Which Pellet Grill is the best Smoker???

SmokinMAK

New member
Hi Eli.

I've used the MAK 1 Star, 2 Star, and the FE1000. They would be ranked in that order for amount of smoke.

I did a pork butt on the 1 Star on Friday, and the smoke ring was incredible!

IMG_4201.jpg


Ed
 

SmokinMAK

New member
Eli,

This video is the 1 Star at 250 degrees. Nothing in it, all the smoke is from the pit using Bear Mountain Hickory.

[video]http://s938.photobucket.com/albums/ad230/smokinmak/MAK/?action=view&current=VID00001-20101115-1130.mp4[/video]
 

Big Poppa

Administrator
Wow I moved it. Im getting good...

Cookers are subjective....I know you have bought one and taken advantage of their return policy...The MAK or Memphis should do fine by you . Friendly customer service if you have a problem too.
 

frank t

New member
My experience with three different brands of pit is they all produce mild smoke flavor. The flavor is very good and the ease of use can't be beat.
 

HoDeDo

New member
The Green Mountain and FEC both have two stage fans, that cut thier flow down once the cooker is at temp, then ramp when fuel is added/temp is down... I think that helps increase the amount of smoke that you get in your meat. Cook temp also makes a big difference. The hotter the cook, the less smoke you will get.

I have cooked on traegers, Louisiana Grills, Country smokers, FECs, FE Grills, but have not gotten to cook on a MAK or Yoder yet - both seem pretty cool, so I can't wait to put them through the paces.

Pellet cookers in general have a very mild smoke profile, they are efficient with thier fuel use, and run about the cleanest fire you can get. Oddly, when I got to cook on a Jambo.. it also runs a super clean fire. You cook with a small fire (insulated firebox), it burns hot and clean, so you also get a very light smoke profile with these cookers as well. pretty cool.

So if you want more of a smoke profile.. cook at longer and lower temps in your pellet pit. I have found that is the best way to get a more distinct smoke profile in your food. Cook at 180-190... for the first several hours. That probably has the biggest impact... next, make sure you are using a good, quality hardwood pellet. I can tell you that you will notice a very large difference in the flavor profile between say a traeger pellet, vs. say one of Candy's.
 

doodles

New member
The smoke I get on my Memphis Pro has been all I have wanted or needed. The smoke ring that it has produced on say a
brisket or butt has been terrific. I'm not sure I "get" all the science of pellets, but if I understand it correctly, you have to
actually make the pellets work inefficiently to get the smoke. Obviously you wouldn't want that kind of smoke rolling out of
your pellet stove that you heated your house with. So I think they have to somehow force it to burn more pellets than necessary
to get the smoke at the lower temp. I would assume if it was burning efficiently, it wouldn't have excess smoke. Like I say,
I have no real idea about the engineering of these.
 

scooter

Moderator
Are you're asking which unit creates the strongest smelling smoke or the unit which creates the most smoke? I figure all pellet cookers are creating the same strength of smoke since they all use the same technology of burning pellets. The other question is which one creates the most smoke? I've not seen a pellet cooker that kicks out more smoke than the MAK. It's already a legend in that respect and I hear the 1 star kicks out more than the 2 star if that's even possible!
 
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HoDeDo

New member
Some of the "smoke" from a pellet cooker, comes from the drippings burning off of the deflector over the pellet pot. So in the grills, where the deflector is, and how heat is spread across it, usually makes a difference.

As far as how they burn... Doodles, I wouldn't necessarily call it "inefficient". First, fan speed - the fact you are feeding air to the pellets means they are going to burn thoroughly. The amount of air you feed to them will determine how hot/quick they burn. Slowing the speed just slows thier burn slightly. Second, goes to the pellet. The hardwood pellets are denser wood, and have more BTUs, and stronger "smoke". (think hickory vs. apple, or peach vs. oak)That's why cooking with sticks, you see a difference when using a fruitwood, vs. oak, hickory, etc. The same is true for pellets. The wood in them matters, and how they are made... For some pellets use oils to flavor them, and they do not produce the same BTUs via use of softer woods...

great topic!
 

Trooper

New member
Q.Which Pellet Grill is the best Smoker?

A.The one that I'm cooking on this weekend.

And at this time I'm not looking at ways to increase the ammount of smoke.
I've had food that has been exposed to too much smoke. It is FAR worse than food smoked on the light side!!!
 

CarterQ

Moderator
Between the MAK and Memphis I have never heard anyone complain about a lack of smoke or smoke flavor. The MAK cranks out plenty of smoke. Not sure about some of the other grills on the market, but with these 2 lines you wouldn't be disappointed with smoke output. I know MAK spent alot of time working on the controller program to emphasize smoke output and Memphis seems to have done their homework here as well.
 

MAK DADDY

Moderator
The Green Mountain and FEC both have two stage fans, that cut thier flow down once the cooker is at temp, then ramp when fuel is added/temp is down... I think that helps increase the amount of smoke that you get in your meat. Cook temp also makes a big difference. The hotter the cook, the less smoke you will get.

Pellet cookers in general have a very mild smoke profile, they are efficient with thier fuel use, and run about the cleanest fire you can get. So if you want more of a smoke profile.. cook at longer and lower temps in your pellet pit. I have found that is the best way to get a more distinct smoke profile in your food. Cook at 180-190... for the first several hours. That probably has the biggest impact... next, make sure you are using a good, quality hardwood pellet. I can tell you that you will notice a very large difference in the flavor profile between say a traeger pellet, vs. say one of Candy's.

Very well said!

The MAK controls the fan speeds variably by percentage based on cooking temperatures.
 

HoDeDo

New member
Very well said! The MAK controls the fan speeds variably by percentage based on cooking temperatures.

I noticed that the GMG's have a small fan blowing in thier hopper, to ensure they keep positive airflow in the auger tube, when the blower fan kicks down... Does MAK do this as well? or is it needed?
 

Big Poppa

Administrator
I don't think its needed but I just sell em...

Thank all of you for an intelligent discussion.

I never got into smoking because I didnt like the food that was branded smoke. It was so dark and dank and overpowering. My son bought me a bradley and I didnt read the instructions and cooked on it once...I wont admit yet what I did but it was as stupid as you can do. I never used it again and thought..."I just don like smoke" I just had been fed awful oversmoked food.

I believe that smoke is a spice/seasoning...It is such a fabulous ingredient in any flavor profile...so which is the best in terms of putting out smoke? It really comes down to just how much smoke you want.

All of the cookers you mentioned are fine....In my experience the one star is just amazing how much smoke it puts out....crazy smoke but good smoke. I think the MAK puts out more smoke than the memphis..but they are both great cookers.

I totally agree with Andy on quality of pellets...I like Candy Sues and thats why I offer them
 

CarterQ

Moderator
Perfect summary BP, I don't think I truly knew what good smoke flavor was until I tasted food off of a pellet smoker. And pellets DO matter, never understood the purchase of a 1K plus grill only to look for the cheapest fuel to run it with. BBQers Delight pellets are consistently great.
 
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Roguejim

New member
Well, I'll plug my Traeger Texas Elite for the smoke ring it produces. This is obviously MAK country, which I've never had the pleasure of trying, but I really don't see how the smoke ring I'm getting from the Traeger could be any more pronounced.

Now, could someone tell me exactly why Candy Sue's pellets are better than the Traeger pellets? I'm not necessarily doubting any of these claims, but I would just like to know exactly why one pure hickory pellet brand would be any different from another pure hickory pellet brand. I'm using Trager pellets now out of convenience only, but before I go to the trouble of ordering another brand, and paying for the shipping charges ta boot, I need to understand why they are a better pellet, and worth the extra $$. Thanks.
 

jimsbarbecue

Moderator
I Agree with trooper it is what your cooking on now. Pellet cooking I put under wood fire flavor.For I too have had or made food with to much "smoke" flavor. Roguejim pure hickory I think is a fad. It makes more dust and doesn't do much for me. The BBQ Delight their base wood is oak and that is the wood flavor profile I like. What I recommend is try one of BPS flavor packs and see is you like it and then order the 480 pounds that gets you a discount.
 

Big Poppa

Administrator
Rogue Jim. NO problem and this is only MAK country because there was no home for us MAK die hards prior to this. This is open to talk about any cooker and most of us started with Traegers.

First off the smoke ring is not evidence of smoke. It is a chemical reaction of nitric acid building up on the meat hittling the water in the meat . You can produce a smoke ring in an oven with a lot of salt or tender quik. In comps the smoke ring is not a factor. They are cool but do not indicate the presence of increased smoke. My MAk puts out way more smoke than my Memphis but my Memphis gives out the largest smoke ring I have seen...it is a like a streetwalkers lipstick!

Pellets are divided into three basic compositions. There are 100% wood..like 100% hickory or oak. Then ethere are the most common which are a base wood of 2/3 and a flavor wood of 1/3. If you are west coast based the base wood is alder, east of the Rockies the base wood is oak. The third one is unsubstantiated but Traegers allegedly use wood flavored oil to get their wood flavors....An alder base with oil. They have denied this and I have talked to people who have seen them being made and they say oil and Traeger has a patent for using oil for flavor. Whatever the methond I have found Traeger pellets to be my least favorite.

Please understand that what I believe is important is that we are all happy smoking food. IF you are happy with the traegers...that is fabulous.

The smoke ring was not to discredit the traeger it was just an explanation of why they exist.
 
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