My 3rd MES40 finally died. Meet the Recteq 1200 Backyard Beast

[uncle eddie]

That was my third MES40. They last about 5-7 years and I was done buying another one. I looked at Weber, Camp Chef, Recteq and Traeger. I went with Recteq for the 6 year bumper to bumper warranty, 4.9 star outta 5 rating, room for a 15-lb turkey and the reviews claiming excellent smoke flavor.

Three cooks so far, Recteq pellets at 225:

• St. Louis ribs, SPG only, membrane left on (pic) (check out the smoke profile)
• Double-smoked ham
• Triple thick pork chops

Big thanks to @forktender for answering my questions. Same model.

Old corpse and new Beast side by side, chops on the grate, whole rack, and the sliced ribs. Saving the MES40 for cold smokes and maybe I will rebuild it.

 

[Colin1230]

Congratulations, you got a nice unit there. Enjoy!

 

[normanaj]

Nice having something new. When the deck finally gets built I'm looking to get a higher end pellet pooper.

The MES is definitely worth saving for sure. The simple rewire and a PID will certainly bring it back to life.