Thought I would give an update on my RecTeq.
I have had it a bit over 2 months now. Overall very pleased!
-I have done pork ribs (better than anything I have ever had in a restaurant), Tri-tip, a NY strip roast, a few steaks, and a Prime Prime Rib roast for Christmas dinner that was also the best I have ever had.
What I have learned
-I like smoke, but I don't like overpowering smoke on everything. I moved to a lower intensity smoke (Cherry has been good, trying Apple next). I'll save the higher flavor intense smokes for specific meals.
-It was noted that the Pellet Grills don't sear well. This is very true. I picked up a searing plate and that has worked wonders. Good addition.
-I love the WiFi monitoring. When working on the Christmas dinner, I was able to keep tabs on the Prime Rib without going out constantly to check on it. Very handy
-While cooking the Prime Rib, I had drippings from prior cooking on the tray under the grill. I line with AL foil and I should have replaced the foil before starting. With a Propane BBQ I find the drippings just cook off, but not so with the Pellet Grill. It is more like an oven in that the drippings are trapped and smoke/flare up. When I moved the temp to 500 degrees on the Prime Rib, the drippings ignited and I had a huge flare up. Temps went to 750 degrees in a heart beat! I was able to shut it down before the meat was burned so all is well that ended well, but I was pretty nervous to see an expensive chunk of meat on fire!
-It takes longer to cook a meal... The meals come out better, but the Grill forces me to manage temperatures and cooking times better, and this takes more time. With my BBQ I would toss a steak on and it would be done in a few minutes. With the Pellet Grill, it takes 3-4x longer but the end product is much better
-The pellet Grill has renewed my interest in Rubs and spices. Having fun with this.
-A little Kosher Salt goes a LOOOOONG way. I over salted 2-3 meals before I figured out how far to dial back the salt.
Net-Net even though Pellet Grills are a bit higher maintenance than a gas BBQ, I am loving the grill and the extra effort yields much better food - I have not lit-up my BBQ since I got the Pellet Grill.. The Recteq quality is everything I expected it to be. It has done more than I expected - would be nice if they had included a searing plate though. That is pretty important.
Enthusiastic two thumbs up/5 stars for RecTeq
