New Smoker Owner - Prep for Clean?

[grillingNE]

Hi team! I just finished assembling my 410 and watched Recteq's video on recommendations on keeping things proactively clean, which included:

• Wrap drip pan in aluminum
• Put jar in drip bucket

Is there any other recommendations how to save time on things like cleaning? And does normal aluminum work or should I have gotten something more "heavy duty"?

Also open to any recommendations for a new "smoker"!

 

[SmokeOCD]

Heavy duty foil lasts for more cooks before disintegrating. I usually go for 3-4 cooks, unless it was chicken thighs or pork shoulder - then it's an immediate change.

"Also open to any recommendations for a new "smoker"!" ..... MAK or Yoder.

 

[kstone113]

Heavy duty foil lasts for more cooks before disintegrating. I usually go for 3-4 cooks, unless it was chicken thighs or pork shoulder - then it's an immediate change.

"Also open to any recommendations for a new "smoker"!" ..... MAK or Yoder.

No experience with either but I would probably go with Mak over Yoder just b/c of the rust issues with Yoders. However, I don't think you can go wrong with either.

 

[Greg Jones]

I do have experience with the Yoder, had mine for 11 months now, left uncovered (unintentionally) in many a rain, and I have absolutely zero issues with rust. Would definitely recommend it and would buy it again.

I have no experience with the MAK, so i can’t comment on that one.

 

[Snorebaby]

Hi team! I just finished assembling my 410 and watched Recteq's video on recommendations on keeping things proactively clean, which included:

• Wrap drip pan in aluminum
• Put jar in drip bucket

Is there any other recommendations how to save time on things like cleaning? And does normal aluminum work or should I have gotten something more "heavy duty"?

Also open to any recommendations for a new "smoker"!

Heavy Duty Aluminum on the drip pan for sure. I go to Costco and get my Heavy Duty foil because I use it a lot and it comes in 500 ft rolls. But the Reynolds Heavy Duty works real well. Lasts 3-4 cooks unless I cook a lot of fatty foods. I cook all the time on my grills and my oven is now a glorified pot/pan storage. Whatever you can do in your oven, you can do on the grill.

I don't use a jar in the drip bucket, I have the Pit Boss bucket and use their bucket liner. Got my 700 at a scratch and dent sale and didn't have a bucket with it when I bought it.

The other recommendation is to experiment with time, temps, rubs, sauces, pellets! Find and follow some well known smokers on YouTube and even on this site and try their recipes and modify to your liking. I make my own rub but also use Meat Church, Recteq, etc rubs as an additional rub.

I mix pellets. In my RT-B380X I use a 50/50 mix of Ultimate Blend and Charcoal pellets. In my RT-700 I use 50/50 Ultimate and whatever flavor wood I want to use at the time. I have Cherry, Apple and Mesquite. I also use a smoke tube on occasion to give me extra smoke of the wood flavor I want. I use the Recteq pellets as Recteq HQ is local for me, just across town.

Don't be afraid to fail. You can't learn what works if you don't fail occasionally. Write down what works so you can repeat it. I have had some great/awesome/delicious cooks and I have had some awful/nasty/dry cooks that I wouldn't feed the dog. Some cooks take longer than expected, some are shorter. Don't get frustrated, you will be a pit master in no time!

 

[TheRicker]

Hi team! I just finished assembling my 410 and watched Recteq's video on recommendations on keeping things proactively clean, which included:

• Wrap drip pan in aluminum
• Put jar in drip bucket

Is there any other recommendations how to save time on things like cleaning? And does normal aluminum work or should I have gotten something more "heavy duty"?

Also open to any recommendations for a new "smoker"!

I’m an RT-700 and long-time pellet grill owner. I’ve always wrapped/laid aluminum foil on my drip pan. I just cleaned up my 700 (vacuumed, etc.) and decided to not foil my drip pan for several cooks…based on various stuff I’ve read on this forum over the last couple of months. I simply thought I’d try it and see how I like/don’t like it.

As for the jar, I have tried it twice. Neither time did everything drip into the jars. It effectively created more work for me than using disposable aluminum buckets. But give it a whirl. The drip spout on the 410 may be more accommodating.

I’ve always used the wider heavy-duty foil from Costco because the width fits my drip pan almost perfectly.

Longer-term, you may want to consider the accessory (after market?) that screws into the bottom, front inside of the lid that keeps grease from dripping down the lid onto the lower outside sheet metal. That’s an area I have to scrape every time I clean mine. I’ve never bought/installed that item.

 

[grillingNE]

Heavy duty foil lasts for more cooks before disintegrating. I usually go for 3-4 cooks, unless it was chicken thighs or pork shoulder - then it's an immediate change.

"Also open to any recommendations for a new "smoker"!" ..... MAK or Yoder.

Thanks! I did look at Yoder but was out of my (i.e. wife's) price range for my first purchase.

Since I just got my new Recteq, I was thinking I was the new "smoker" and was seeing if anyone had any advice!

 

[SmokeOCD]

Thanks! I did look at Yoder but was out of my (i.e. wife's) price range for my first purchase.

Since I just got my new Recteq, I was thinking I was the new "smoker" and was seeing if anyone had any advice!

Ha! I actually thought you were asking about accessories for the new smoker, but the way you worded it allowed me to take a detour. It happens a lot. Anyway - just use it a lot, that's how you become good at it. Not so great cooks get chopped into Chili, you'd have to be trying hard to make something that's absolutely inedible, learn from your mistakes and soon you'll be making the best "whatever" that you've ever had.

 

[Drake]

Hi team! I just finished assembling my 410 and watched Recteq's video on recommendations on keeping things proactively clean, which included:

• Wrap drip pan in aluminum
• Put jar in drip bucket

Is there any other recommendations how to save time on things like cleaning? And does normal aluminum work or should I have gotten something more "heavy duty"?

Also open to any recommendations for a new "smoker"!

this is the thickest roll I’ve found
https://www.reynoldsbrands.com/products/aluminum-foil/pitmasters-choice-aluminum-foil
Mind you I got aluminum sheets meant as drip tray liners for a Traeger I put down 1st. Not a perfect fit so I cover again with the foil. Wish they made liners for recteq like they do for Traeger.

Also, get yourself a 5gal bucket head vac.