Bull What A Newbie Needs to Know...

[Ostrichsak]

If it's that important to you contact RT, I'm sure they would love to hear from you.

Whether I've contacted RT or not about this issue is irrelevant to this conversation. He asked for what I wished someone had told me before I bought my grill. I was honest with my first-hand experience. Is my opinion invalid because it doesn't align with yours?

 

[C. Keeper]

He asked for what I wished someone had told me before I bought my grill. I was honest with my first-hand experience. Is my opinion invalid because it doesn't align with yours?

Defensive aren't we

 

[Ostrichsak]

Defensive aren't we

You're the one who came at me first. Hilarious.

 

[orangebiker]

I ordered a Bull yesterday. This will be my first pellet grill, and first time using any grill in about 15 years. I purchased a cover, grill accessories,, shelf, etc. What are some things you wish someone had told you about when you got your bull, or first pellet grill? I appreciate the advice.

Back to the OP's question rather than off topic bickering, I wish someone would have told me how much time I would spend obsessing over the next thing I'm going to cook.

 

[Dkouri]

I ordered a Bull yesterday. This will be my first pellet grill, and first time using any grill in about 15 years. I purchased a cover, grill accessories,, shelf, etc. What are some things you wish someone had told you about when you got your bull, or first pellet grill? I appreciate the advice.

Had some issues at first with my Bull and the great RecTeq staff helped me through the problems. My recommendation is to make sure your pellets don’t get dried out over long in between uses. The pellets burn differently and impacts the burn temp.

 

[kennethk]

Never a good a good idea to keep a product you are not happy with.
Might consider selling and getting what you think will work better.
You should smile when you light your smoker. You should not cringe.

 

[Smoker4]

Here are some ideas/suggestions:

• Get used to cooking based on internal temp and not on time. It's a mindset changed, but will really improve your results
• While a pellet grill is pretty good at low maintenance cooking, as you can tell in many posts above, you need to pay attention to the cook.
• Don't limit yourself to just smoking meats. Many excellent ideas on this site and others.
• You can follow recipes to the T or just use them as a guide once you get comfortable. Both will get you amazing results.

Have fun. Not everything will be perfect, but I haven't had to throw anything away yet.

 

[Jcorbin121]

I ordered a Bull yesterday. This will be my first pellet grill, and first time using any grill in about 15 years. I purchased a cover, grill accessories,, shelf, etc. What are some things you wish someone had told you about when you got your bull, or first pellet grill? I appreciate the advice.

Well I have a Bull for a year and half now. Not my first pellet grill but I now appreciate the Rectec build quality. Its heavy duty, Unlike anyone below, I have not had any issues with Wifi or temp probes, Mine HAVE need a little adjustment on the probes which you can do via the front LCD controls. Spend the $$ and get a therma-Pen, that is what you should use as ground truth for temp of meats. The attached probes will get you close, mine vary ~3-5 degrees from the therma-pen. Storing pellets is another challenge, I use HomeDepot homer buckets with lids. I also have a buckethead vac to suck the pellets out when I want a different flavor/type - it goes right back into a HD bucket. This forum is a good source of info and not usually as cranky as the below posts appear RecTec support will also keep you on the right track, i have called them a few times and each time was complete confidence and happy resolution. The worst problem i've had is a bent caster, which they replaced at no charge of course. Welcome to the family, you will not be disappointed, its a great cooker!

 

[WinoGrillinPrincess]

I ordered a Bull yesterday. This will be my first pellet grill, and first time using any grill in about 15 years. I purchased a cover, grill accessories,, shelf, etc. What are some things you wish someone had told you about when you got your bull, or first pellet grill? I appreciate the advice.

Im sort of a neat freak with my bull. I wish some one would have told me more about which cleaning products to use before hand.. and whether or not to foil the drip pan ( pan right under grates... which btw i do). I agree with doing some research and reading through this forum while u r waiting to get it is a great idea! I luv this forum. Lots of good info... even if we all dont agree sometimes.

 

[sherman]

Welcome to the RecTeq family! I love my Bull and have had zero issues with it. Some thoughts for our OP newbie:

• Take your time with the assembly, there's no rush. Have plenty of beer on hand.
• Order a variety of different pellets to get a feel for what you like. I personally use Lumber Jack, and favor the Supreme and Competition blends.
• I always cover my drip pan with fresh foil after every cook and run the grates through the dishwasher after every 3 cooks.
• Use LA's Totally Awesome All Purpose Cleaner to keep the grill clean, a great product recommended by another poster.
• @jfrosty27 was spot on with his advice... use the probes to get to the right neighborhood, then use a handheld meat thermometer to verify temp (Thermopen MK4). For briskets, I use a backup Thermoworks Smoke.
• Grill space gets used up fast, so buy some vertical rib racks and take a look at the large shelf accessory.

 

[CurtisK]

Well I have a Bull for a year and half now. Not my first pellet grill but I now appreciate the Rectec build quality. Its heavy duty, Unlike anyone below, I have not had any issues with Wifi or temp probes, Mine HAVE need a little adjustment on the probes which you can do via the front LCD controls. Spend the $$ and get a therma-Pen, that is what you should use as ground truth for temp of meats. The attached probes will get you close, mine vary ~3-5 degrees from the therma-pen. Storing pellets is another challenge, I use HomeDepot homer buckets with lids. I also have a buckethead vac to suck the pellets out when I want a different flavor/type - it goes right back into a HD bucket. This forum is a good source of info and not usually as cranky as the below posts appear RecTec support will also keep you on the right track, i have called them a few times and each time was complete confidence and happy resolution. The worst problem i've had is a bent caster, which they replaced at no charge of course. Welcome to the family, you will not be disappointed, its a great cooker!

Thank you. Great Info. I am looking into the ThermaPen now. I am blessed to have a near endless supply of gasketed lid buckets. I already planned to keep wood chips in them but now I will plan to keep the pellets in them too. Thanks Much!

 

[CurtisK]

Welcome to the RecTeq family! I love my Bull and have had zero issues with it. Some thoughts for our OP newbie:

• Take your time with the assembly, there's no rush. Have plenty of beer on hand.
• Order a variety of different pellets to get a feel for what you like. I personally use Lumber Jack, and favor the Supreme and Competition blends.
• I always cover my drip pan with fresh foil after every cook and run the grates through the dishwasher after every 3 cooks.
• Use LA's Totally Awesome All Purpose Cleaner to keep the grill clean, a great product recommended by another poster.
• @jfrosty27 was spot on with his advice... use the probes to get to the right neighborhood, then use a handheld meat thermometer to verify temp (Thermopen MK4). For briskets, I use a backup Thermoworks Smoke.
• Grill space gets used up fast, so buy some vertical rib racks and take a look at the large shelf accessory.

Thank you! Looking into the Thermoworks Smoke too. I will definitely be wrapping the drip pan and dish-washing the grates sounds like a great idea.

 

[RedWng]

I have had my 680 for almost 7 years, I wish someone would have told me: Clean burn pot often (better) or after each use (best), it runs much more consistent....put a tray the under the food to catch drippings, makes cleanup very easy, I also put a Traeger pan liner on the drip tray....have another calibrated temp probe (I use a Thermapen) to ensure your temps are correct. Good luck on really neat (addictive) adventure!

 

[DesertRat]

I ordered a Bull yesterday. This will be my first pellet grill, and first time using any grill in about 15 years. I purchased a cover, grill accessories,, shelf, etc. What are some things you wish someone had told you about when you got your bull, or first pellet grill? I appreciate the advice.

You are going to have questions and you're going to get a lot of advice. Lots of it is useful, almost all of it is well-intentioned. But in the end you will have good cooks and not-so-good cooks and you will discover that the best advice is your own. Your own thoughts and experiences will be the backbone of every cooked. So have a good time and don't worry.

 

[C. Keeper]

You are going to have questions and you're going to get a lot of advice. Lots of it is useful, almost all of it is well-intentioned. But in the end you will have good cooks and not-so-good cooks and you will discover that the best advice is your own. Your own thoughts and experiences will be the backbone of every cooked. So have a good time and don't worry.

Well said!

 

[Grilltreats]

Okay, I have thought about the key notes for you after having had my RT-700 for three years now. Set your minimum feed rate from factory default of 6 to 3.5. Doing this will prevent the grill from runaway temps when you open the lid in the summer heat. I just leave mine at 3.5 all the time.

Don't use foil on the drip tray. It is far easier and cheaper to just scrape the drip tray off in a spot in the backyard. If you choose to use foil, you'll find that no matter the quality of the foil or what you do it will wrinkle up and block grease flow to the drip chute. Plus, you won't be able to prevent grease from getting underneath the foil anyways. It's the eighth wonder of the world.

Before a hot cook, make sure your drip tray or foil doesn't have sufficient grease buildup. It will smoke terrible smoke for your meats and can/will ignite. I have never had a flame up in three years, but I pay attention to the grease buildup when cooking at 350° and up. On slow smokes it is not as critical. Just use your head on this.

Clean the fire pot out after a very hot cook or after three or four normal cooks. You don't have to vacuum out the chamber very often if you don't want to. It acts as a great insulator in the winter months, and it will soak up any grease drippings for you.

Look for a Vision grill seal on AMZ for the main lid. It's thick and works very well for a long time to help keep the grill cleaner on the outside, and holds in the smoke slightly longer for the meats. There's plenty of exhaust still from the drip chute and smoke stack., plus you can raise the smoke stack cap if you feel the need to. The seal makes the cook temps more evenly across the grates. It will even up the issue of the right (exhaust) side getting hotter than the left side.

Use a glass of ice water to calibrate your probes using a Thermo pen as a reference.

After the 300 second shutdown period from a high heat cook, make sure you make sure it actually goes out. You'll know it isn't out if you keep seeing smoke coming out 20 to 30 minutes afterwards. What I do, which is very custom, is I unplug the power cord exactly at the 300 second mark during the shutdown cycle so that the auger doesn't load more pellets into the fire pot starting at the 301 second mark. I have never had anymore shutdown issues since doing this for the last 2.5 years. You'll see this more on the windy days, and after high heat cooks. It's not a huge issue and is rare, but it can and does happen. If you forget and there is an issue, you can turn the grill back on and off again to start the shutdown cycle over again, which should fix this.

I make a foil awning for my display in the summer months, which is super easy to flip up for seeing the display real quick while standing there. My 700 sits out on the deck and is exposed to all elements. I don't want my display to fry or deteriorate. I do the same when cooking in the rain.

Keep your cooks within the drip tray, which is really all the cooking area you have, regardless of marketing statements. Anything over the edge of the tray will burn or cook much faster than anything within the drip tray.

The RT-700 is a baconator of a grill. Nothing cooks bacon better. I use two RT cooking mats for a full pack of thick-cut bacon. 275° for however you like your bacon. Typically 12 to 17 minutes, or more if like super crispy.

Happy grilling!

 

[DenStinett]

(If you have one) you'll forget you have a Gas / Charcoal Grill
Watch a lot of "Pit Master" Videos .... there's a couple Threads here on who the good ones are
Keep a "Diary" of your Cooks
Temps and times are subjective .... there IS NO true Science when it comes to BBQ
Don't trust the Temp Probes, get a good Hand Held Digital
We use the Cooking Mats and the Sear Kit quite a bit
If you feel you need for more "Smoke Flavor" in your Cooks, look into a Smoke Tube, there are several brands out there and they do work
Get a good Trm Knife and (12") Carving Knife .... you'll need both
Unless you have a big family, you should have a VacuSeal System, because you'll have a lot of "Leftovers"
We'll smoke 4 - 6+ Whole Chickens
Or a dozen Pork Chops
6 Racks of Ribs .... (you get the picture) at a time .... and there's only the two of us !
Get in a good stock of 18" Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil and 24" 'Pink' Butcher Paper .... "Foil for Pork, Paper for Beef" seems to be the Rule of Thumb

And YES, the WiFi sucks at best, quite unreliable but we've learned to deal with that
I someone (i.e. RecTeq) comes-up with a "REAL" fix for it, by all means, share

 

[CurtisK]

Okay, I have thought about this more. Set your minimum feed rate from factory default of 6 to 3.5. Doing this will prevent the grill from runaway temps when you open the lid in the summer heat.

Don't use foil on the drip tray. It is far easier and cheaper to just scrape the drip tray off in a spot in the backyard. If you choose to use foil, you'll find that no matter the quality of the foil or what you do it will wrinkle up and block grease flow to the drip chute. Plus, you won't be able to prevent grease from getting underneath the foil anyways. It's the eighth wonder of the world.

Before a hot cook, make sure your drip tray or foil doesn't have sufficient grease buildup. It will smoke terrible smoke for your meats and can/will ignite. I have never had a flame up in three years, but I pay attention to the grease buildup when cooking at 350° and up. On slow smokes it is not as critical. Just use your head on this.

Clean the fire pot out after a very hot cook or after three or four normal cooks. You don't have to vacuum out the chamber very often if you don't want to. It acts as a great insulator in the winter months, and it will soak up any grease drippings for you.

Look for a Vision grill seal on AMZ for the main lid. It's thick and works very well for a long time to help keep the grill cleaner on the outside, and holds in the smoke slightly longer for the meats. There's plenty of exhaust still from the drip chute and smoke stack., plus you can raise the smoke stack cap if you feel the need to. The seal makes the cook temps more evenly across the grates. It will even up the issue of the right (exhaust) side getting hotter than the left side.

Use a glass of ice water to calibrate your probes using a Thermo pen as a reference.

After the 300 second shutdown period from a high heat cook, make sure you make sure it actually goes out. You'll know it isn't out if you keep seeing smoke coming out 20 to 30 minutes afterwards. What I do, which is very custom, is I unplug the power cord exactly at the 300 second mark during the shutdown cycle so that the auger doesn't load more pellets into the fire pot starting at the 301 second mark. I have never had anymore shutdown issues since doing this for the last 2.5 years. You'll see this more on the windy days, and after high heat cooks. It's not a huge issue and is rare, but it can and does happen. If you forget and there is an issue, you can turn the grill back on and off again to start the shutdown cycle over again, which should fix this.

I make a foil awning for my display in the summer months, which is super easy to flip up for seeing the display real quick while standing there. My 700 sits out on the deck and is exposed to all elements. I don't want my display to fry or deteriorate. I do the same when cooking in the rain.

Keep your cooks within the drip tray, which is really all the cooking area you have, regardless of marketing statements. Anything over the edge of the tray will burn or cook much faster than anything within the drip tray.

The RT-700 is a baconator of a grill. Nothing cooks bacon better. I use two RT cooking matts for a full pack of thick-cut bacon. 275° for however you like your bacon. Typically 12 to 17 minutes, or more if like super crispy.

Happy grilling!

Great Information. Thank you so much! I really appreciate the part about the bacon. I eat a ton of bacon.

 

[CurtisK]

(If you have one) you'll forget you have a Gas / Charcoal Grill
Watch a lot of "Pit Master" Videos .... there's a couple Threads here on who the good ones are
Keep a "Diary" of your Cooks
Temps and times are subjective .... there IS NO true Science when it comes to BBQ
Don't trust the Temp Probes, get a good Hand Held Digital
We use the Cooking Mats and the Sear Kit quite a bit
If you feel you need for more "Smoke Flavor" in your Cooks, look into a Smoke Tube, there are several brands out there and they do work
Get a good Trm Knife and (12") Carving Knife .... you'll need both
Unless you have a big family, you should have a VacuSeal System, because you'll have a lot of "Leftovers"
We'll smoke 4 - 6+ Whole Chickens
Or a dozen Pork Chops
6 Racks of Ribs .... (you get the picture) at a time .... and there's only the two of us !
Get in a good stock of 18" Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil and 24" 'Pink' Butcher Paper .... "Foil for Pork, Paper for Beef" seems to be the Rule of Thumb

And YES, the WiFi sucks at best, quite unreliable but we've learned to deal with that
I someone (i.e. RecTeq) comes-up with a "REAL" fix for it, by all means, share

Thank you! I need to look into the trim knife.

 

[Simarti28]

I’m on my second recteq now and I’ve learned a lot from the first one.
1) Don’t but the recteq ultimate blend pellets from Amazon. Recteq no longer makes these pellets so the ones from Amazon are very old and caused temp swings and flame outs.
2) If you want to keep the stainless drum clean around the edges of the lid, seal the lid with lava lock high-temp grill gasket.
3) Keep a close eye on fatty meats being cooked at high temp to prevent fire. My first grill caught fire and I didn’t catch it until it had bubbles the paint in the lid.
4) Always clean the drip pan or change foil after cooking fatty meats like bacon.
5) Don’t use cheap pellets.
6) Don’t buy the RT-340 because you’ll wish you bought the Bull!