11/4/2021 – The RecTec RT-700 wood pellet grill arrived yesterday. Today we smoked chicken thighs and legs with the Ultimate Blend all-natural food-grade Red Oak, White Oak, and Hickory hardwood pellets that came with the smoker. The chicken was part of a 10 lb. bag that we had cleaned up a few days ago and dry brined. They have been waiting for this smoke so had a long time for the salt to work.
Set the PID to 375° and let it come to temperature. The ambient temperature was 60°.
- 10:15 – Placed the meat on the righthand half of the grate. Insert both probes into the two largest thighs. Closed the lid.
- 11:55 – Probe A was at 173° in the smaller thigh near the center of the grate. Probe B was at 166° in the back righmost position. Pulled them to rest about 15 minutes.
The thighs and the leg were very moist and had a light smoke flavor.
Next Time – Try the Extreme Smoke setting for the first 30-45 minutes then turn it up to 325°.
