Bull Slow cook times?

[Beavercrick]

Brand new to the RT-700 game so apologies if this is just a newbie question. Got everything assembled and set up with no issues and a did a break in smoke with an empty chamber for a couple hours at 400 degrees. Everything works great as far as I can tell.

First real smoke I tried were chicken tacos using the recipe/directions on the recteq app. It preheated quickly and I got some chicken thighs on there and left them for 20 minutes at 350 degrees per instructions. Internal temp was about 110 after that. I cranked the temp up to 450 and gave them another ten minutes and just barely got to 165.

Next smoke I just heated a frozen pizza, more as a cheap test than anything. This thing was in there for thirty minutes at 400 degrees (the box said 21-24 minutes at 400) and it still wasn’t done. I ended up finishing it off in the oven.

I’m sure I’m doing something wrong or have a setting that isn’t quite right, but the grill preheats fine, my thermometer confirms the temp, and it clearly “works”. Has anyone else experienced slower than expected cook times? I want to try a longer smoke at a lower temp but want a sanity check first.

 

[BigDan]

Different temps in different locations. If you have an ir thermometer that’ll work best. Find your hot/cool spots.

 

[RattleR]

Brand new to the RT-700 game so apologies if this is just a newbie question. Got everything assembled and set up with no issues and a did a break in smoke with an empty chamber for a couple hours at 400 degrees. Everything works great as far as I can tell.

First real smoke I tried were chicken tacos using the recipe/directions on the recteq app. It preheated quickly and I got some chicken thighs on there and left them for 20 minutes at 350 degrees per instructions. Internal temp was about 110 after that. I cranked the temp up to 450 and gave them another ten minutes and just barely got to 165.

Next smoke I just heated a frozen pizza, more as a cheap test than anything. This thing was in there for thirty minutes at 400 degrees (the box said 21-24 minutes at 400) and it still wasn’t done. I ended up finishing it off in the oven.

I’m sure I’m doing something wrong or have a setting that isn’t quite right, but the grill preheats fine, my thermometer confirms the temp, and it clearly “works”. Has anyone else experienced slower than expected cook times? I want to try a longer smoke at a lower temp but want a sanity check first.

Check temps with a graphing independent thermometer to ensure your set temp aligns with the independent reading. I can’t find it now but RT has a YouTube on this.

 

[DenStinett]

Welcome to the Forum Beavercrick
And congrats on your new Bull
When we first got our 700, I thought the set Temp was off too
Put an Oven Thermometer in a few different spot .... first, next to the Main Probe
It was off by a Degree or so .... same with the two Meat Probes
So I went into "Settings" and made the needed adjustments
Been good ever since

 

[SmokeOCD]

It's slow if you're comparing it to other non-pellet grills. First time I did steaks the wife was unpleasantly surprised at how much time it took for a short smoke and then a reverse sear. That was probably 4x longer than a gas grill. Tastes good though, and you learn to adjust for the additional time.

 

[Gonefishin]

On the pizza, how many times did you open the lid? Opening the lid dumps all the heat. I do mine at 500, takes about what the box calls for, as long as I leave it closed. If I have to peak I get down low and just crack it as little as possible.

 

[Chevys10zr2003]

I would verify the temps are accurate with a third party ambient prone. I didn't do that when I got my 1250 and was wondering why everything was taking so long. Baby back ribs took about 10 hours and still weren't completely done.

Turned out when my grill was set at 225 it was actually around 170. Adjusted the offset setting and been fine ever since.

 

[Beavercrick]

Thanks for the feedback everyone, much appreciated. This is indeed my very first rodeo with a pellet grill (I've got hundreds, probably thousands of hours on my vertical and my Weber Smokey Mtn.) but obviously that's a bit different. I did likely open the lid more than I should have on both cooks. Sounds like a temp check with an IR device/temp probe and/or calibration is a good first step - and I should also learn to just leave the new toy alone when it's working!

 

[jstarnes]

I would verify the temps are accurate with a third party ambient prone. I didn't do that when I got my 1250 and was wondering why everything was taking so long. Baby back ribs took about 10 hours and still weren't completely done.

Turned out when my grill was set at 225 it was actually around 170. Adjusted the offset setting and been fine ever since.

What did you use to determine the temps?

 

[Chevys10zr2003]

What did you use to determine the temps?

I used my Fireboard thermometer with pit probes to verify the temps in the corners of both grates.

 

[ken g]

It has been my experience the past four years with a 590 and 700 that the temp reporting by the OEM controller is far from accurate. I quit using the RT temperature probes and now use a Fireboard. Now I know exactly what both my pit and food temps are. The crummy service failures on holidays is a thing of the past too. You will get 100 different opinions on this subject, but facts are facts and RT temp reporting is a joke. If I ever buy another grill, it will be a Yoder. They marry Fireboard temp reporting into their grills. More expensive grill, but by the time you add a Fireboard to a RT and calculate all the aggravation, it's a wash in my opinion.

 

[Jim6820]

It has been my experience the past four years with a 590 and 700 that the temp reporting by the OEM controller is far from accurate. I quit using the RT temperature probes and now use a Fireboard. Now I know exactly what both my pit and food temps are. The crummy service failures on holidays is a thing of the past too. You will get 100 different opinions on this subject, but facts are facts and RT temp reporting is a joke. If I ever buy another grill, it will be a Yoder. They marry Fireboard temp reporting into their grills. More expensive grill, but by the time you add a Fireboard to a RT and calculate all the aggravation, it's a wash in my opinion.

Interestingly enough, I did a cook yesterday and my experience validates your experience regarding the accuracy of the RT OEM controller/probe. I’ve known this since shortly after I bought my RT-340 about 3 years ago. That’s why I invested in a ThermoWorks 4-probe Signals unit. It comes with one air probe and 3 meat probes.

Yesterday’s experience was typical; the Signals consistently measured grill temp at 25-40F higher than the nearby (2” away) RT controller probe. Occasionally, they would come pretty close together, then drift apart again. And, I have checked the Signals probes with both the ice-bath and boiling water (temp adjusted for altitude) methods and they are spot on; I trust their accuracy far more than I do the RT probes.

Finally, the TW unit connected right up to WIFI (on a Saturday) and remained connected all afternoon. In my experience, that would be a rarity with the RT controller and I have long-since quit even trying to connect it. There are some good things about RT’s pellet grills, but IME WIFI connectivity is NOT one of them.