Building out the tools?

spartanhuntr

Well-known member
Military Veteran
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143
Grill(s) owned
  1. Bull
I saw a post similar to this but it ended up kind of narrow on a specific piece of equipment.

My question: If you have a RecTec smoker... what other equipment do you have and use frequently and for what?

I have a griddle and that seems to get weekend use during the summer. Almost always just bfasts. I obviously have a gas grill (a nice one) that is used infrequent compared of its price. But hope this summer to work on that.

I see guys talking about Kamados? On another thread i was considering a pizza oven.. but frankly i just can't get over a $4k price tag....

My new interest is actually a simple Weber Kettle Performer 22 inch. With absolutely all accessories (like Kettle Pizza) it is under $1k and i can add charcoal and wood chunk cooks to the arsenal. I thought about the Summit which i think is like a Kamado but just not sure i need another $2k plus thing to build it out. The allure to this is it seems pretty simple... for a low price tag.

What do you guys have to compliment your pellet smoker and what do you use it for (e.g. you don't use your pellet stove for X)?

Thanks...
 
I have had a pellet cooker, first a Traeger and now my new Bull for about 4 years total. My only other thing that I have used the whole time is my little Weber Kettle 18". I will still use it. It is over 20 years old. Just put new grill rack in it. Sometimes my wife and I just crave the good ole taste of charcoal. So I am a simple guy. I seem to not want to have to deal with propane or gas of any kind. Maybe just too lazy! Glad you are here!
P.S. I thought my Traeger could cook a pretty decent pizza. So I am pretty sure that the Bull can. I just crank it up as hot as it will go and throw it on the grill. Even a Costco pizza can taste pretty good on a pellet stove. For some I have heard that they put their pizza stone in at startup for extra heat on the crust. I have a pizza stone, but I don't remember using it on the grill.
 
I saw a post similar to this but it ended up kind of narrow on a specific piece of equipment.

My question: If you have a RecTec smoker... what other equipment do you have and use frequently and for what?

I have a griddle and that seems to get weekend use during the summer. Almost always just bfasts. I obviously have a gas grill (a nice one) that is used infrequent compared of its price. But hope this summer to work on that.

I see guys talking about Kamados? On another thread i was considering a pizza oven.. but frankly i just can't get over a $4k price tag....

My new interest is actually a simple Weber Kettle Performer 22 inch. With absolutely all accessories (like Kettle Pizza) it is under $1k and i can add charcoal and wood chunk cooks to the arsenal. I thought about the Summit which i think is like a Kamado but just not sure i need another $2k plus thing to build it out. The allure to this is it seems pretty simple... for a low price tag.

What do you guys have to compliment your pellet smoker and what do you use it for (e.g. you don't use your pellet stove for X)?

Thanks...
I kept my Weber Performer after I bought my RT590. I grill with it frequently since I am accustomed to the charcoal flavor. I can set up to smoke with a Slow N Sear and Party Q if I am cooking more meat than the Stampede can handle. Rare occasion, but nice to have the flexibility. The table is handy benefit. I recommend a Performer highly.
 
I haven't gotten a pellet grill yet but smoke on a smokey mountain, along with that I have a performer I got off Craigslist for $100. added charcoal baskets and a better grate but that's all. The performer works great.
 
The nature of forums like this, and I'm not making a criticism, just a statement of what we've seen, is that there's a significant ebb and flow of active membership. Given seasonal realities, and this year the gift to other pellet manufacturers that Weber inadvertently gave, we've got a good sized influx of new folks. That slightly longish preamble is to just set the table for my commentary that will seem somewhat "short tempered" to some who haven't seen some prior posts.

I've demonstrated earlier that I'm a devout gizmoholic, I admit it freely, and my sanity is correctly questioned because of it. I did a pizza cook the other night and invited my next door neighbor who really likes my pizza. What he doesn't know is I almost never do the output the same two times in a row. I'm nearly always experimenting. So to @spartanhuntr , if your "nice one" gas grill has good output burners and a rotisserie IR on the back wall, and you have a pizza stone, I can explain how to use that as a very good pizza oven. No need to spend 4 grand. But if that isn't something that appeals I won't use up bandwidth. To me, doing a Papa Murphy or other similar "take and bake" pizza in a pellet grill is pretty much using the outdoor convection oven instead of the indoor. That's great if that's how you view pizza. If you're a make your own dough, play with quality toppings kinda pizza person, well, there are better ways. Taste is an individual thing, and that makes relying on other folks opinions dicey until there's some clarification of objectives.

It sounds like you're having a growing interest in a charcoal burner. The two Weber products you mentioned are both good units, and those who belong to what I call "The Cult of Weber" wax poetic about all the aftermarket goodies they can spend money on to make them act like a smoker, and a grille, and a massage therapist (just kidding on that one..................I think). Yep, those things can happen, and the Summit Charcoal Grill functions a fair bit like a kamado, but is strongly priced. I've had a kamado for somewhere around 8 years and have done a lot of different cooks on it, and think they are a marvelous cooker. They can function a fair bit like a ceramic pizza oven, though getting the top to cook properly without hurting the bottom of the crust requires a bit of gamesmanship. Having a kamado has made me pretty much a lump charcoal guy as opposed to briquettes. I don't care for the chemicals used in their manufacturing process, no matter how much the briquette fans protest otherwise. It's not easy to run a Performer on lump, the Summit Charcoal is more forgiving, but Weber still recommends briquettes. Whatever. My latest charcoal toy is an Oklahoma Joe's Bronco drum. It's been on the market just over a year and doesn't have much of a following, and since it comes from Char Broil as the corporate parent there's a bit of snobbery against it without any first hand experience. And it doesn't cost much which adds to disbelief. I'll just say, there's nothing I've found so far that it can't do except very high temp cooking (so far I've only been able to touch 500 degrees). It's got terrific temperature control mechanisms and beats the pants off a Pit Barrel Cooker (PBC, another unit with cult like following) and it's unintended cousin the Barrel House cooker. And I've done pretty much anything I've read that Weber Kettle folk can do without having to buy any additional gizmos. This past week I ordered some parts though with the objective of seeing if I can fashion a pizza oven of sorts from it. If it works it will be fun, but if it doesn't It won't matter because I've got the above mentioned gas grill method, as well as a couple others, at my disposal.

The upshot is, there's a world of options that don't cost that much, won't take up a bunch of space, and might accomplish what you want. We'll see. Others will have their experiences to share, and perhaps you'll refine/define your standards/objectives. All is good...…...
 
Thoughtful. thank you (and all). You are right... i have a wood/charcoal itch. ha. the Performer gave me a feeling of under $500 scratching it and having it to add on too. I don't think i can stomach the summit (kamado) and frankly haven't quite figured out why i would want one.

Maybe i am way off but i think the komado is supposed to be the best of both worlds i think. a smoker and a charcoal/wood grill. But, i have a bull... so i have the smoker and it isn't going anywhere. Way too many happy afternoons with its output. What i am lacking is that Charcoal itch (I also prefer lump). My wife told me to get a simple kettle cooker and scratch it without losing my mind.. well...

I can put my family in the poor house with an hour on BBQ Guys.com. ha.

Thanks for input so far.. keep it coming...
 
Thus far, during my 6-month pellet smoking adventure the only item I use persistently is a third party thermometer, both for the pit and food. To an extent, I feel our add-on "needs" depend on our personal methodologies and even the environment in which we cook outdoors. I'm not sure if you're asking specifically about pit-related accessories, or if you want feedback that extends beyond the pit yet is still related to our outdoor smoking journey. I have several outdoor cookers, and that inventory also influences what I [don't] need to add to my Bull.

A case in point as it relates to related items: I don't often do overnight smokes but it is rather common for me to conduct or finish-up an outdoor cook in the evening when it's dark. So for me, upgrading the outdoor porch light to a high output LED flood with an easy beam adjustment has proven invaluable.

Another related item (and I could not live without this) is a vac sealer.
 
I saw a post similar to this but it ended up kind of narrow on a specific piece of equipment.

My question: If you have a RecTec smoker... what other equipment do you have and use frequently and for what?

I have a griddle and that seems to get weekend use during the summer. Almost always just bfasts. I obviously have a gas grill (a nice one) that is used infrequent compared of its price. But hope this summer to work on that.

I see guys talking about Kamados? On another thread i was considering a pizza oven.. but frankly i just can't get over a $4k price tag....

My new interest is actually a simple Weber Kettle Performer 22 inch. With absolutely all accessories (like Kettle Pizza) it is under $1k and i can add charcoal and wood chunk cooks to the arsenal. I thought about the Summit which i think is like a Kamado but just not sure i need another $2k plus thing to build it out. The allure to this is it seems pretty simple... for a low price tag.

What do you guys have to compliment your pellet smoker and what do you use it for (e.g. you don't use your pellet stove for X)?

Thanks...
I have a few different smokers. One of the most versatile is the Big Green Egg. It sears steaks like no ones business and is also a smoker and amazing pizza oven. It’s super insulated so it runs for a long trme with little fuss. I also have a pitmaker vault and a Tejas stick burner. Also a Weber performer and a Bradley smoker. The Bradley is great for cold smoking, smoke stays below 100 degrees. My wife is a very understanding woman who who love good bbq. Amen!.
 
i am going to print 3-4 copies of your post Gotbbq and leave them around my house so my wife knows she doesn't have it that bad. Ha. My wife is not as accommodating. Nowhere close actually. She gave me the bull as a gift which was awesome! BUT, i think she thought it would mean i was done. And probably in her mind.. forever and ever. So, for me to be talking about Pizza ovens with a price tag above $2k or a Komodo (same price tag)… or even a Performer at around $1k fully decked out with all accessories... i am moving past the eye roll phase...

Not to take this off on a tangent but... the conversations go like this... "do you really need that?" breath..pause. "what do you think about me taking the kids to Disney this summer?" ha ha. So...anything i buy will likely cost me and "x" next to it... like $1k at 5x... or $5k. ha!
 
i am going to print 3-4 copies of your post Gotbbq and leave them around my house so my wife knows she doesn't have it that bad. Ha. My wife is not as accommodating. Nowhere close actually. She gave me the bull as a gift which was awesome! BUT, i think she thought it would mean i was done. And probably in her mind.. forever and ever. So, for me to be talking about Pizza ovens with a price tag above $2k or a Komodo (same price tag)… or even a Performer at around $1k fully decked out with all accessories... i am moving past the eye roll phase...

Not to take this off on a tangent but... the conversations go like this... "do you really need that?" breath..pause. "what do you think about me taking the kids to Disney this summer?" ha ha. So...anything i buy will likely cost me and "x" next to it... like $1k at 5x... or $5k. ha!
I hear you. My smokers come with keeping my mouth shut when my wife gets new shoes or whatever. I’m good with the trade off. Married 43 years.
 
I hear you. My smokers come with keeping my mouth shut when my wife gets new shoes or whatever. I’m good with the trade off. Married 43 years.
My wife and I built a semi custom house together... she taught me that you can have anything you want, not everything you want. It really is true to a great degree... so the question is: What do I REALLY want?
 
I am pretty simple. I have my 680 which I use for most of my low and slow cooking, or if I am going to make wings, which for me is a combo of low and slow and then some high temps at the end. My favorite cooker of all time!

I also have two 22" kettle pits, one weber and another a circa 1979 Happy Cooker I picked up for $5 at a garage sale (also came with 50# of charcoal if I remember correctly). I do most of my high heat grilling with the Weber and have used both both lump and briquets. The Happy Cooker is in almost mint condition, just do not use it as much.

I have a three burner gasser with a side burner as well. It is all stainless steel so I joke that it is my outdoor stainless rack system. It basically holds everything I am using when cooking on the other pits. Before the 680, the gasser was my main cooker. Now with the 680 and the kettles, not so much. The main use for the gasser is the side burner. I use it a lot with CI skillet to reverse sear steaks off the 680.

I also have an electric air fryer that we use a lot. Basically, although not always the healthy choice, what fried foods don't go great with a good BBQ? The air fryer does an outstanding job.

All in all, if I am not travelling for work, one or multiple of the "toys" are used at least 5 times a week creating meals. All year round in NJ. Looking forward to seeing others members toys.

Pic attached. Not pretty or elaborate (and time for spring cleaning), but a functional space for all the cookers.
 

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My wife and I built a semi custom house together... she taught me that you can have anything you want, not everything you want. It really is true to a great degree... so the question is: What do I REALLY want?
Dinner tonight. Pretty good.
 

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Exactly! Now that is living!
Amen! I have one for another day. I’m good with tomorrow but headquarters denied the request. May be headed into the fish market to see what’s fresh. I’m a salmon fan. Maybe I’ll get to use my rec tec mats.
 
Amen! I have one for another day. I’m good with tomorrow but headquarters denied the request. May be headed into the fish market to see what’s fresh. I’m a salmon fan. Maybe I’ll get to use my rec tec mats.
My wife loves fish. Me not so much. My salmon came out a little dry last weekend. Better under than over I am
Learning.
 
I bit the bullet as they say. I bought a Weber 22 performer. Worst case it is my own extra table next to my 700. Ha. Tonight i made pork loin steaks and shrimp. I fired up both. I made the pork on the kettle at about 300 degrees indirect and finished direct. I made the shrimp, baked potatoes and mixed peppers on the 700 at 225 for about an hour (pre-cook the taters). no pics. My wife thinks i am weird when i do that... (so i have to sneak.) Will get one this week of my set up. Ha!
 
Here's another accessory that I bought 2+ years ago and find myself using quite regularly. Given our buying habits and living in a rural area, many of our meals begin with thawing frozen meats. For the longest time, I found myself frustrated at trying to keep items submerged in a cold water bath. The Briner--because of the locking plate design--solved this problem for me.

http://www.thebriner.com/
 

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