Hi all,
My dear friend Google brought me here. I was surfing the ol' net for real world user feedback on the flame zone retro-fit for the MAK 1-star. I am considering buying it for my newly acquired 1-star. Not real sure if need it though, and at $325, plus another $50 to ship it to me (I live in one of those 'non-contiguous states), it's an expensive add-on. And I have a propain Weber gas grill for when I....well, 'grill' stuff.
I bought the 1-star because I have several friends who own pellet smokers and they all swear by them. Figured what the heck. Went with MAK for build quality reasons and the controller that has such a good reputation (plus USA made of course). I did not want the larger 2 star. In retro-spec, should have just bought the 2 star cause I prefer stainless and might want to cold smoke something, some day. Oh-well.... The grill I did buy appears to be an older version, as it uses a drip pan that hangs off to the side. It's also black in color (I bought the extra shelf and rack and they are a differnt color than the grill).
So I smoked a brisket the other day, and it came out all right, but it was missing the 'cooked' char you get when you slow cook one over an older indirect charcoal grill you find all over Texas. So this got me thinking that maybe I should throw a brisket on the propain grill for a few minutes after I smoke it? Or even better, maybe this flame zone retro kit might be the ticket?
So anyway, long winded way to get to my question... What exactly does this retro kit provide in way of cooking/smoking things? I'm a bit confused over how this thing can actually work, where the dripping go, and if it's worth the cost.
My dear friend Google brought me here. I was surfing the ol' net for real world user feedback on the flame zone retro-fit for the MAK 1-star. I am considering buying it for my newly acquired 1-star. Not real sure if need it though, and at $325, plus another $50 to ship it to me (I live in one of those 'non-contiguous states), it's an expensive add-on. And I have a propain Weber gas grill for when I....well, 'grill' stuff.
I bought the 1-star because I have several friends who own pellet smokers and they all swear by them. Figured what the heck. Went with MAK for build quality reasons and the controller that has such a good reputation (plus USA made of course). I did not want the larger 2 star. In retro-spec, should have just bought the 2 star cause I prefer stainless and might want to cold smoke something, some day. Oh-well.... The grill I did buy appears to be an older version, as it uses a drip pan that hangs off to the side. It's also black in color (I bought the extra shelf and rack and they are a differnt color than the grill).
So I smoked a brisket the other day, and it came out all right, but it was missing the 'cooked' char you get when you slow cook one over an older indirect charcoal grill you find all over Texas. So this got me thinking that maybe I should throw a brisket on the propain grill for a few minutes after I smoke it? Or even better, maybe this flame zone retro kit might be the ticket?
So anyway, long winded way to get to my question... What exactly does this retro kit provide in way of cooking/smoking things? I'm a bit confused over how this thing can actually work, where the dripping go, and if it's worth the cost.