New member from Minnesota looking for advice

[Chevys10zr2003]

Hi everybody! I'm a new member from Minnesota. Have experience with gas and charcoal grills and limited experience with my vertical propane smoker. I'm looking at getting a pellet grill within the next few months and am pretty sure that the RT-700 is the one for me after lots of research.

Some quick questions if anybody would give their opinions.
What accessories from Rec Tec would you recommend and which ones have you tried that you would pass on?

Any 3rd party accessories that you would highly recommend?

I already am thinking I will be getting the large interior rack as well as the competition cart since I will be moving it around quite a bit. I also already have probes and a smoke tube for when I want more smoke flavor,, so that is covered. What else do you recommend?

 

[cookingjnj]

Welcome Chevy. Great site with great folks. I would definitely get the second shelf. I use that shelf pretty often. I also like the frog mats, although a good cookie cooling rack works really well for things like wings and other smaller items. You will want to get food grade disposable gloves (when they come available again, I also got a good pair of high temp gloves which allows me to pick up trays and foiled meats from the pit. Good set of tongs is always a necessity. If you are like me, and probably most of us on this site, you will quickly start to accumulate many many bottles of rubs and seasonings, so a good place to keep those (a large---for me---container). Probably want to pick up a good injector. Just some quick thoughts, I know others will have more.

 

[Chevys10zr2003]

Welcome Chevy. Great site with great folks. I would definitely get the second shelf. I use that shelf pretty often. I also like the frog mats, although a good cookie cooling rack works really well for things like wings and other smaller items. You will want to get food grade disposable gloves (when they come available again, I also got a good pair of high temp gloves which allows me to pick up trays and foiled meats from the pit. Good set of tongs is always a necessity. If you are like me, and probably most of us on this site, you will quickly start to accumulate many many bottles of rubs and seasonings, so a good place to keep those (a large---for me---container). Probably want to pick up a good injector. Just some quick thoughts, I know others will have more.

Thanks for the reply. I was wondering about the front shelf. I thought it would be pretty nice to have but wasn't sure if would be that helpful. Good advice on the gloves and the tongs.
What exactly are frog mats? Do you have a link to an example? Or is that the mesh cooking mat? I was thinking that the large interior rack would have been good for wings and stuff like that.

 

[Bytor]

Gloves, both high heat and disposable ones, tongs, heavy duty foil ( I stick with Reynolds), at least a Thermapen or similar. Would also recommend some Bradley racks for easy on/off food removal, plus they also work great for baking.

 

[Chevys10zr2003]

Gloves, both high heat and disposable ones, tongs, heavy duty foil ( I stick with Reynolds), at least a Thermapen or similar. Would also recommend some Bradley racks for easy on/off food removal, plus they also work great for baking.

Quick follow up question. What is the advantage of the thermapen over the probes that I already have?

 

[Bytor]

The Thermapen is a quick read for temperatures. The standard probes, once calibrated verified, are great for cooking, but you also want quick readings of temps throughout what you are cooking. This can be used for all of your cooking. If I were to only have one thermometer, it would be a thermapen. I use this all of the time.

 

[Rdover]

For me I use and love the front shelf. I also bought the additional cooking rack for larger cooks. The RT
700 is a great piece of equipment.

 

[cookingjnj]

Yes, front shelf is key. Yes frog mats are the mesh mats. Agree with Bytor, the thermopen type probe is a must as a supplement to your static probes.

 

[ccmjr77]

Front shelf has been great. I have the internal shelf but have yet to use it, but i do not cook large cooks often. The grill grate work, but have only used them once. I have my RT700 sitting across from a Weber gas grill that I still use for searing and burgers, etc.
Gloves are a must. I just ordered a vacuum sealer. Welcome and enjoy your grill.

 

[ifican]

Thermapen is a top notch instant read thermometer. I have a couple and have given a few as gifts. Im am also locked into the thermoworks ecosystems as i love all there products. When you say probes, what probes specifically? I also give thumbs up to the front shelf. As for most of the rest, i wouldnt stress to much about it. Just get the unit and then figure out what works best. If your surface is flat, the standard wheels work just fine for moving around.

 

[Chevys10zr2003]

Thermapen is a top notch instant read thermometer. I have a couple and have given a few as gifts. Im am also locked into the thermoworks ecosystems as i love all there products. When you say probes, what probes specifically? I also give thumbs up to the front shelf. As for most of the rest, i wouldnt stress to much about it. Just get the unit and then figure out what works best. If your surface is flat, the standard wheels work just fine for moving around.

Thanks for the help! I will be adding a Thermapen to my supplies soon.

These are the probes that I got. I figured I didn't want to go cheap on something that does an important job and should last a long time.

The reason I want to get the competition cart is because until I move I will be rolling the grill around in the grass so I want something that can handle the abuse of the bumps and make it roll smoother. I have read that the competition cart is better for that.

 

[Mike]

The reason I want to get the competition cart is because until I move I will be rolling the grill around in the grass so I want something that can handle the abuse of the bumps and make it roll smoother. I have read that the competition cart is better for that.

Hey @Chevys10zr2003 welcome to RecTecForum!

Without a doubt you'll want a comp cart for sure. If for nothing else the wider stance and the much beefier built. That said I'm not 100% sure how much I'd really want to wheel a Rec Tec RT-700 around in the yard. It's a beast.

Without a doubt my first Rec Tec accessory I'd recommend is the front shelf. After that I would suggest checking out the recommendations in the following thread; Recommended Pellet Grill Accessories.

 

[Chevys10zr2003]

Hey @Chevys10zr2003 welcome to RecTecForum!

Without a doubt you'll want a comp cart for sure. If for nothing else the wider stance and the much beefier built. That said I'm not 100% sure how much I'd really want to wheel a Rec Tec RT-700 around in the yard. It's a beast.

Without a doubt my first Rec Tec accessory I'd recommend is the front shelf. After that I would suggest checking out the recommendations in the following thread; Recommended Pellet Grill Accessories.

Thank you very much. I apologize, I didn't realize that there was a page dedicated to the accessories already. Sounds like the front shelf is the main thing everybody is saying is a must get after a Thermapen.

 

[Brian Vallotton]

Hi everybody! I'm a new member from Minnesota. Have experience with gas and charcoal grills and limited experience with my vertical propane smoker. I'm looking at getting a pellet grill within the next few months and am pretty sure that the RT-700 is the one for me after lots of research.

Some quick questions if anybody would give their opinions.
What accessories from Rec Tec would you recommend and which ones have you tried that you would pass on?

Any 3rd party accessories that you would highly recommend?

I already am thinking I will be getting the large interior rack as well as the competition cart since I will be moving it around quite a bit. I also already have probes and a smoke tube for when I want more smoke flavor,, so that is covered. What else do you recommend?

Hi there and welcome! I bought the folding front shelf and searing grates with my Bull. I have been very happy with both. I never fold the front shelf down and use it almost everytime. I have used the searing grates about 5 times so far and they do really work. I use the reverse searing method and heat the Bull to about 500. Which means that the sear grates are around 650 which makes for a nicely seared steak! Enjoy!

 

[ifican]

Fireboard is a great choice. If i was not so invested in thermoworks I believe it would have been my first choice as well. Though i have been with thermoworks long before fireboard was ever conceived of .

 

[Mike]

@Chevys10zr2003 have you ordered your Rec Tec yet?

 

[Chevys10zr2003]

@Chevys10zr2003 have you ordered your Rec Tec yet?

No, I haven't yet. I was talking to the wife about how it would be the perfect time for me to have one right now since I'm working from home every day now. I could smoke on it every day and have supper ready for her every day. She still said no.

But I'm actually waiting for my credit card points to accumulate so that I can get it for "free" or darn close to free since we don't have the money at this time.