My first time using a pellet smoker

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Recteqer

Newbie
Original poster
Jun 1, 2025
27
38
Many decades on a stick burner. Due to age and health, i can`t cut my own wood anymore, so i decided to try a pellet smoker.

Recteq BYB1200
Burned in yesterday, ribs today.
Pitboss Hickory pellets - 5hrs smoke time

I went for a Memphis dry rib. They taste different on a pellet smoker vs stick burned. But came out really tender and tasted really good.
My wife, my biggest fan, my final judge, asked, "when are you making these again?" I guess they passed her test, lol.

Recteq 1200  7-2-25 pic 04.jpg

Recteq 1200  7-2-25 pic 01.jpg

Recteq 1200  7-2-25 pic 02.jpg

Recteq 1200  7-2-25 pic 03.jpg

Recteq 1200  7-2-25 pic 05.jpg
 
Great cook all the way around!

Yeah, the flavor is better with a stick burner but for convenience, pellet grills deliver decent Q.
 
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Thank you guys :emoji_blush:
I wasn`t real confident going into it, but i just hung in there and did my best, for an old stick burnin guy, lol. I`m actually very impressed with this Recteq! The temps stayed put right where i set them! It varied +/- 2 degrees thru the whole 5hr cook.
 
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Reactions: bigfurmn
those look fantastic! thats how I do them: 250 for 6 hours=perfection!

PS: pull the clear screen plastic stuff off before it glues on.
Thanks San
yepppppp..... busted, you got me, lol. I forgot to pull that off the controller.
 
Looks good to me! Great first cook!

Ryan
Thanks Ryan. I`m a really humble guy, and i do have to say, i`m pretty proud of my first pellet cook. I had no idea that it was this easy. I guess when you master the stick burners, everything else is a cakewalk after that, lol. One thing i keep hearing all the time, people saying they can`t get a decent smoke ring out of a pellet cooker. That was one of the reasons i never bothered buying one before. But it doesn`t seem like i had that hard of time achieving that sweet smoke ring today.
 
Welcome to the dark side 🤣. Those looked mighty good for a first run on a new rig. Also congrats on the new rig. Looks good.
Thank you bigfurmn bigfurmn :emoji_laughing:
Yeah buddie, i think i`m really liking this Recteq, alot! My wife thinks i have a new girlfriend. Two nights in a row, she had to come out to the garage and convince me to come in the house, lol.
 
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They look great did you run it at 250 the whole time or let it cook lower at first for more smoke? Any plans on adding a pellet tube for a little more smoke if your use to a stick burner?
 
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They look great did you run it at 250 the whole time or let it cook lower at first for more smoke? Any plans on adding a pellet tube for a little more smoke if your use to a stick burner?

Thank you sir. I started out with Recteq`s "LO" setting for an hour to get the extra smoke i thought i`d need. That "LO" setting really poors the smoke on, i was actually surprised! After an hour with the LO setting, i started bumping up the heat from 225 to 250, and then the last hour was at 275. No plans on adding a smoke tube at this time. We`ll see how this goes for a bit. I thought the amount of smoke was pretty decent. No, its surely not stick burn smokiness, but i bet i can get use to what i`m getting out of it. I got pretty close to a stick burn where i think i can be happy with it.
 
Have any of you guys tried those Royal Oak charcoal pellets yet? I`m thinking about trying those out. I will likely blend then with regular pellets first just to get a little sample of what they`re like.
 
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Welcome to Team Pooper! I am making some WICKED good stuff with mine. I think nowadays good pellet grills are probably as good or better than a stick burner. Cool part with a pooper you can play with fuels easy. For me, its oak, no other way.

Cute pug, we lost our Lily this past year after 16 years. She like all smoked stuff but was BAT S*** crazy for my trials with kabanosy. OMG that was so funny.
 
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Welcome to Team Pooper! I am making some WICKED good stuff with mine. I think nowadays good pellet grills are probably as good or better than a stick burner. Cool part with a pooper you can play with fuels easy. For me, its oak, no other way.

Cute pug, we lost our Lily this past year after 16 years. She like all smoked stuff but was BAT S*** crazy for my trials with kabanosy. OMG that was so funny.
LOL...thank you! Yeah i think i`m gonna like this pellet smoking thing. Seems really easy.
Awwwwwwww, i`m sorry you lost your dog. Its so awful hard when they go.
 
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qqqq
Many decades on a stick burner. Due to age and health, i can`t cut my own wood anymore, so i decided to try a pellet smoker.

Recteq BYB1200
Burned in yesterday, ribs today.
Pitboss Hickory pellets - 5hrs smoke time

I went for a Memphis dry rib. They taste different on a pellet smoker vs stick burned. But came out really tender and tasted really good.
My wife, my biggest fan, my final judge, asked, "when are you making these again?" I guess they passed her test, lol.

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