# MY THOUGHTS ON A REC TEC 1250



## SmokinAl (Apr 30, 2022)

I decided to get lazy & sell my Lang, WSM, & SV24 and buy a pellet pooper. Honestly I thought it was a downgrade to go to a pellet grill from my Lang. But boy was I wrong. I did the initial burn in at 400 degrees for 1 hour. This is where my first surprise came. In the reviews I had read, it said the 1250 had a hard time getting to temp. It took under 10 minutes to reach 400. More than acceptable. While at 400 we put a couple of potato’s in the grill & let them go for about 1 hour. The grill will never look like this again. I have the probes on the grates to see if they read the same as the PID








When the potato’s were done we put a steak on the sear grates, and cranked the temp to 500. It only took a couple of minutes to jump to 500. When the steak was done I opened the lid to let some heat out & reset the PID to 200. Then I put on a store bought corned beef, right on the grate. I seasoned it with CBP and pickling spices. 











You can just see the TBS, and you sure can smell it.







Coming along nicely!











OK, so after 12 hours at 200, I woke up at 3:30 am, Reached over to my phone. Opened up the Rec Tec app & set the temp to 225, and went back to sleep. The meat was at 160 IT. After about 3 hours it was 186, and the Bull was rock solid at 225.











I checked it with my Thermapen at 190, and it was probing like buttah! So out it came for a short rest.







The smoker has been running now for about 23 hours & has developed a nice layer of smoke. But absolutely NO CREOSOTE!
It has been producing TBS consistently the whole time!















Here is that little corned beef. I tried everything I could to get this to dry out. No pan, no broth, very well trimmed flat, no spritzing, or basting. Just put it in the smoker & never even looked at it for 15 hours.







As you can see it is plenty juicy!!







It’s tender & juicy as can be!















Of course we have to have a Sammie. Simple just pastrami & mustard on homemade rye.











Time for a Sammie & a drink!!







First off let me say that I paid full price for this smoker, no one from Rec Tec asked me to write this review, and this is just my own personal opinion of the Rec Tec 1250. It rocks!!
I think my biggest surprise was how much smoke & the quality of the smoke that it puts out. It puts out TBS at all temps, but at 225 it was a thing of beauty. I can’t imagine needing an auxiliary smoke tube, unless I’m cold smoking. This thing is built like a tank. Almost all stainless, with all stainless hardware. All the seems are sealed with high temp sealer. The welds are impeccable. The probes are platinum tipped and dead on accurate, as is the PID. OH, and the size, I thought I was downsizing, but there is more room in the Rec Tec than my Lang. I’m sure I could fit a 30-40 lb whole hog in there. I bought 200# of Rec Tec pellets with it & will be doing a lot of smoking & grilling the next few weeks. I think I used about 20# for a 23 hour cook, so I have plenty left for testing this bad boy out!! I’m going to try & find something that I don’t like about this smoker, but at this point that may be a bit hard to do. Thanks for looking guys!
Al


----------



## tx smoker (Apr 30, 2022)

Awesome write-up Al and welcome to the world of true "set it and forget it". Yours looks exactly like my RT 700 just larger. One thing I noted was the built-in addition of the upper rack. Mine does not have this but I have the removable second shelf. After seeing yours, I might just have to fabricate one for permanent installation into mine. Glad you're happy with it. I'd hate to see you have to downgrade after all the great contributions you've made to this forum. Keep on keeping on and show us what you got sir    Looking forward to lots of great cooks on that baby.

Robert


----------



## chopsaw (Apr 30, 2022)

SmokinAl said:


> I’m going to try & find something that I don’t like about this smoker, but at this point that may be a bit hard to do.


Al , I knew you were gonna love it . I had the same thought on getting The SmokeFire , that in someway it wouldn't compare to other methods of grilling / smoking . 
The pellet platform is fantastic , and the ease of the phone app is really nice . 
When I first read you were selling to make room for a pellet , I thought " He's gonna take all the knowledge of his other smokers and apply it to the Pellet "  Going to be some great eats . They're fun to use too . 
Congrats !


----------



## jcam222 (Apr 30, 2022)

Al I’m glad the new purchase is working out so well!! I know Robert and quite a few others that love their Rec Teqs. If I was buying a pellet cooker this exact model would be at the top of my list of two. Yoder would be in the running too.


----------



## sandyut (Apr 30, 2022)

I am happy to read your review.  I have the RT700 which is almost the same and years older.  I have many of the same feelings about the performance.  This was also my first pellet grill and its easy and makes great food.  

Keep getting you1250 more used looking.  Still pretty shiny.  That wont last long I am sure.

Congrats!


----------



## schlotz (Apr 30, 2022)

You're going to have a lot of good eats in the next weeks, months and years. Glad to see you're happy with the larger Bull. Did the sear grates come it or something you had left over?


----------



## BrianGSDTexoma (Apr 30, 2022)

Glad you happy with it Al.  I have come around to not using the tube now.  I do use the low smoke for first hour or two depending on what I smoking.


----------



## civilsmoker (Apr 30, 2022)

Very nice Al and Congrats!  I LOVE my 1250!  I use the crap out of it!   And yes the smoke profile is very nice.  The profile is way better than my old Memphis Pellet.  Nice samich too!

I am going to make up a slot to be able to move the top shelf down to be 3 inches above the bottom shelf for juice/sauce pans for doing a turkey or PR.  But sourcing stainless is not easy right now!

Happy many years of smoking.....Oh and I believe that initial 200lbs is going to go really quick!


----------



## Steve H (Apr 30, 2022)

Great grill. And a great review! Congrats Al!


----------



## chopsaw (Apr 30, 2022)

civilsmoker said:


> I am going to make up a slot to be able to move the top shelf down to be 3 inches above the bottom shelf for juice/sauce pans for doing a turkey or PR. But sourcing stainless is not easy right now!


Oven broiling pans are lower profile than foil pans . Fits under the main grate in my pellet . I just use foil in it for clean up .


----------



## JLeonard (Apr 30, 2022)

Great write up. Look forward to more great cooks as you snooze in the recliner while it does all the work.    
Jim


----------



## Winterrider (Apr 30, 2022)

Congratulations Al, and great review. I'm sure you will get many, many yrs of use.
I did put a seal around my 590 lid because I didn't like the smoked edges. Does cleanup decently with Bar keepers Friend.


----------



## lvrgsp (Apr 30, 2022)

How low does the Rec Tec go down.
Can it hold a 160 or so for smoking Jerky? Has anyone tried jerky on it yet?
Thanks


----------



## civilsmoker (Apr 30, 2022)

They go down to 180.  The new 12 volt green mountain go to 150, I have run my GM 24 hours at 150 doing peppers


----------



## Buckeye1 (Apr 30, 2022)

Winterrider said:


> Congratulations Al, and great review. I'm sure you will get many, many yrs of use.
> I did put a seal around my 590 lid because I didn't like the smoked edges. Does cleanup decently with Bar keepers Friend.
> 
> 
> ...


X2 on the gasket seal on the lid! Welcome to the RT club.


----------



## Buckeye1 (Apr 30, 2022)

lvrgsp said:


> How low does the Rec Tec go down.
> Can it hold a 160 or so for smoking Jerky? Has anyone tried jerky on it yet?
> Thanks


180 is low. I have done a ton of jerky on my RT. I like the results.


----------



## mcokevin (Apr 30, 2022)

Looking good Al - shocked you off-loaded the Lang but hope you enjoy the "set it and forget it" style of smoking.


----------



## Inscrutable (May 1, 2022)

Congrats Al … glad you are happy and looking forward. Sometimes we get post-partum depression selling off our old friends.
I am thinking something similar. Have sold the BGE, and thinking about jettisoning the rest for an all-in-one.
I know you’ve made a lot of pizzas, and I am about to dip toes in that water. Now with RT1250 reported to get to 700*, I’m hoping you give that a try with pizza and see how it would work. Perhaps 

 civilsmoker
 has tried with yours?


----------



## SmokinAl (May 1, 2022)

tx smoker said:


> Awesome write-up Al and welcome to the world of true "set it and forget it". Yours looks exactly like my RT 700 just larger. One thing I noted was the built-in addition of the upper rack. Mine does not have this but I have the removable second shelf. After seeing yours, I might just have to fabricate one for permanent installation into mine. Glad you're happy with it. I'd hate to see you have to downgrade after all the great contributions you've made to this forum. Keep on keeping on and show us what you got sir    Looking forward to lots of great cooks on that baby.
> 
> Robert





chopsaw said:


> Al , I knew you were gonna love it . I had the same thought on getting The SmokeFire , that in someway it wouldn't compare to other methods of grilling / smoking .
> The pellet platform is fantastic , and the ease of the phone app is really nice .
> When I first read you were selling to make room for a pellet , I thought " He's gonna take all the knowledge of his other smokers and apply it to the Pellet "  Going to be some great eats . They're fun to use too .
> Congrats !





jcam222 said:


> Al I’m glad the new purchase is working out so well!! I know Robert and quite a few others that love their Rec Teqs. If I was buying a pellet cooker this exact model would be at the top of my list of two. Yoder would be in the running too.





sandyut said:


> I am happy to read your review.  I have the RT700 which is almost the same and years older.  I have many of the same feelings about the performance.  This was also my first pellet grill and its easy and makes great food.
> 
> Keep getting you1250 more used looking.  Still pretty shiny.  That wont last long I am sure.
> 
> Congrats!





schlotz said:


> You're going to have a lot of good eats in the next weeks, months and years. Glad to see you're happy with the larger Bull. Did the sear grates come it or something you had left over?





BrianGSDTexoma said:


> Glad you happy with it Al.  I have come around to not using the tube now.  I do use the low smoke for first hour or two depending on what I smoking.





civilsmoker said:


> Very nice Al and Congrats!  I LOVE my 1250!  I use the crap out of it!   And yes the smoke profile is very nice.  The profile is way better than my old Memphis Pellet.  Nice samich too!
> 
> I am going to make up a slot to be able to move the top shelf down to be 3 inches above the bottom shelf for juice/sauce pans for doing a turkey or PR.  But sourcing stainless is not easy right now!
> 
> Happy many years of smoking.....Oh and I believe that initial 200lbs is going to go really quick!





Steve H said:


> Great grill. And a great review! Congrats Al!





chopsaw said:


> Oven broiling pans are lower profile than foil pans . Fits under the main grate in my pellet . I just use foil in it for clean up .



I don’t mind the clean up. If I clean the grease drain each time, it seems to be easy.
At least it takes less time to clean the RT than it did to clean the Lang.
Al


JLeonard said:


> Great write up. Look forward to more great cooks as you snooze in the recliner while it does all the work.
> Jim





Winterrider said:


> Congratulations Al, and great review. I'm sure you will get many, many yrs of use.
> I did put a seal around my 590 lid because I didn't like the smoked edges. Does cleanup decently with Bar keepers Friend.
> 
> 
> ...



I really don’t mind the smoke color around the lid, it kind of gives it some character. But if it bothers me then I will take your advice, Thanks!
Al


lvrgsp said:


> How low does the Rec Tec go down.
> Can it hold a 160 or so for smoking Jerky? Has anyone tried jerky on it yet?
> Thanks





Buckeye1 said:


> X2 on the gasket seal on the lid! Welcome to the RT club.





mcokevin said:


> Looking good Al - shocked you off-loaded the Lang but hope you enjoy the "set it and forget it" style of smoking.





Inscrutable said:


> Congrats Al … glad you are happy and looking forward. Sometimes we get post-partum depression selling off our old friends.
> I am thinking something similar. Have sold the BGE, and thinking about jettisoning the rest for an all-in-one.
> I know you’ve made a lot of pizzas, and I am about to dip toes in that water. Now with RT1250 reported to get to 700*, I’m hoping you give that a try with pizza and see how it would work. Perhaps
> 
> ...



Thanks a lot guys!
Problem is Judy wants to start using it. She saw how easy it is to use & I think she wants to do a pizza on it. If it turns out good, I guess I will be selling my Kettle Pizza setup Too!
Al


----------



## Inscrutable (May 1, 2022)

SmokinAl said:


> Thanks a lot guys!
> Problem is Judy wants to start using it. She saw how easy it is to use & I think she wants to do a pizza on it. If it turns out good, I guess I will be selling my Kettle Pizza setup Too!
> Al


If it does pizza well, then also probably a decent replacement for vortex wings and the only thing I’d be missing is the rotisserie part of the OnlyFire combo I have on the Weber.


----------



## SmokinAl (May 1, 2022)

Inscrutable said:


> If it does pizza well, then also probably a decent replacement for vortex wings and the only thing I’d be missing is the rotisserie part of the OnlyFire combo I have on the Weber.



That is a good point. I have a Santa Maria setup on my performer, and that is one thing that I’m going to keep. It has a roti on it too! But the kettle pizza may go next!
Al


----------



## bdawg (May 1, 2022)

I bought the RT700 about 6 months ago. I absolutely love it! I think you are going to grow to love your 1250 too! It will serve you well
And that was a great looking pastrami!  I love picking up the corned beef that goes on sale right after St Paddy's day and turning it into pastrami


----------



## civilsmoker (May 1, 2022)

SmokinAl said:


> I don’t mind the clean up. If I clean the grease drain each time, it seems to be easy.
> At least it takes less time to clean the RT than it did to clean the Lang.
> Al
> 
> ...


The 1250 does pizza very nicely! Directly on the grate or on a stone....it gets screaming HOT if you want it!






















Al just clean it well have new foil over the drip pan and let it pre-heat to burn off any old oil....after that it will burn clean!


----------



## SmokinAl (May 1, 2022)

bdawg said:


> I bought the RT700 about 6 months ago. I absolutely love it! I think you are going to grow to love your 1250 too! It will serve you well
> And that was a great looking pastrami!  I love picking up the corned beef that goes on sale right after St Paddy's day and turning it into pastrami



Thank you, we do the same, buying everything on sale.
Al


civilsmoker said:


> The 1250 does pizza very nicely! Directly on the grate or on a stone....it gets screaming HOT if you want it!
> View attachment 630672
> View attachment 630673
> View attachment 630674
> ...



I like the drip pan un-foiled, it makes it seem like I’m cooking on a RF, and that is the RF plate. Weird huh!
Al


----------



## civilsmoker (May 1, 2022)

SmokinAl said:


> I like the drip pan un-foiled, it makes it seem like I’m cooking on a RF, and that is the RF plate. Weird huh!
> Al


Not really, I was for many many years, now I do it just for simple cleaning up and makes it nicer for switching from low temp to high temp cooks. I do like the pan all seasoned up though, I think it does flow grease better.  With the price of foil these days I may be ditching it soon too......


----------



## SmokinAl (May 1, 2022)

civilsmoker said:


> Not really, I was for many many years, now I do it just for simple cleaning up and makes it nicer for switching from low temp to high temp cooks. I do like the pan all seasoned up though, I think it does flow grease better.  With the price of foil these days I may be ditching it soon too......



Exactly what I was thinking, the grease will flow much easier, and the pan will be seasoned like my RF plate, but still clean!
Win win!
Al


----------



## fftwarren (Jul 13, 2022)

I haven’t ever tried the recteq pellets so I will say that up front. But if you aren’t 100% satisfied with the level of smokeyness being produced, find you some lumberjack pellets. Those things were a complete game changer on the food quality. My recteq with those pellets produce better BBQ/smokes than I ever had with an offset smoker. Been smoking for decades and the last 9 months have been the best and most consistent Q that I have ever produced


----------



## BurntWeenie (Jul 13, 2022)

Very nice. I like my RT 590. So far it has worked well and easy to clean up etc


----------



## SmokinAl (Jul 13, 2022)

fftwarren said:


> I haven’t ever tried the recteq pellets so I will say that up front. But if you aren’t 100% satisfied with the level of smokeyness being produced, find you some lumberjack pellets. Those things were a complete game changer on the food quality. My recteq with those pellets produce better BBQ/smokes than I ever had with an offset smoker. Been smoking for decades and the last 9 months have been the best and most consistent Q that I have ever produced





jliddil said:


> Very nice. I like my RT 590. So far it has worked well and easy to clean up etc


Thanks guys, I will grab a bag of lumberjack to try!
Al


----------

