAK provides intense heat across the entire cooking surface, much like a gas grill. With the Pellet Boss set to 450° (the highest I grill) I see temps at the grate around 575-600°. Plenty hot for grilling. Take the controller up to “Grill” and you’ll see grate temps of 625-650°. At those temps it’s to hot if you are grilling fatty meats... you WILL experience flare ups at those temps. 425-450° has been a great non-flare up grilling temp.
I’m looking forward to it!
rwalters
Quintessential Chatty Farker
Not sure if you guys are “foilers” or not, but for me, I never foil the Flame Zone when grilling (I do when smoking (or more often than not, use a drip pan on the main grate while smoking on the top grate). But when grilling I prefer to do it naked...lol. The heat is so intense that the drippings just carbonize, making for easy scraping with a stiff metal scraper. To me, it would be more hassle to foil and then pop holes through every lil hole in the Flame Zone pan. Lots of guys do it, but not this one as it seems like more work/hassle than it’s worth
Not sure if you guys are “foilers” or not, but for me, I never foil the Flame Zone when grilling (I do when smoking (or more often than not, use a drip pan on the main grate while smoking on the top grate). But when grilling I prefer to do it naked...lol. The heat is so intense that the drippings just carbonize, making for easy scraping with a stiff metal scraper. To me, it would be more hassle to foil and then pop holes through every lil hole in the Flame Zone pan. Lots of guys do it, but not this one as it seems like more work/hassle than it’s worth
I don’t foil the drip pan on the 1 Star. Clean up is a breeze, far easier than I ever thought. I empty the fire pot, sweep the remaining ashes through the trap door, and scrape the drip pan right into the grease chute.
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No way I’m wasting free seasoning by foiling!
SeanBBQ
Full Fledged Farker
I am set on a YS640 Competition. Almost ordered one a couple days ago but will hold off a bit til I can just pay cash. Pitts and Spits is a close second and I think if I could see one in person, that may tighten the gap a bit.
Cant wait to get the Yoder though. Will def be before Spring.
Cant wait to get the Yoder though. Will def be before Spring.
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is Blowin Smoke!
Yoders are sweet. Be sure to post up some pics later
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So I’ll be putting the Mak to work tomorrow evening! There will be a wedding I’m cooking for Saturday so it should get a good workout. I’ll be piling 8 butts in there.
rwalters
Quintessential Chatty Farker
My biggest cook has been 6 butts. It’ll hold 8 for sure. May be a bit tight til they start to shrink up, but they’ll fit
Boy oh boy that many butts leaves a nice greasy mess. Make sure your grease pan is empty before you start...lol
gtsum
Babbling Farker
- Joined
- Aug 30, 2003
- Location
- Richmond, VA
Man, I can only imagine the smell of goodness from your yard during the cook. That’s a mess of butts for sure
Memphis Elite
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Yep! I got a 5 pound bag of sweet money rub from big poppa smokers. First time ordering rub online. Hopefully the flavor of the rub is good. You know the smoke is going to be heavenly. I’ll be using 100% hickory.
BKING!
is Blowin Smoke!
My biggest cook has been 6 butts. It’ll hold 8 for sure. May be a bit tight til they start to shrink up, but they’ll fit
Boy oh boy that many butts leaves a nice greasy mess. Make sure your grease pan is empty before you start...lol
Yes! I took off tomorrow to clean the Mak spotless just so i will make it dirtier than ever that night. I also need to pick these butts up and do a few other chores.
Flatfour
Wandering around with a bag of matchlight, looking for a match.
Greetings friends,
I am getting ready to step up from a WSM to a pellet grill and I initially thought it was going to be a little easier. There are a lot of choices!
I’m looking for a versatile cooker, that will smoke, cook and grill. Although with grilling I’m only talking mostly about burgers, maybe the occasional steak.
So far, I’ve narrowed the list down to the following in no particular order.
Pitts & Spitts Maverick 850
Blaz’n Grid Iron
Yoder YS640
Kuma Platinum
If anybody would care to throw it in their two cents regarding any of these, I would certainly appreciate it. Anything you’ve got whether it’s praise or concerns.
My wife keeps asking if I’ve ordered the grill yet and I’m suffering from analysis paralysis.
Thanks in advance
Jeremy
I am getting ready to step up from a WSM to a pellet grill and I initially thought it was going to be a little easier. There are a lot of choices!
I’m looking for a versatile cooker, that will smoke, cook and grill. Although with grilling I’m only talking mostly about burgers, maybe the occasional steak.
So far, I’ve narrowed the list down to the following in no particular order.
Pitts & Spitts Maverick 850
Blaz’n Grid Iron
Yoder YS640
Kuma Platinum
If anybody would care to throw it in their two cents regarding any of these, I would certainly appreciate it. Anything you’ve got whether it’s praise or concerns.
My wife keeps asking if I’ve ordered the grill yet and I’m suffering from analysis paralysis.
Thanks in advance
Jeremy
