MiniMax Cook

FATC1TY

Got my MM on Friday, have already cooked 3 meals on it. Nice little grill so far. Need to order a High Q for it, I think that'll help some, as I love it in my large. Got a woo on the way, but honestly, the grid is pretty even with the gasket, so thats a nice plus.. The SS grid sucks, moves around in the grill a bit, so I'm hunting down some CI options as I love using the CI in my large as well. The platesetter is a cute little thing, but doesn't leave a ton of room around the edges, curious how the heat will work, but so far, no issues. That said- thought I had more lump sitting around, but didn't. Had some ribs to cook for dinner tonight, so I scooped what I had in the large, and what was left in the minimax, and added some fresh, along with a small chunk of post oak, and apple from fruita wood, and decided to make the ribs fit. Cut a whole slab in half and they fit just perfect in the minimax without overlapping or hanging off. Almost 4# total of ribs. Cookin away.. Pretty impressed so far- will be a great grill for cooking for my little family of 4, instead of firing the large up all the time, and will great to leave it at the NC mtn house during the summers so I can smoke and grill and not use my barrel style side box smoker/grill up there as much.

Lit

If you are sick of the grate order the KJ junior grate. Its a half inch bigger so it fits almost perfect plus it has the flap that opens so you can add wood mid cook.

jaydub58

Neat idea, @Lot; where would you order one?

Lit

@jaydub58‌ I went on the KJ website and found a local ace and called them for pricing. They said they would have to order it but it was $38. My MM grate is in my spare parts box I swap the KJ one back and forth now.

Lit

Also the KJ heat deflector fits perfect and comes with the stone and it was also like $40. Its alot like the CGS woo. I posted pics of the KJ deflector and grate in the MM a month or so ago.

FATC1TY

Interesting, I'll have to see if anyone sell KJ locally. My BGE dealer did, but got a nasty letter from BGE about them selling KJ in the same store, so they had to sell all the KJ off for a cheaper price, so as to not lose the ability to sell BGE I guess. WIll have to look for extras for this MM, via the KJ stuff. Also- I have a BBQ guru... don't I just need a plate for the draft door to make it work on the MM?

Mickey

Got my High Q for free on Amazon. It ask if I would like a $40 credit by taking the card and I said yes. My High Q was free and will cut up the card when it arrives.

r8rs4lf

Just got mine yesterday. Can't wait to Fire it up. The MM seemed a little slow to get to sear temp.

jaydub58

@Lit, thanks for the info.

FATC1TY

r8rs4lf said:

Just got mine yesterday. Can't wait to Fire it up. The MM seemed a little slow to get to sear temp.

I thought so as well, although being the first couple of cooks, I went easy on it. However, I was keeping the firebox under filled, it's a bit wide and very shallow, so easy to do.
I think it has to do with the fire box grate, IMO. I'm used to the high q on my large.

RajunCajun

Nice grill.  I saw one for the first time a few days ago.  They told me it was the same size as a small.  Wha tis the advantage of the MM over a small?

FATC1TY

RajunCajun said:

Nice grill.  I saw one for the first time a few days ago.  They told me it was the same size as a small.  Wha tis the advantage of the MM over a small?

I would guess, portability? I dont know.. I know it's smaller than the small, so it's similar in size of the mini, but the cooking space of the small. It's a short, stubby little guy.
I don't know how portable it would be. It's slightly heavy and a bit awkward to carry alone, but easily done. I wouldn't want to carry it more than 50 yards myself. However, it's nice to use just a couple fist fulls of lump, and cook dinner faster, as well as something I can pack in our truck and take to our other summer get away and leave there for a couple months.

RajunCajun

Enjoy!

FATC1TY

Not bad for letting it ride at 250-260. Pretty stable little grill. I normall use a guru if I'm cooking for more than a couple hours, as I've got little time to babysit. Impressive.

tbst

Did a 8# butt today for 7 hours @300°F. Had over half the lump left and dead on temperature the whole time. Pretty impressive. 

NPHuskerFL

Even with the factory grate, PS legs up or down and factory grid temp control hasn't been an issue on mine. Going to the High Q (why?). Do you find it difficult getting to high temps quickly? Maybe I'm missing something here. Now the WOO from CGS makes perfect sense to me because of its versatility etc.

r8rs4lf

Getting to sear temps took too long for me. I have a HiQue on my MBGE though. I guess I'll see when I get another cook in.

FATC1TY

I haven't gotten up to searing temp.. Maybe Tuesday, I've got a nice porterhouse on the lineup. I'm just used to the high q, and the temp getting up real fast. The MM is quick though, so no real complaint. Held low and slow really well though. I do think for long cooks, the woo is a must to get the food as far away from the fire, even with a platesetter on it, it gets pretty hot at the platesetter with lump near it. I did a 5-6 hour cook on the ribs, and had a TON of lump left after cooking at 250-275 the whole time. Some of it wasnt even lit it appears.

tbst

NPHuskerFL said:

Even with the factory grate, PS legs up or down and factory grid temp control hasn't been an issue on mine. Going to the High Q (why?). Do you find it difficult getting to high temps quickly? Maybe I'm missing something here. Now the WOO from CGS makes perfect sense to me because of its versatility etc.

I see the high Q grate being much more useful on the large than the MM after having both. The MM can easily be stirred if need be. The large, not so much with a full load of lump. Hopefully RW alleviates the need for having a fire extinguisher outside AND having temp control issues on the large.