MAK 2 Star Brisket

What did you smoke this weekend after eating turkey on Thursday and Friday.  I smoked a 9 lb brisket flat today.  I had it on the MAK 2 Star for about 8 hours at 225° and then 3 hours at 250°.  It was probably about 20°-25° outside with the wind chill today.  It was about 205° internal temp when I pulled it and let it rest for 30 minutes before slicing it.  It was my first brisket on the MAK, and I am pleased with the results. 

 

Grill Collection

Over the years, I have transitioned from an inexpensive Kenmore/Charbroil propane grill, through electric smokers by Brinkman and Cookshack, other propane smokers by Brinkman and Smokey Mountain, to Weber propane grills.  Last year, I was introduced to pellet grills and bought a Traeger XL.  I enjoyed the flavor of the food that was made on it, but did not like the swing in temperatures and its lack of versatility.  This year I bought a Memphis Elite to get tighter temperature controls and some flexibility to cook at higher temps, and a MAK 2 Star General to add flexility to higher temps and cold smoking.  Here they are.

The new patio extension east end filled with cooking equipment.

The pellet grill trio - Traeger XL, MAK 2 Star, and Memphis Elite.

The newest addition to the lineup - MAK 2 Star.

Leinenkugel's Thanksgiving

Yesterday, I gave thanks for the seasonal sampler 12 packs made by Leinenkugel's.  They have a bit of duplication so there were only 9 different beers to sample out of the 12 beers that were part of these three samplers.

Oktoberfest

Here are the final Oktoberfests that I had for this season.

Milwaukee Brewing Company Hoptoberfest
http://mkebrewing.com/beer/hoptoberfest/

New Belgium Brewing - Red Hoptober
http://www.newbelgium.com/beer/detail.aspx?id=b061cbb7-2d6d-4489-a655-8cfa40171596

Stevens Point Brewery Oktoberfest
http://www.pointbeer.com/point-oktoberfest/

Capital Brewery Oktoberfest
http://www.capital-brewery.com/

Samuel Adams Oktoberfest
http://www.samueladams.com/enjoy-our-beer/beer-detail.aspx?id=011e3e3f-52b1-4c55-9e05-0417800d7b23

Leinenkugel's Oktoberfest
https://leinie.com/Beers.aspx#oktoberfest

Spaten Oktoberfest
http://spatenbeer.com/biers-oktoberfest.html

Smoked Mac n Cheese

Someone posted this simple recipe on www.pelletheads.com.  I tried it this week, and thought it was pretty good.  And it was really easy which was what I was looking for in a recipe.

1 box of elbow macaroni
1/2 stick of butter
3 cups of milk
1 pint of heavy whipping cream
2 8oz bags of your favorite shredded cheese

Pour uncooked macaroni in 8x13 aluminum pan.  I used a stainless steel deep half pan that you can see in the pics.  Melt butter and pour over macaroni.  Pour in the remaining ingredients and stir.  You can add salt and pepper or other spices to taste.

Cook on grill at 250° for about 2 hours.  Sprinkle your favorite cheese over the top and brown the top in the broiler.