First two cooks on my New MAK 1 Star
- Thread starter Bob C Cue
- Start date
Thanks for taking the time to do this write up, Bob. Very concise and thorough!
Bush438
Knows what a fatty is.
- Joined
- Apr 10, 2015
- Location
- New Jersey
Great photos and very happy for you Bob. Are you going to experiment with different brands/flavors of pellets or do you like the profile of the Hickory Bear Mountain? I expect to be in the same situation as you this weekend!
Thanks and hope yours arrives soon!
On the way home from golf today I stopped by the St. Louis BBQ Store and picked up a 40 lb. bag of Lumber Jack Competition Blend. I've heard good things about Lumber Jack, especially from my PBCAT brother, Andrew!
Thought I would give it a try!
Competition blend is pretty good but I’ve gotten the best “smoke” flavor from the 100% Hickory. Comp blend is probably my second fav though. Just not quite as strong of smoke.
And then there were three...
So I did thick cut reverse-sear CAB strip steaks this afternoon on the MAK and was very happy with the outcome except for some use error.
I pretty much followed this recipe from the MAK Facebook page. It basically calls for a dry brine in the fridge for up to 2 hours, an application of pepper, cooking at the smoke level until it reaches about 110-115 degrees, removing the FlameZone covers, cranking the MAK up to grill mode and searing for a couple of minutes per side.
They steaks took about an hour to reach 115 degrees during the smoke mode (which tended to run at about 180 degrees), then I wrapped them in foil and set them in a cooler while I cranked up the heat. The grill temp maxed out at at 590 degrees at which time I put the steaks back on. After two minutes on the first side the steaks did not seem caramelized enough so I left them on for about 3 minutes per side, but as it turns out that was not a good call. I like my steaks medium rare and they turned out closer to medium well. Lesson learned.
The good news is they had more smoke flavor than any steak I have ever had. In the future I just need to reduce the time searing the steaks and they should turn out perfectly. It was definitely the best medium well steak I have ever had and am anxious to try again with a shorter sear time. My plan is to grill for one minute, rotate about 45 degrees to get cross hatch sear marks, cook for an additional minute and then repeat on the other side.
I also grilled some fresh asparagus seasoned with olive oil and Oakridge Saigon 21 rub and heated up some take and back ciabatta rolls on the MAK. It was great to do everything on one grill without heating up the kitchen.
At this point I am going to shut up as I am starting to sound like a paid spokesperson for MAK. And we all know that the PBC pays my bills. Just kidding!
Some pics:
After the dry brine and application of pepper:
Smoking on top grate at about 180 degrees:
Just off the grill:
The obligatory plating shot:
So I did thick cut reverse-sear CAB strip steaks this afternoon on the MAK and was very happy with the outcome except for some use error.
I pretty much followed this recipe from the MAK Facebook page. It basically calls for a dry brine in the fridge for up to 2 hours, an application of pepper, cooking at the smoke level until it reaches about 110-115 degrees, removing the FlameZone covers, cranking the MAK up to grill mode and searing for a couple of minutes per side.
They steaks took about an hour to reach 115 degrees during the smoke mode (which tended to run at about 180 degrees), then I wrapped them in foil and set them in a cooler while I cranked up the heat. The grill temp maxed out at at 590 degrees at which time I put the steaks back on. After two minutes on the first side the steaks did not seem caramelized enough so I left them on for about 3 minutes per side, but as it turns out that was not a good call. I like my steaks medium rare and they turned out closer to medium well. Lesson learned.
The good news is they had more smoke flavor than any steak I have ever had. In the future I just need to reduce the time searing the steaks and they should turn out perfectly. It was definitely the best medium well steak I have ever had and am anxious to try again with a shorter sear time. My plan is to grill for one minute, rotate about 45 degrees to get cross hatch sear marks, cook for an additional minute and then repeat on the other side.
I also grilled some fresh asparagus seasoned with olive oil and Oakridge Saigon 21 rub and heated up some take and back ciabatta rolls on the MAK. It was great to do everything on one grill without heating up the kitchen.
At this point I am going to shut up as I am starting to sound like a paid spokesperson for MAK. And we all know that the PBC pays my bills. Just kidding!
Some pics:
After the dry brine and application of pepper:
Smoking on top grate at about 180 degrees:
Just off the grill:
The obligatory plating shot:
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rwalters
Quintessential Chatty Farker
So I did thick cut reverse-sear CAB strip steaks this afternoon on the MAK and was very happy with the outcome except for some use error.
I pretty much followed this recipe from the MAK Facebook page. It basically calls for a dry brine in the fridge for up to 2 hours, an application of pepper, cooking at the smoke level until it reaches about 110-115 degrees, removing the FlameZone covers, cranking the MAK up to grill mode and searing for a couple of minutes per side.
They steaks took about an hour to reach 115 degrees during the smoke mode (which tended to run at about 180 degrees), then I wrapped them in foil and set them in a cooler while I cranked up the heat. The grill temp maxed out at at 590 degrees at which time I put the steaks back on. After two minutes on the first side the steaks did not seem caramelized enough so I left them on for about 3 minutes per side, but as it turns out that was not a good call. I like my steaks medium rare and they turned out closer to medium well. Lesson learned.
The good news is they had more smoke flavor than any steak I have ever had. In the future I just need to reduce the time searing the steaks and they should turn out perfectly. It was definitely the best medium well steak I have ever had and am anxious to try again with a shorter sear time. My plan is to grill for one minute, rotate about 45 degrees to get cross hatch sear marks, cook for an additional minute and then repeat on the other side.
I also grilled some fresh asparagus seasoned with olive oil and Oakridge Saigon 21 rub and heated up some take and back ciabatta rolls on the MAK. It was great to do everything on one grill without heating up the kitchen.
At this point I am going to shut up as I am starting to sound like a paid spokesperson for MAK. And we all know that the PBC pays my bills. Just kidding!
Some pics:
After the dry brine and application of pepper:
Smoking on top grate at about 180 degrees:
Just off the grill:
The obligatory plating shot:
Those look great! One method I have had great success with it to leave the Flame Zone covers off for the entire cook... but place the steaks on the upper grate with a cast iron skillet, pan or griddle on the main grate under the steaks acting as the heat diffuser. Once the steaks reach 100° (I pull at 100 to reduce the chance of overshooting) you can pull the steaks and just crank the MAK getting the cast iron that is already in place up to super hot searing temps. Return the steaks to the screaming hot cast iron and sear away. Works great
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I wonder if the foil and the cooler might have 'helped' with the overshooting the temp? I know when I've done the sous vide and then sear, I would let things sit and cool a bit, before the final sear...so maybe your steaks kept creeping up at that point?
Crispy Bacon
Full Fledged Farker
Great smoke ring! Glad you’re really liking your new MAK !!! It’s a great cooker! So many more great cooks to come!! Congrats!!
Those look great! One method I have had great success with it to leave the Flame Zone covers off for the entire cook... but place the steaks on the upper grate with a cast iron skillet, pan or griddle on the main grate under the steaks acting as the heat diffuser. Once the steaks reach 100° (I pull at 100 to reduce the chance of overshooting) you can pull the steaks and just crank the MAK getting the cast iron that is already in place up to super hot searing temps. Return the steaks to the screaming hot cast iron and sear away. Works great
Thanks guys for the great suggestions. I will definitely give them a try!
I wonder if anyone has tried just removing one of the FlameZone covers in the hopes of concentrating the heat in one area and perhaps raising the grate temp. Thoughts?
pjtexas1
somebody shut me the fark up.
What memory issues? I have cooked in foil a bunch. Anyway... glad you're enjoying that PBC.
Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
Don’t wrap/cooler them right off the mak. I’d loosely tent them in foil for a few min.
I’d also suggest trying temps in the 245-275 range. You’d be surprised how much smoke they still pick up.
I personally just use my gasser for the sear. I can get it screaming hot with the sear burner in 2-3 min.
I’d also suggest trying temps in the 245-275 range. You’d be surprised how much smoke they still pick up.
I personally just use my gasser for the sear. I can get it screaming hot with the sear burner in 2-3 min.
Congratulations, that´s a few really nice cooks. I bet you are gonna have a lot of fun cooking on the MAK!
Thanks very much. These past few cooks have been lots of fun already and I'm just scratching the surface!
KevinJ
somebody shut me the fark up.
- Joined
- Jul 9, 2015
- Location
- Pensacol...
Yes and you can also use your top grate as the bottom grate and use one of the half bottom grates on the top so you don't have the full grate in your way.
ORBBQ SPOGOS
