I am Strugglin...

retarmyeng06

New member
Hi,

My name is Randy and I am Strugglin over which to purchase:

MAK 2, MAK 1 or Memphis Advantage

I am a wannabe pellet head; I have a taste for low and slow, but love the sear as well. I am tired of charcol and its (read my) inconsistent nature. I need the space to cook an entire meal for 8+ on occasion and 5-6 regularly.

I like to cook nearly any meat; would love to grill a pizza, cook veggies, smoke salmon or jerk meat.

Quality is very important; I want this to be my first and last pellet smoker purchase -"Made in the US" is mandatory.

Any help would be appreciated.

Randy
 

smoker pete

New member
Welcome to the Forum Randy.

I don't have any experience with the Memphis Advantage so I won't comment on that unit. But I do own a MAK 2 Star General.

I too had to make a decision between the MAK 1 and MAK 2 and chose the 2 Star. Both are great units but the 2 Star just has a few extra feature that made it worth getting. The smoking/heating box is one of the great features. Another is the 429/858 square inches of cooking surface depending on whether or not you use an upper rack.
 

ACW3

New member
Randy, Welcome from a North Carolina MAK 2 Star owner. The 1 Star was not an option when I was doing my research. I have a friend who has the Memphis Advantage and he loves it. The 2 Star, like Smoker Pete said, has a lot of "extras" compared to the 1 Star. I have used the smoker box to cold smoke fish, cheese, nuts, and even chocolate. something I didn;t think I would use that much. The 2 Star matched up well with the way I like to cook, and I have added a few new tricks to my "cooking bag of tricks" as a result. After doing my research, I decided that I wanted to buy once, rather than upgrade after several years. I still believe I made the right choice. If you have any questions, PM BP. He was a big help when I was in the final stages of my decision.

Art
 

Rip

New member
Hey Randy, welcome to the forum! There have been several threads recently on this topic. You can't go wrong with any of the cookers you are considering. Think about the kind of cooking you might want to do, then research the features of the models you are considering vs. Cost. Deep breath and dive in. You won't regret it! Pellet smoking rescued me from the land of bad BBQ! Give Big Poppa a jingle, he has and does use them all.
 

Big Poppa

Administrator
If you need a ton of room occasionally it is the 2 Star First and then the One Star with the extra rack...The advantage is a wonderful little unit and it gets hotter. The 2 star gets plenty hot and has those features...the one star is the best smoker of the bunch and gets to 500
 

HoDeDo

New member
I really liked the two star, It took everything I threw at it, (pork, ribs, brisket) - it cooked killer chicken (way to go Jody), and then I watched BP take the same cooker, and make an amazing Waygu strip, then killer loaded tater boats in the morning for breakfast. The warming box was very handy, warming sauce, (thawing a butt, opps).... The Pellet Boss controller is the magic, and build quality was very impressive!!! I'd go MAK, and probably 2 Star, unless you need the higher heat of the 1 Star (you can still get a flame zone on the 2Star).
 

So Cal Smoker

New member
Welcome to the forum Randy. Most of us on this forum that own a MAK 2 Star or MAK 1 did a lot of research before we laid out 2 grand for a grill/smoker. Trust us, we know of what we speak. You have been advised to call BP, very good advise, also give Bob at MAK a call, you wont be sorry you did. When you talk to Bob your talking to the Daddy of grill makers. Only the best comes out of MAK.
 

retarmyeng06

New member
I appreciate everyone's encouragement...with a sales team like this ^^^^^ - who needs to advertise. ;)

Her name is Betsy, don't know her age :(, but she has great DNA thanks to her "MAK Daddy". I'm sure she will impress me and ours with many flavorful meals and countless stories. Am in the process of expanding the deck to handle her full figure with a little space left over for her replacement. Can't wait to greet her into the family so I can post pics and share our trials and tribulations.

Once again; thanks all,

Randy
 

scooter

Moderator
Welcome to PelletSmoking! Hope you stretched out for the 2 Star. It will be the last pellet cooker you'll need to buy!
 

retarmyeng06

New member
The Jeopardy theme song is ok at the end of each episode...not so good when it continuosly runs through my noggin in anticipation of my very of 2 Star.


OBTW thanks for all the well wishes!
 

MAK DADDY

Moderator
I appreciate everyone's encouragement...with a sales team like this ^^^^^ - who needs to advertise. ;)

That is the beauty of the MAK brand and we are proud to be a part of the happiness :)
Congrats on the new grill and a big THANK YOU for your stance on buying American!
 

jimsbarbecue

Moderator
You will enjoy pellet cooking. We cook on MAK and have been very happy. We have cooked on #68 and logged a easy 400 cooks. It is used that much. Sparky and others I think would agree that after about 50 cooks you realize, These MAK Grills are like a Timex watch they just keep going. And you expect it to turn out good food all the time. The beauty of a pellet grill.
 
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