I want to talk about heat.....

Big Poppa

Big Poppa

Administrator
Much is made of a pellet cookers maximum heat. Most of us coming from a Traeger had issues getting hot enough to give any kind of sear without grill grates or transferring to a gasser for the finish.

What I have discovered after hundreedds of cooks is that you really dont need more than a solid consistant 400....almost never do I go above that anymore to get what I want.
I havent had any searing issues....I believe with the flame zones that MAK started and Memphis has now borrowed that a good 400-425 give you good control and carmelization. her is a shot of some pork finished on the Dealer of the Year Mak Two Star..Two minutes a side at 400... No grill grates or searing grates....
DSC00668.jpg


Is is sort of like horsepower....it is the efficiency that counts.
 
TTNuge

TTNuge

New member
I agree for the most part and have never felt my 2 Star was lacking when it came to any meat cooking I was doing. As long as it could hit around 425 or so I've been very happy.

The one exception to that is for a pizza cooker which is where I personally wish I could get up over 500. That said, I made homemade pizza's for me and my boys this week and with the 2 Star on high I was very happy with the final product. The crust was nice and crispy and everything was done very well. I would like to be able to go higher but in a way I agree that it isn't completely necessary.
 
M

MAK Head

New member
I’m reading Jim Lahey’s new book; My Pizza, and he doesn’t even mention using a grill to cook pizza. His goal is to preheat the pizza stone to >600º. Since most ovens are generally designed to shut off between 500º and 550º, he bumps the oven’s heat up with the broiler.

I was hoping to cook pizzas if I got a MAK but it doesn’t look like grills are really suited for that application—at least using Jim Lahey’s methods.
 
TTNuge

TTNuge

New member
I wish I took some pictures but I can say that the pizza's that came off the MAK were outstanding. They took a little longer than they would if it was 600+ degrees but I liked the end product and so did the boys. It's probably the closest I could come to a wood fired pizza oven without a larger investment like a wood fired pizza oven!
 
M

MAK Head

New member
So the goal here is to get the wood-fired taste with the nice crust produced by a 600º pizza stone.

I know the conventional wisdom is to smoke the food at a lower temperature first because it will take on more of the smoke flavor. Then raise the temperature to seal that flavor in and finish cooking the food.

What about cooking in a conventional oven first and then smoking the pizza in the MAK at a lower temperature for the flavor? Could you add enough smokey flavor make it worth the trouble?
 
TentHunter

TentHunter

Moderator
MAK Head said:
So the goal here is to get the wood-fired taste with the nice crust produced by a 600º pizza stone.

I know the conventional wisdom is to smoke the food at a lower temperature first because it will take on more of the smoke flavor. Then raise the temperature to seal that flavor in and finish cooking the food.

What about cooking in a conventional oven first and then smoking the pizza in the MAK at a lower temperature for the flavor? Could you add enough smokey flavor make it worth the trouble?
Click to expand...

Don't over complicating it. Forget the oven. Just put the pizza in your pellet grill and bake it like you normally would.

Use a pan for more of a regular crust or put it on the grates for a crispier crust.

350°-375° for 20-25 minutes for a more smoky flavor or at about 400°-450° for 10 - 13 minutes for a quicker less smoky pizza.


If you want a chewier crust add a pan of hot water to create some moisture in the pit.


We usually use a pan and go for the 375° range and it comes out tasting great every time.

If we put in two pizza (as shown) we switch/rotate them after 10 minutes. You just have to watch the crust the first time or two so you don't burn it.
DSCF2883.JPG
 
AikenSmoker

AikenSmoker

New member
Big Poppa said:
Much is made of a pellet cookers maximum heat. Most of us coming from a Traeger had issues getting hot enough to give any kind of sear without grill grates or transferring to a gasser for the finish.

What I have discovered after hundreedds of cooks is that you really dont need more than a solid consistant 400....almost never do I go above that anymore to get what I want.
I havent had any searing issues....I believe with the flame zones that MAK started and Memphis has now borrowed that a good 400-425 give you good control and carmelization. her is a shot of some pork finished on the Dealer of the Year Mak Two Star..Two minutes a side at 400... No grill grates or searing grates....
DSC00668.jpg


Is is sort of like horsepower....it is the efficiency that counts.
Click to expand...

My preference on a beef fillet 1.5 inch or so is a 1/8 inch or so of crust with the middle inch room temp rare. The only grill I have been able to do this on was a charcoal grill that I could make a red hot pile of charcoal and bring that pile to where it literally touched the steak. I know that is an extreme preference in a steak but the only way my Traeger 300 would get there would be to leave out the heat diverter and drip pan. I don't think I am going to try that. BTW, this was my preference, not the rest of the house.
 
roburado

roburado

New member
I'm finding the exact same thing, BP. I used to worry that I was somehow missing out by not getting much hotter than 425. I'm really not.
 
TentHunter

TentHunter

Moderator
Big Poppa said:
what happened to my thread?
Click to expand...

HogSmoker said:
LOL... it got lost in translation :)
Click to expand...

Yeah, I guess I wasn't very clear with my point, which really was related. :)

The pizza stone issue is just like the searing issue; You don't need a 600° pizza stone, nor do you need to start or finish in a hot oven. Trust me, 400° on the MAK, even without the flame zone, is plenty hot enough. In fact at 400° you have to watch to be sure your crust doesn't burn.


I think people forget that 400° temp is slightly above the grate level where the temp sensor is. The actual heat coming out of the Fire Pot much higher.

We get a great sear on the 1 Star, even without the flame zone. One trick is using the MAK griddle. I love the caramelization I get.
 
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