Almost, but,,,,,


 
J

JimT

TVWBB Pro
Almost pulled the trigger to buy a new Smokefire. At the last minute, I backed off because I didn't see any way to cook "indirect." There are times when I like a fairly hot grill (400 - 450 degrees) but no fire under the food. Cornish hens would be a good example.

So I'm asking all you with experience: Do you find this an issue? Is there a work around?

Thanks,

JimT
 
Hopefully the experts will chime-in but perhaps you could use a roasting, foil, or other suitable pan. Or possibly rest a suitable pan directly on the Flavorizer bars.
 
Cooking low and slow you will not have much direct flame creeping around the flavorizor bars. But you can squeeze in a foil water pan below the grates that sit on top of the flavorizor bars. That’s what I do to catch drippings and it works great.
 
Pull the trigger before the sale ends. The SF is an outstanding cooker with software that will eventually catch up to the hardware. It is my hot and fast grill and my low and slow smoker. On smokeboost it normally keeps the temp below 170 so it's a Jerky making machine. I've had mine since the July sale and have never lost a cook. I've had glitches but no disasters and no unintended fires. It puts out a lot of flame at 600°. Get the shallow foil cake plans. They sit on the Flavorizer bars underneath the cooking grate and your meat is shielded from the flame. Piece of cake. I do spatchcocked Chicken and Turkey on a jerky rack resting on a big foil pan and don't bother with putting pans under the cooking grates. You have a non problem.
 
If you're a vet with a Lowes card you will get an additional 10% off. I saved a hundred bucks doing that. I ordered it online and they delivered the box to my garage. If you get it, download the BILT app and it has easy to follow assembly instructions. Vendors don't have a good track record on getting it assembled right so DIY is highly recommended. A good source of valuable info on the grill is in the Smokefire Owners Facebook Group members written FAQ. It's worth a look and you'll see my name there a few times. https://www.facebook.com/notes/webe...-group/smokefire-faqhelptips/575185199841010/ Good luck.





​

 
JimT said:
I would be interested in your thoughts on this!
Click to expand...
Sorry I guess that came off as a little rude. I get asked a lot about wether to buy a SmokeFire and recently had a guy that was determined to cook with the lid open insist it would be fine, well that’s just not going to work out well.
My initial thought on indirect cooks was similar, however the guys have added a few good ideas and really you can just start low and if a final sear is your goal the SF can handle that too.
One of my best friends who convinced me to buy my first kettle after years on my Q-320 wants to upgrade his Traeger to a SmokeFire, he’s a Weber man and I send him pics of my cooks, I’m really hoping if he does buy one he has the great experience I’ve had! Sadly there are people who still struggle with their SmokeFire’s. I think to have success especially early on, you have to have some tech skills and mechanical aptitude.
Remember when Dave took the forum by storm and guided us through the early phase of the SF. That guy has some serious skills and we all made it through.
The great news is that after all the updates to the app and the SF along with the welded auger my SF has been everything I hoped it would be.
Stay patient it will pay off!
 
Yep, Bruno, you and some others were rewarded in the long run for sticking it out. I have said this in some other places, but I feel Weber deserves credit for taking an innovative, rather than a "me too" approach to making their first pellet grill. The edgy design has it's issues, but I believe it is also responsible for some of the extra good results you and others here have shown us.

I was pretty mad at Weber for obviously not doing enough testing (in spite of their claims), and I really resented their initial corporate double-talk response to the problems people were having. However, I think they saw the light and how critical this grill is to their future. It probably wasn't a banner year for profits for the private equity group that now owns Weber, but at least they rolled out hardware and software improvements that addressed many of the teething problems.

I wouldn't get rid of my Rec Tec - OK Recteq - RT-700 "Bull" but I would love to have an EX-4 to run alongside of it and be able to directly compare them myself. Santa didn't bring one, but maybe I will have an extra good tax season, complete and sell of some of my inventory, and resist any more "collector" grills out there. That could make room and funds to get a Version 2 this summer!
 
Jon, yours IS a Rec Tec. The newer ones are Recteq. I had the RT-300 and put the WIFI controller in it and then put a Rec Tec WIFI controller in my Camp Chef. That was my faux RT-590 and it was great because of the controller. The SF controller will amaze you with nice blue smoke at 400° and it imparts a flavor that I didn't get on my CC and I'm GUESSING that's because of the design without the big drip pan. I saw an EX4 in Orlando Craigslist for $500. If you could find one like that it might be worth picking up. I sure hope you end up with one. Would love to see your evaluation.
 
That name snafu just adds to my impression of the downhome, folksy ownership of Recteq. I don't think they ever saw how big they would become and didn't do enough homework before choosing the original Rec Tec name. Oddly enough, I actually semi-restored a TEC grill. They were the company that gave Rec Tec fits and forced the name change.

The customer service at Recteq is first class from all that I have heard. The owners are enthusiastic bbq people and love to keep improving what they are doing. No, they aren’t in MAK or Yoder territory, but for a realistically priced grill you get quite a bit for your $.
 
Jon Tofte said:
The customer service at Recteq is first class from all that I have heard. The owners are enthusiastic bbq people and love to keep improving what they are doing. No, they aren’t in MAK or Yoder territory, but for a realistically priced grill you get quite a bit for your $.
Click to expand...
On the day that I assembled my RT-700 last year I called for a pull bar because it was missing. My reaction when the call went to voice mail illustrates what I've grown accustom to: rather than leaving a message I hung up and decided I'd shoot them an email later. But within a few minutes they called me back and apologized for missing my call. Then, on a Saturday, I shot an email for a replacement lamp cover that cracked. they called that same day to ask how else they could help aside from mailing a replacement. It makes me feel proud to have one of their products.
 
I've been comparing the EX4 to the Recteq 590. I'm still torn between the two. I think the 590 is the better machine but it sounds like the EX4 is gonna produce better flavored food. And when I read stories from people who've bought pellet grills and are disappointed in the smoke flavor it produces, that's scary.
 
Lynn, my opinion is that if you want a pure smoker you can't go wrong with the RT-590. I used their customer support when I had the RT-300 portable and they are as impressive as BFletcher stated. The Stainless in the 590 and the ceramic igniter are big pluses. The EX4 is better than it was in February but you will probably have to deal with some glitches until they get the software right and I have no doubt they will. I do a lot of Jerky and I like being able to smoke it below 170 which I can do on the SF. The RT controller bottoms out at 180. It made good Jerky but I just wanted a lower temp. I'm pretty sure that the controller determines taste imparted to the food and we noticed an improvement with the SF - - BUT the RecTeq does real good at 250° and below. I just tend to cook at 275 a lot. When I put the RT wifi controller in my old Camp Chef I did notice an improvement in smoke production so controllers are evolving. I went through your dilemma from November of last year until June 2020. Good luck.
.
 
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Bruno said:
Sorry I guess that came off as a little rude. I get asked a lot about wether to buy a SmokeFire and recently had a guy that was determined to cook with the lid open insist it would be fine, well that’s just not going to work out well.
My initial thought on indirect cooks was similar, however the guys have added a few good ideas and really you can just start low and if a final sear is your goal the SF can handle that too.
One of my best friends who convinced me to buy my first kettle after years on my Q-320 wants to upgrade his Traeger to a SmokeFire, he’s a Weber man and I send him pics of my cooks, I’m really hoping if he does buy one he has the great experience I’ve had! Sadly there are people who still struggle with their SmokeFire’s. I think to have success especially early on, you have to have some tech skills and mechanical aptitude.
Remember when Dave took the forum by storm and guided us through the early phase of the SF. That guy has some serious skills and we all made it through.
The great news is that after all the updates to the app and the SF along with the welded auger my SF has been everything I hoped it would be.
Stay patient it will pay off!
Click to expand...

Good post. I do think that you and other early adopters provided feedback that helped get the SmokeFire where it is now. Design, software and firmware updates have improved it big time.
 
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