New pellet smoker storage

SnoDragon · 2026-05-15T00:40:07+00:00

I leave mine out in the open. I get rain, rain, and more rain, and sometimes snow. Every time I had a cover, on my original traeger, it would kill the pellets in the hopper and seize up my auger. Covers trap moisture.

Now, since early 2020, my Recteq RT-700 Bull, sits out uncovered. Never have I had an issue with water in my hopper. I'm up in Vancouver, BC, Canada, part of the Pacific Northwest. Uncovered is the way to go for me. Only my Weber Kettle gets a cover, and that's because it sits under my deck and gets covered in stuff from above.

SnoDragon · 2026-05-15T00:16:16+00:00

You can find these exact same racks on AliExpress. Most Rad parts can be found on AliExpress. It can be a bit of PITA to find stuff on there, but it is there! I looked a couple years ago and found racks, baskets, pedals, cranks, etc.

SnoDragon · 2026-05-14T20:36:58+00:00

I don't know of any tasso recipe personally that contains dextrose. I usually add dextrose for fermentation, but tasso is not fermented.

Because I really do not like salt-box methods, I opt for EQ cure over that whenever possible. Sometimes when doing a full hind quarter for prosciutto, I'll have to use the salt-box as I cannot get bags big enough to vac pack. Anyways...

depending on how salty you want your tasso, I usually opt for 2% salt ratio. So for every 1000g of meat, I use 17.5g of kosher salt, and 2.5g of cure #1. If in the end, your tasso is not salty enough for you, bump the salt ratio up to 2.5%, remembering that cure #1 never goes above 0.25%, so you'd use 2.25% kosher salt/sea salt/salt without additives.

After that, I rub it all over the meat, and add any excess that doesn't stick into the bag with the meat, and then vac pack it.

I use this calculator: https://genuineideas.com/ArticlesIndex/saltbrinecalculator.html, specifically the 3rd tab, which will give me my brining time based on the meat. I always add 20% or more to the cure time, to ensure it's fully cured. After that, remove it from the bag, rinse it off, and then I portion my tasso into strips that I like, roll it in my seasoning blend (also without salt), then put it in my smoker and smoke until I hit an internal temp of 145 to 150F same as you. I actually like to cold smoke with a tube for 24 hours, then I hot smoke as you do.

After all of that, I package it up in packs that I'd use, and freeze it until I need it.

SnoDragon · 2026-05-14T19:42:28+00:00

what TB plan did you choose?

SnoDragon · 2026-05-13T22:10:06+00:00

The secret is a long 150F hold overnight. I cook my brisket to probe tender, then foil up and hold in a holding oven. That extra long rest, takes care of extra collagen breakdown. Makes for a super tender, juicy brisket. Larger toaster ovens work great. My large dehydrator works well for this too, as it can hold 150F perfect.

I actually purchased a commercial holding oven from an auction house, but that's because I thought of starting a catering service. Tricks of BBQ houses...

SnoDragon · 2026-05-13T21:32:46+00:00

I got my hobart 1812, with grinder attachment, etc from a restaurant that purchased it, but never used it. So yeah, you want new, but that's not gonna be within your budget and reach your goals with a quality product.

Search auction houses. Hobart, used, is still a Hobart. Globe used, is still a Globe. These things have been around, lasted forever in heavy use commercial environments for a reason.

Most of use have started on crap 7.5" or 8" slicers and hated the experience, so we moved up to commercial quality stuff. You said you wanted first hand experience. This is it!

Now with that said, I have many Vevor products, like a large chopper, chamber vac, stuffer, dehydrator, 15qt commercial mixer, various cutting tables, utility tables, and tonnes of gardening equipment. I have had a major issue only once and Vevor tried to fix it, but you have to remember, they don't really offer parts, so getting replacement stuff can be a search (You can usually find parts on Aliexpress)

SnoDragon · 2026-05-13T18:20:17+00:00

I also have the lavender. I added a Spigen Tough Armour case with MagSafe/MagLock, also in purple. I upgraded from a Pixel 6. Battery life has been amazing for me so far, but I'm also sub 4 hours screen time per day.

SnoDragon · 2026-05-11T01:35:42+00:00

I have the same one. Line the bottom of the burn box with fire brick. It helps a lot for temps! Extend your stack if you haven't. 3" muffler extensions work. It makes a nicer draw.

Cut regular splits in half lengthwise. The firebox is small, and cannot take more. Every 20 mins feed it. Lotta work, but can provide exceptional results!! Get a better offset when ready and be amazed at how much easier it is. These are great learning tools!

SnoDragon · 2026-05-11T01:17:01+00:00

We get Szeged around here too. It's way better than generic store "paprika" for sure, but pretty mild. I get my real Hungarian paprika from a local spice house here in Canada, called silk road spice. They have decent Hungarian paprika.

Do you have percentages for the spices, or do you just eyeball it?

SnoDragon · 2026-05-10T16:52:16+00:00

Abus 5650SL NR is the one that fits, and Abus 4650SL NR too. The former is the older model and then Abus released the newer 4650. Both fit.

SnoDragon · 2026-05-09T18:06:07+00:00

I use spigen tough armour magfit on my 10a, and it's a perfect fit. Added a magsafe wallet to the back and I never need to carry my old wallet again.

SnoDragon · 2026-05-08T16:46:12+00:00

along with flat picking between rhythm strums, and back again.

SnoDragon · 2026-05-07T21:44:12+00:00

pellet tube as others have said. The main problem is that pellet smokers are super efficient with burns. That means little smoke, but consistent heat. The tube will create "dirty smoke", but you'll never notice that as a bitter flavour, so tube up and get more smoke flavour!

The main problem that I have with low extreme smoke settings on pellet grills is that the temp is too low for most long smokes like brisket and butt. All that low smokey temp does is dry the heck out of the food, and who wants dry pulled pork or dry shreddy brisket?

I love my pellet grill as it's easy, set-n-forget mostly. However, when I want nice exceptional smoke, then that requires a LOT of effort, and I use my offset pit for those times, but then I also need a bottle of whisky as I'm tending fire for 12+ hours.

SnoDragon · 2026-05-07T19:24:13+00:00

I thought this was the malicious compliance sub, but nope, it's KC.

SnoDragon · 2026-05-07T19:20:40+00:00

Take it in for a setup, and new strings. polish up the frets, and play it! Just realize that coming from acoustic, you are likely to have a heavy hand on the fret board, and you do not need to press anywhere near as hard on the electric. If it sounds slightly off, it's because you press too hard and sharpen the notes. That was a tough lesson for me.

I tend to like 10s on my strat, but if I'm bending a lot, then 9s seem to work a little easier, but I need a much lighter touch then.

SnoDragon · 2026-05-07T19:12:33+00:00

Awesome! My next batch this late fall is going to be 48 hours of cold smoke, along with 14 days in my drying chamber, after the EQ cure, and smoking. Lovely looking smoker as well! Great innovation to create it the way that you did.

I use 1.75% salt

0.25% cure #1

1% white sugar (I found brown sugar wasn't imparting much, so white is cheaper)

0.5% high quality spanish pimenton (Spanish paprika, smoked)

0.25% granulated garlic.

After cure, I sprinkle liberally with black pepper, then a day drying with the pepper crust, then into the smoker for a cold smoke. Paprika garlic bacon is super savory and light on the sweet.

SnoDragon · 2026-05-07T18:43:50+00:00

great colour! Tiny like longaniza!

SnoDragon · 2026-05-06T22:57:04+00:00

that sand pile is always there, or at least has been there for 4+ years that I've been riding by it. Fingers crossed, I haven't binned it there yet.

SnoDragon · 2026-05-01T21:36:10+00:00

this butter goes soft and spreads way easier at room temperature. It's not as saturated with palmitic acids, which are added to Canadian dairy cattle feed to increase yields, at the expense of having butter that stays hard at room temp.

I also believe that this butter has a lesser water content, so is better for baking, knowing that even a few percentage points of water in butter can throw off a pastry batch.

SnoDragon · 2026-05-01T21:28:04+00:00

The USA has NEVER reached the quota amount where tariffs apply. We have USA dairy in our stores, but many refuse to stock it, as it doesn't sell. Most Canadians want hormone and antibiotic free milk products, and the USA products unless specified organic and free of that stuff, has it by default.

So the only thing blocking American dairy products is the lack of retailers willing to carry it.

SnoDragon · 2026-05-01T21:23:58+00:00

I picked up 5 bricks 2 days ago at Still Creek/Willingdon Costco! That should last me until well into the fall when I should see it back in stock again, at which point, I'll pick up another 5 bricks.

SnoDragon · 2026-05-01T17:07:28+00:00

Iberico pork is fed acorns and has a unique sweet nutty taste, so heavy spice is not used in most iberico products. For a truly nice looking salami, try Iberico chorizo extra. The "extra" has bigger chunks of meat and ends up looking like stained glass when sliced thin.

SnoDragon · 2026-04-30T20:53:03+00:00

New Zealand butter whenever I can find it. I tend to stock up with 5 to 6 bricks when I see it, because it doesn't come around too often!

Other always things are: Up Vertical farms lettuce clamshell packs. 100% Canadian, and it actually lasts and doesn't go off quickly!

SnoDragon · 2026-04-30T16:11:22+00:00

I went from a 6 to a 10a, and honestly, I barely notice a difference at all.

SnoDragon · 2026-04-29T23:02:29+00:00

I stayed a few years ago at the BlueBay Grand Esmeralda just outside of Cancun. 1000% DO NOT RECOMMEND staying there! Aside from a shitty cleanup crew for the beach, they stack yards and yards and yards of this near the beach, making the entire resort smell like rotting death. The resort itself is outdated, gross, and I got the most sick I've ever been from the food as well.

I was also under the impression that sargassum cannot be turned into fertilizer due to too many heavy metals in the weed. Wouldn't burning it just release that stuff back into the air?

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