The optional front folding shelf. This had a certain amount of difficulty for me. It did not line up correctly initially but with a bit of massage work it fits great.
Last edited by Marauderer; September 6, 2014, 08:16 AM.
Plugged it in turned on set to 400*F for initial burn in.
When the pellets get going you will initially gets some white smoke.
And within about 5 min it will clear.
I let it burn at least an hour. That cures the powder coating and then it is ready to cook. The manufacturer says a lot of folks cover the drip pan with aluminum foil and I will probably do that before I put on the ribs in the morning.
Well, I cranked up the RecTec this morning after installing the Maverick box probe and with the RecTec set on 225*F It stabilized at 223-227*F on the Mav.
I also took it apart after the 1+ hr burn in yesterday and vacuumed out the ashes.
I then reassmbled it and lined the drip tray with foil to facilitate cleaning up afterwards.
Found a small shop vac down in the shop for vacuuming out ashes.
Anyway reassembled unit, brought up to 225*F and got a couple of slabs of ribs on that I used Huskees Rib Rub on and then froze on sheet pans so I could put on the RecTec frozen and hopefully get a bit more smokey flavor.
I I can't remember where I read it but, for pellet smokers which usually have less smokey flavor putting them on frozen keeps the meat cooler longer so it is suppose to absorb more smoky flavor. I took the ribs and put my HRR on them and left them in the fridge for 48 hrs and then froze them on sheet pans and when frozen but them in a big plastic bag and they have been there since this laswt Monday. It will be interesting to see how they do. It was also recommended for pork butts and they said a 9 lb butt would only take an extra 1.5 hrs on avg for the cooking time. So if you must freeze do all your brining and rubbing before you freeze then just take out of the freezer and onto the grill.
I read that too, but I haven't had any problems with getting enough smoke on mine with my rec tec. Nice smoke ring every time. The thing I love is I can put my ribs on at noon, go to work and come home to great ribs.
Want more smoke flavor from your pellet pooper? Use an A-Maze-N Tube Smoker (I have the 6" and 12" tubes; they also make an 18", but why?). I use the 100% flavorwood pellets that come in the 1 lb bags from BBQr's Delight. I use the tubes for both cold- and hot-smoking. I can get a couple of hours of smoke from the 6" tube and four or more from the 12" tube. The tubes can withstand high heat, but it's never made any sense to me to use them when grilling. So...I tend to cold-smoke my beef and hot-smoke my pork and chicken. If I'm going to "sous vide" the protein, then I cold-smoke it, whatever it is.
These tubes are great. I passed on the 8" x 8" trays because of the grill space they take up. The tubes solved that problem nicely. I started with the 12" tube, but I wind up using the 6" much more often, so I'd suggest starting with that. Wingman (Rob) has a video review of the 12" tube on his website, if you want to check it out (smokingpit [dot] com).
Note: I use these tubes in my Yoder YS640 and my Weber kettles. I REALLY wish they'd existed when I was cooking on Traeger BBQ125 (the big boy).
Last edited by Ozric; September 5, 2014, 11:34 AM.
Oz, I have the 18" tube and used it on my gasser. I am trying this batch from the frozen way and next I will use a smoker tube. It is always great to have options.
Ya need to make up a sticky by the grill/smoker that reminds you to clean the top under surface before you fire it up. Thanks for the heads up. I will post how and where I put my sticky. Why reinvent the wheel when you guys have already been there and done that.
Thanks Dave, I don'y have any experience with the cleaning of critical parts on a Pellet smoker.
The most aggravating thing about cleaning pellet cookers I think is the carbon buildup. It'll build up on the inside of the hood and come off in flakes all over the food.
Same with my offset. Easy to scrape off, but sadly I never think of it until little black flakes end up on my ribs or chicken just from opening/closing the lid....
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