Rec Tec extreme smoke setting

[kevin james]

That's news to me . Did you read that somewhere or you've used one ?

I guess I'm mainly referring to them just recommending that you use foil pans under the grate to catch drippings in order to avoid a grease fire. That's hardly solving the problem IMO.

Not trying to hijack this thread though or make it about the SmokeFire, just wondering Al's thoughts on the RecTec 1250 from a smoke flavor perspective as I'm considering one.

 

[SmokinAl]

Al, I have the RT-700 and run it at 180 for full smoke. For good bark and smoke it is the way to go (for at least half the cook). For ribs it dries out the edges a bit because of the extra air flow and time to cook so a go 250-275 for those.
Let er rip!

Thank you for the info!
Al

Sam's. I been fairly happy with the Smokehouse blend and they had the hickory marked down so bought those. Luckily only bought one.

I only have experience with CHEAP pellet machines... but extreme smoke settings usually have NO temperature control, they just feed pellets blindly at some on-off rate. If Al is still in his moderate climes, and he's using cure to boot, I doubt he'll drop too low from a food safety standpoint. But I still think a few fire safety reminders are in order before going to sleep on a cook, namely:
Make sure the cooker is clean/grease-free in the area outside the crucible where hot coals may overflow into, and
Assume the worse and keep the cooker away from building structures. (Pellet machines still work fine with cheap, long 16awg extension cords.)
A remote thermometer for the cook chamber that alarms on over-temps never hurts either.

Thank you, all good advice!
Al

A lot of folks just can't tolerate 100% hickory. I'm not even sure Lumberjack sells 100%...it tends to be mixed with other woods...not that I'm a LJ connoisseur.

But I'm still confused...When you say "no smoke flavor" in your first post, are you sure that the hickory hadn't overwhelmed your olfactory sense just from tending the fire?

Maybe I'm alone, but I never think my food is smoky enough the day I make it. But the leftovers the next day, Oh my, do I enjoy the smoke. I just think it takes a day for me to get my taste/smell back completely. Especially with hickory!

Lumberjack makes 100% hickory but I can’t find them locally. I was ordering them but shipping was crazy so I switched to cabelas 100% hickory and 100% mesquite.

Dicks had free shipping for a while but they stopped Carrying LJ from what I can tell. I found some other random free shipping on pellets but it look like that is less common these days.

In SLC I could two guys on a local classified that sold them for $10 a bag. You. Might search Craigs list or another local online classified and see if this is true where you are. Might be a long shot

The recteq smoker has 180° for extreme smoke. It may vary 2 degrees or so but is very controlled. I now use extreme smoke always in the beginning and ramp up to get a reasonable finish.

Al, now that you have had your 1250 for several months, I'm curious what your thoughts are on it, especially since you were using a stick burner prior to the 1250. How is the smoke flavor on it?

I'm thinking of upgrading my pellet grill, which gets no use at all because frankly it's not a very good one (Pit Boss Pro Series 1100), and I just prefer my stick burners. Thinking if I had a GOOD pellet smoker it might actually get used.

I want something with a PID controller, an upper rack, and the ability to put a good smoke flavor on my food without using a pellet tube. Was looking at the RT 1250, the Weber SmokeFire EX6 Gen 2, or the new Camp Chef Woodwind Pro 36" with that smoke box. But The Weber's have known problems, and the Camp Chef is very new and I don't like to be a Guiney Pig... so the 1250 seems like it might be the best option. I know it will never have the smoke flavor of a stick burner, but I want something that at least puts a better smoke flavor on the food than the average run of the mill pellet smoker.

I was used to a stronger flavor from my other smokers, but wanted the convenience of a pellet pooper. I think when I run thru the rest of the rec tec pellets & use all LJ. It will be a great flavor. I’m thinking of using half mesquite blend & half char/hickory. My wife & most of our friends like the lighter smoke flavor better, and I’m getting used to it. Tried some wood chunks on top of the burn pot & that added extra smoke. Still experimenting with different stuff. But I will say the quality of the RT is pretty impressive. And it is huge! I will get it dialed in to our taste. Heck, half the fun is learning how to use our new toys!
Al

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

Talked to my buddy yesterday and he runs on low all night without any problems. I vacuumed those pellets I did not like and put the Smokehouse in yesterday. Did brisket on low 2 hours than 225 which is closer to 255 on my RecTec. Time it got done with the 4 hour rest was to late to do anything. Just sliced it up and heated a slice. Man was it good. Just about right on the smoke.

 

[bill1]

The recteq smoker has 180° for extreme smoke. It may vary 2 degrees or so but is very controlled. I now use extreme smoke always in the beginning and ramp up to get a reasonable finish.

Thanks Nefarious. I spoke out of ignorance on the RT. So is there any difference then in "extreme smoke" and just the regular setting with the thermostat set at 180?
Like maybe airflow?

 

[Nefarious]

Thanks Nefarious. I spoke out of ignorance on the RT. So is there any difference then in "extreme smoke" and just the regular setting with the thermostat set at 180?
Like maybe airflow?

The low temp is 200°, going lower is the extreme smoke setting. The thermometer jumps from low, extreme smoke, to 200°. Cant get 190°. I think they treat it as a special state, so they can control the smoke.

 

[bill1]

But how do they control the smoke? Is there a fundamental difference between 200 and 180? Or is it the same difference as between 200 and 220?

 

[SmokinAl]

But how do they control the smoke? Is there a fundamental difference between 200 and 180? Or is it the same difference as between 200 and 220?

I don’t have a clue how it works, but there is a noticeable difference in the smoke, between the extreme setting & 200 or higher. Honestly I usually just run it at 225 & have been getting a nice smoke profile, just wanted to try something different.
Al

 

[chopsaw]

I don’t have a clue how it works, but there is a noticeable difference in the smoke, between the extreme setting & 200 or higher.

I don't have a Rec Tec , but my thoughts on my pellet grill and the Smoke Boost setting is that's it's different programing for pellet feed and fan speed . Definitely more smoke .

 

[Nefarious]

I always use the extreme smoke setting in all.if my cooks. I don't have a time problem, i just start.everything earlier, or deal with it when it is finished.

Yesterday I did a pork shoulder and I did what @SmokinAl suggested. I started at 9am at 180° and left it for 7 hours. The IT was at 144*° at this point and i needed to get to about 200° so.I turned it up to 225°. I was smoking a neighbor's roast at the same time, the 225 was.to finish off his piece. When his was done I turned it to 300° to finish around 9pm. This took longer then I expected, had I turned it to 300° at 7 hrs it probably would have cut a few hours off the end.

 

[SmokinAl]

I don't have a Rec Tec , but my thoughts on my pellet grill and the Smoke Boost setting is that's it's different programing for pellet feed and fan speed . Definitely more smoke .

I think your right, because if you could increase the smoke at any temp, I’m sure they would do it.
Al

I always use the extreme smoke setting in all.if my cooks. I don't have a time problem, i just start.everything earlier, or deal with it when it is finished.

Yesterday I did a pork shoulder and I did what @SmokinAl suggested. I started at 9am at 180° and left it for 7 hours. The IT was at 144*° at this point and i needed to get to about 200° so.I turned it up to 225°. I was smoking a neighbor's roast at the same time, the 225 was.to finish off his piece. When his was done I turned it to 300° to finish around 9pm. This took longer then I expected, had I turned it to 300° at 7 hrs it probably would have cut a few hours off the end.

OK, now tell me how was the flavor, how was the texture, was it tender & juicy? Did you use a water pan in the smoker?
Al

 

[Nefarious]

I finally got it out of the cooler at 12:30am and into the refrigerator. It is in foil along with the drippings and I won't pull it until tomorrow. It does have excellent bark, and a good smoke ring and seems juicy. I will post a couple of pics tomorrow when I pull it.

 

[Nefarious]

I just took it out of the refrigerator and it is still very cold. My first impression is it seems a little more dry then usual. I didn't use a water pan while I was cooking it.

It is in the oven warming up, I just cut a small piece to get a taste and the smoke flavor is great, and the bark is great. I will make a big cut and post that once it warms up.

From what I know now, if I did this again I would probably smoke it a little less time on extreme smoke, probably 5 hours would be sufficient. I will know more when it is hot.

Pulled and mixed in the juices from the pan, way more moist. Now, if I do it again, I would do it for the same time but add broth into the pan that collects the juices.

 

[SmokinAl]

I just took it out of the refrigerator and it is still very cold. My first impression is it seems a little more dry then usual. I didn't use a water pan while I was cooking it.

It is in the oven warming up, I just cut a small piece to get a taste and the smoke flavor is great, and the bark is great. I will make a big cut and post that once it warms up.

From what I know now, if I did this again I would probably smoke it a little less time on extreme smoke, probably 5 hours would be sufficient. I will know more when it is hot.

Pulled and mixed in the juices from the pan, way more moist. Now, if I do it again, I would do it for the same time but add broth into the pan that collects the juices.

View attachment 649246

Your PP looks delicious, hope mine comes out that good. I am using a water pan & I had it on extreme smoke for 9 hours. It is now running at 250.
Al

 

[kilo charlie]

You can always add apple juice instead of plain water or a mixture of apple juice and water to the water pan when smoking.

 

[SmokinAl]

I only took one pic of it, just before I wrapped it. It went 10 hours on extreme smoke, then bumped it up to 225 for a couple of hours then The bark looked perfect so I wrapped it & ran it at 275 until 205 IT. We were planning on eating at 5:30, so I had to keep it warm for 6 hours. So I put a couple more layers of foil on & set the oven to 170. When it got there I just turned it off & left the oven light on, every couple of hours I would turn on the oven for a couple of minutes, and it was still piping hot when I pulled it. It turned out really good, and everybody had seconds. I learned a lot about the 1250 with this smoke, and the good news is I ran thru the last of my RT pellets. So I’m exited to see how 100% LJ will do

Al

 

[tbern]

looks awesome!! think your going to like the lumberjack pellets.

 

[SmokinAl]

looks awesome!! think your going to like the lumberjack pellets.

Thanks, I had the hopper filled with 1/2 RT pellets & 1/2 LJ hickory. With only half LJ, I could tell there was a noticeable difference in the smell of the smoke.
Al

 

[chopsaw]

Looks great Al .

 

[Nefarious]

Looks delicious, I'm doing back ribs like this on Sunday. Hope to get 5 or 6 hours of smoke. I also can't wait to use up all of the RT pellets.

 

[tbern]

Just curious, does Rectec make their own pellets or just "rebrand" from another company's?