The new Mak has arrived

[Chris_B]

My new Mak arrived yesterday and I finished putting it together this morning. Great service from Big Pappa Smokers. I placed the order and 10 days later, the smoker was delivered to my house in Virginia. The Mak 2 Star package with searing grates, rubs and pellets arrived in great shape. The grill is built like a tank. Stainless steel everywhere. A Weber gasser can't compare.

One clean and nice looking grill. Time to get it dirty.

I seasoned it today running it at 450 degrees for an hour and then prepared for some chicken thighs and legs. The pellet changing door is great since I seasoned with hickory an since I was cooking chicken, I switched to apple.

The first cook.

The bird parts came out great. I put some Big Pappa Money rub on and ran the grill on smoke for about 40 minutes and then went up to 350 degrees for the remainder of the cook. My wife loved the sauce. Nice and sweet with a little tang.
Finished product

Quick question for a first time pellet smoker. There is only visible smoke periodically during the cook. I assume that this is when the pellets get augured into the fire pit. What is the best strategy to maximize smoke flavoring?

 

[Ducaticraig]

Smoke goes with the temp you pick. From my experience the lower the cooking temp the more smoke you will get. For the first hour or two try smoking at a lower temp and then bring up the temp from there. That's the fun part of smoking is seeing what works for you. Good luck!

 

[So Cal Smoker]

You're in for such a great ride Chris. Good luck and good smoking.

 

[Chris_B]

Thanks guys. Is there a rule of thumb where above a certain temp, pellets won't smoke? Will you get much smoke above 250 degrees? I am used to my WSM with lots of smoke using lump up above 250.

BTW, the thighs and legs were very moist and had great flavor.

 

[dnew]

Enjoy! MAK arrived just before the 4th, great timing. My wife also loves the MAK Rum sauce as a finishing sauce for chicken and ribs, a bit sweet for me. As So Cal Smoker said, 'the ride has just begun,.

 

[Big Poppa]

I like to cook chicken and most things at 275 maybe the last tem minutes flip to skin side down and bump the temp up to tighten up the skin

thanks for the support!