Brisket was saved... Sort of

[Sir Lamerok]

So I was at my brisket stall when I heard a pop in my backyard and I didn't really think about it and a few minutes later my Mak 2 star started smoking like crazy and the temp started rising over 400 degrees and I turn it off and wrap the brisket and put it in the cooler. I wait until the Mak cools down and clean it out but I can see that the fire pot blew burning pellets all over the bottom of the smoker. I get it running and put the brisket back on and it was at about 135 degrees. It turned out okay but was a little dry. Has this ever happened to anyone's cooker?

 

[Big Poppa]

SIr I hate to tell you but this only happens with a cooker that is in need of cleaning...the airflow gets starved and the auger tries to feed it more pellets to maintain temp and then it pops...

 

[scooter]

What are the odds a pellet factory worker slipped firecrackers into the bagging process as a joke?

 

[cmacc24]

Same thing happened to me this weekend on a Brisket cook. I had my brisket foiled at the time of the "boom" though. I keep my 1 star pretty clean. (at least I thought I did) How do most guys go about cleaning the rear louvered vents? I've used cotton swabs, but they don't work all that great. Also, luckily this happened to me while I was awake. What if this happened in the middle of the night while we're sleeping? Would the MAK just shut itself off at some point or keep feeding pellets?

BTW... my brisket came out pretty damn good. Especially considering I had to let the grill shutdown & then inspect the firepot before turning back on.

 

[So Cal Smoker]

When you inspected the firepot what did you find? Did you find anything in the belly of your pit? I use a plastic knife to clean the vents.

 

[cmacc24]

When you inspected the firepot what did you find? Did you find anything in the belly of your pit. I use a plastic knife to clean the vents.

Just remnants of a good ol' pellet explosion. Partially burned pellets were scattered. Actually, it didn't look to bad. Not as bad as what I was expecting to see.

Actually the humorous part I left out was that this all went down as I was in the shower. Figured it was a good time to shower. Brisket was foiled & just finishing up it's overnight slumber. Right as I got out of the shower the wife came running into the bathroom in hysterics. Said the grill blew up & to hurry. Actually as soon as I heard her say that I was pretty sure I knew what happened. Read about it happening to other people on this forum when not letting the grill properly shutdown & then turning back on. Got outside & smoke was coming out of my 1 star like I'd never seen. So, of course I had to open it. Green/yellow smoke soon filled my yard & my neighbors yards. Oh, and after opening the grill, (reminding you, I had just got out of the shower) I ended up getting covered in ashes. I also had to work around a grill that was over 400 degrees, so now i was sweating profusely. Back to the shower.

Thanks for the plastic knife tip. I'll give that a shot. We have plenty of plastic ware left over from the kids b-day party this past weekend.

BTW... with all this said. I LOVE my 1 star. Definitely don't regret that purchase.

 

[Sir Lamerok]

Cmacc24 that is hilarious. It sounds like yours was much worse than mine, but I was just getting out of the shower myself. I also left out the part where I started a fire in my wet dry vac as I thought my Mak had cooled down enough to clean it. I always clean it when it's cold but I was in a hurry to get my brisket back on. oh well live and learn

 

[cmacc24]

Cmacc24 that is hilarious. It sounds like yours was much worse than mine, but I was just getting out of the shower myself. I also left out the part where I started a fire in my wet dry vac as I thought my Mak had cooled down enough to clean it. I always clean it when it's cold but I was in a hurry to get my brisket back on. oh well live and learn

I would have vacuumed mine out as well, (sounds like that would have been a bad idea though) but I was on a time crunch and had to get my briskey back on. I just dumped out the firepot, inspected everything & then fired her back up.

You do live and learn. Now I know to pay more attention to my vents. I thought I was, but I obviously wasn't. On my next overnight cook, I'll definitely be sure to have my maverick maximum pit temp alarm set to about 350. At least I'll know to wake up & turn the MAK off if the temp all of a sudden spikes.

Just to let everyone know, before I went into the shower, I did notice my pit temp dropping. I just thought it would go back up. Obviously the MAK thought that as well & kept feeding pellets. If I see the pit temp dropping like that again, I will probably shut her off & then check the firepot. Oh, & clean the vents.

 

[Big_Jake]

To clean my vents I just use Simple Green BBQ and Grill Cleaner and some paper towels .I think the trick is to not get it to dirty in the first place,then cleaning it is fairly easy.