Mike from Chicago Burbs

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PappyFatcap

New member
Hi, my name Mike and I live just outside of Chicago.

I haven't had a smoker for about 15 years, and it was a lousy little electric one at that. But all that has changed now I that my girlfriend and I have put a Mak 1 on order this week from BigPoppa.

I look forward to sqeezing all of you for info and sharing my success as well as failures in the beautiful gift of smoked animal flesh.

Thanks to BigPoppas customer service team for helping me out with the million questions I had prior to the purchase.
 
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PappyFatcap

New member
TentHunter said:
Welcome to the forum!

You are going to absolutely love your MAK 1 Star! Which accessories did you get?
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TentHunter, for now I have no accessories. I'm going to be picking them up piece by piece. I'm going to start with an extra probe and the upper rack.

Could you explain the benefits of the Flame Zone kit? Is it an absolute necessity to get some good cooks in? It was a little bit of a challenge for us to save enough for the Mak itself and some of the extras are going to be tough for me to pick up rather quickly.
 
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Big Poppa

Big Poppa

Administrator
no it is not a necessity... I think the extra shelf is the first thing you should but to add to your mak 1 star Thanks so much for your purchase and support.
 
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So Cal Smoker

New member
Congrats and welcome to the forum Mike. The first add on I would buy would be a cover. You must keep your baby clean and tucked in a night. The second would be the split top shelve (two halves). Many MAK owners use the top shelve until full, than use the bottom shelve. Mike keep in mind that failure is the highway to success, jump in with both feet and have fun with every cook you do. Some cooks will be good and others will be better but all cooks will be a learning experience.
Good luck and good smoking.

Bill
 
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onionhead

Member
So Cal Smoker said:
Congrats and welcome to the forum Mike. The first add on I would buy would be a cover. You must keep your baby clean and tucked in a night. The second would be the split top shelve (two halves). Many MAK owners use the top shelve until full, than use the bottom shelve.

Bill
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Roger that on the cover & upper grate. I have the upper grate, but don't use it all the time. I read where Scooter uses it for all cooks - why? Scooter has been a big help to me, and now for one more bit of education. Welcome to the MAK family.
 
scooter

scooter

Moderator
onionhead said:
I have the upper grate, but don't use it all the time. I read where Scooter uses it for all cooks - why?
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Two reasons, 1) To get the meat as far from the heat source as possible 2) the smoke seems to linger up there longer. More smoke flavor IMO.

Keep in mind that cooking on the MAK upper rack the temp in three different 2 Stars I've cooked on (one of the original seven 2 Star prototypes, #28, and a 2012 model) is consistently 15F-20F degrees hotter on the upper rack than on the lower rack. If I want 275F up there my setpoint is 255F. I guess as a side benefit you're getting a higher temp in the cooker at a lower setpoint. More heat using less pellets than if your setpoint was 275F and using the lower grate?
So make that 3 reasons! :)
 
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TrickyDick

TrickyDick

New member
scooter said:
Two reasons, 1) To get the meat as far from the heat source as possible 2) the smoke seems to linger up there longer. More smoke flavor IMO.

Keep in mind that cooking on the MAK upper rack the temp in three different 2 Stars I've cooked on (one of the original seven 2 Star prototypes, #28, and a 2012 model) is consistently 15F-20F degrees hotter on the upper rack than on the lower rack. If I want 275F up there my setpoint is 255F. I guess as a side benefit you're getting a higher temp in the cooker at a lower setpoint. More heat using less pellets than if your setpoint was 275F and using the lower grate?
So make that 3 reasons! :)
Click to expand...


Welcome to the addiction Mike!

Good information about the temp scooter! Need to start using my grill probe to see whats happening up top in my grill!


Oh yeah, also, Mike, you might want to invest in some GrillGrates to get good sear marks if you'll be doing any steaks. There are ways to get marks without them, but I prefer the grill grate type insert (mine is actually from MAK). I believe you can get from BPS. I got some for my GMG Daniel Boone, and they are a high quality product.


TD
 
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PappyFatcap

New member
Hi guys. Still eagerly awaiting my Mak. They seem to be out of stock and about 10-12 days out at the moment.

I want to get a move on purchasing my add-ons. Going to start with the upper grill grate and extra probe. I know this may not be a popular thought, but in looking at the price of the extra probe ($85) I wonder if there is a cheaper alternative somewhere. Don't get me wrong, I don't like to ever buy bottom-barrel cheap because you pay in quality, but the costs of some of the Mak add-ons are rough on my pocket. I hate to come off sounding like a cheapskate here.
 
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