Hi Everyone,
I am a closet chef/foodie with G.A.S. (Gear Acquisition Syndrome). I love cooking and great food. I have a large BGE, a Weber Natural Gas Summit Grill, a wood fired Pizza oven, A Smokin it #3 Electric Smoker, and a Wood Fired Pizza Oven. OK - I have a problem
. My REAL problem is I find that I am not using the tools that make the BEST food as much anymore. Maybe I am getting old, but coming home after work I just do not want to go through the chore of getting the Egg ready for a cook so I end up using the electric for smokes and the gas Weber for grilling. Sure the food is OK, some even good, but it is not like it is when I use the Egg. Doing a low and slow 200 degree prime rib on the Electric smoker is rather lackluster compared to the BGE that gives me a 130 degree mahogany masterpiece with no grey banding.
A few years back I got in this same rut and bought a Traeger Texas on a whim. It had crazy temperature swings, dialing in one temp on the dial never came close to the actual run temps. I even tried adding bricks to increase the thermal mass hoping it would even out, all that did was make the cart wobbly. I sold it 2 months later for a beating on Craigslist.
I am about to redo my 20x16 screen room and are thinking about evicting my electric smoker (and the 2 basket Cajun Fair fryer I somehow bought and do not use - Cajun Fryer 6 Gallon Deep Fryer With Stand And 2 Baskets : BBQ Guy) and getting another pellet grill. What caught my attention was the RecTec 700. It has a PID controller and a ceramic ignitor and is made of 10 gauge steel with stainless on the cooking areas. It is about $1750 delivered. Then i started doing a lot more reading and saw MAK grills and liked the 2 star. It seems pretty clear that the MAK is a better device after doing a lot of reading. I am a STRONG made in USA believer as well.
Have any of you MAK owners come from or have a BGE? Do you get the same quality flavor as the Egg? If you sold your egg do you have any regrets? My plan would be to keep the 2 Webers and the Pizza oven and get rid of the Egg, and the Smokin it #3 in trade for the MAK 2 star. While it would be nice to wood fire grill some nice thick RibEyes, I do not expect to be able to do that on a pellet grill as well as I can with a Sous Vide and a Weber (although it would be nice). I would LOVE to be able to cook a Lasagna at 350 degrees and get some wood fired hints, or even a loaf of 425 bread or soft pretzels without investing 4 hours in firing up the pizza oven.
I welcome and appreciate your input.
I am a closet chef/foodie with G.A.S. (Gear Acquisition Syndrome). I love cooking and great food. I have a large BGE, a Weber Natural Gas Summit Grill, a wood fired Pizza oven, A Smokin it #3 Electric Smoker, and a Wood Fired Pizza Oven. OK - I have a problem
. My REAL problem is I find that I am not using the tools that make the BEST food as much anymore. Maybe I am getting old, but coming home after work I just do not want to go through the chore of getting the Egg ready for a cook so I end up using the electric for smokes and the gas Weber for grilling. Sure the food is OK, some even good, but it is not like it is when I use the Egg. Doing a low and slow 200 degree prime rib on the Electric smoker is rather lackluster compared to the BGE that gives me a 130 degree mahogany masterpiece with no grey banding.A few years back I got in this same rut and bought a Traeger Texas on a whim. It had crazy temperature swings, dialing in one temp on the dial never came close to the actual run temps. I even tried adding bricks to increase the thermal mass hoping it would even out, all that did was make the cart wobbly. I sold it 2 months later for a beating on Craigslist.
I am about to redo my 20x16 screen room and are thinking about evicting my electric smoker (and the 2 basket Cajun Fair fryer I somehow bought and do not use - Cajun Fryer 6 Gallon Deep Fryer With Stand And 2 Baskets : BBQ Guy) and getting another pellet grill. What caught my attention was the RecTec 700. It has a PID controller and a ceramic ignitor and is made of 10 gauge steel with stainless on the cooking areas. It is about $1750 delivered. Then i started doing a lot more reading and saw MAK grills and liked the 2 star. It seems pretty clear that the MAK is a better device after doing a lot of reading. I am a STRONG made in USA believer as well.
Have any of you MAK owners come from or have a BGE? Do you get the same quality flavor as the Egg? If you sold your egg do you have any regrets? My plan would be to keep the 2 Webers and the Pizza oven and get rid of the Egg, and the Smokin it #3 in trade for the MAK 2 star. While it would be nice to wood fire grill some nice thick RibEyes, I do not expect to be able to do that on a pellet grill as well as I can with a Sous Vide and a Weber (although it would be nice). I would LOVE to be able to cook a Lasagna at 350 degrees and get some wood fired hints, or even a loaf of 425 bread or soft pretzels without investing 4 hours in firing up the pizza oven.
I welcome and appreciate your input.
