{"id":1754,"date":"2020-12-10T13:24:24","date_gmt":"2020-12-10T18:24:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pelletgrillreviews.com\/?p=1754"},"modified":"2021-06-21T11:43:12","modified_gmt":"2021-06-21T15:43:12","slug":"review-of-the-recteq-rt-700","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pelletgrillreviews.com\/review-of-the-recteq-rt-700\/","title":{"rendered":"Review of the Recteq RT-700 Pellet Grill"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
The Recteq RT-700 is the flagship grill from Rec Tec (now known as Recteq, as of August 2020). The company has a monster of a following. Their owners are more akin to fans, and they aren’t afraid to voice support for their favorite brand of pellet grill. The RT-700 (once known as “The Bull”)–is known for its bombproof stainless steel construction, advanced controller, and great ownership experience. At $1200, it’s not the cheapest large grill you can buy, but is it worth that extra money? <\/p>\n\n\n\n One downside if you want this grill quickly: you can’t buy it at your local big-box store. Rec Tec doesn’t use retail or resellers. You can buy it at Amazon, but only as part of a package. Your best bet is to buy directly from Recteq. Either way, you’ll have to wait a few days to get one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Their owners are more akin to fans, and they aren’t afraid to voice strong support for their favorite brand of pellet grill.<\/strong>“<\/p>\n\n\n\n However you acquire one, based on our reviews and on general owner satisfaction, it will be worth the wait. This is a solid grill, with unequalled support from the company to back it up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The RT-700 is a conventional barrel-shaped pellet grill. The two distinct features immediately apparent, however, are the large amount of visible polished stainless steel and the signature Recteq bull horn handles. The entire barrel is polished stainless steel, though the lid is black powder-coated steel. The Recteq signature polished bull horn handles and unique black plus stainless steel make this a grill that doesn’t look like other pellet grills. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The smoker has a wide-stance with substantial legs and four high-tech easy-rolling wheels. It is substantial, weighing in at 200 pounds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The RT-700 is certainly an impressive looking pellet grill and we rated it accordingly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The RT-700 has one cooking level, split into two hefty stainless steel grates. Our measurements put the surface area at 19.25″ deep x 33.5″ wide for an overall grate area of just over 640 sq inches of cooking space (Recteq claims 700 sq in.) . Rec Tec does offer an optional second shelf, which adds over 350 more sq inches of cooking space. <\/p>\n\n\n\n How we determine actual cooking space:<\/strong> We give a max amount, based on packing items edge to edge on the grate. A pellet grill, however, has hot spots at the front and rear edges of the grate that aren\u2019t over the drip pan. Any food that is directly above this gap will burn. The effective capacity, then, is the number of items that fit on the grate area above the drip pan.<\/span> In other words, it\u2019s the capacity without being affected by the hotter edge zones of the grilling chamber.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As you can see, the RT-700’s capacity is 21 standard sized burgers. We use a 4.5\u201d wooden disc as the standard size for burgers. The grill should easily hold 6-8 mid-sized pork butts, 7-9 racks of baby back ribs (more with a rib rack) and at least 3-4 normal sized turkeys. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Rec Tec uses the more advanced PID controller technology, which reaches and maintains the temperature more precisely than a conventional controller. All controllers pellet feed rate and fans to reach a temperature range, and then control the feed rate and sometimes the fans in order to maintain that temperature. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A PID controller, however, uses machine learning via constant feedback from the cook chamber in order to more finely maintain the desired temperature. PID controllers can better adjust to outside variables like ambient temperature, so that it doesn\u2019t overshoot or undershoot a temperature and so it maintains that temperature more accurately. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To summarize, a PID controller offers more automatic fine tuning so that the temperature you set is indeed more accurately maintained. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We tested a fully assembled grill in our offices, using our standard testing protocols. Our final summary ratings appear at the end of this review.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The RT-700 arrived on a pallet via a local freight carrier. You will not be receiving this grill as a UPS or FedEx drop-off. Have no fear, however. We outline the freight process in our shipping article<\/a>. The unpacking and assembly isn’t difficult, but you need two people to do it the most efficiently, and plan on about 30 minutes for the job. It’s mostly attaching the lid and the legs, so it’s not as bad as an IKEA shelf. If you can plug in a wire and use a wrench, you can easily assemble this grill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For an idea of the assembly process, Recteq has a helpful video, which will give you an idea of the process. It’s not bad. An important note: the grill is modular, which means most every component of the grill is easy to replace or upgrade in the future with simple hand tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\nRecteq RT-700 Basic Features<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Overall Appearance\/Impressions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Cooking Area<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Controller Type<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Notable Features and Conveniences<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Manufacturer Specs<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Recteq RT-700 Hands-On Review<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Arrival and Assembly<\/h3>\n\n\n\n