Recteq Grilling with Laura Parsons

TRANSCRIPT

Taryn Solie: Hello, grillers. This week’s episode is a fun one. All about a type of grill you may or may not be familiar with. I wasn’t as familiar with it, but Laura Parsons, the guest today, had so many wonderful things to say, it really intrigued me. Be sure and listen to the end to hear the discount offer Laura has for you.

Before we begin, if you’re enjoying this podcast, I’d love for you to share it with someone who is into grilling and outdoor cooking. As a newer podcast, it helps spread the word and I would really appreciate it. Now let’s get into the episode.

Today on the podcast we have Laura Parsons. Laura is the stay at home wife, mother, and the creator behind the recipe website and Instagram account Dangerously Delicious Barbecue, where she posts grilling and smoking recipes the whole family can enjoy. Laura has a serious love for backyard smoking and grilling on her recteq wood pellet grills, six to be exact. She loves to share that passion with others. She currently lives in Georgia with her husband and four beautiful children. Laura, welcome to the podcast. 

Laura Parsons: Hi, thank you for having me. I’m super excited. 

Taryn Solie: Yeah, I’m super excited too. I think this is gonna be a really fun conversation. Gonna be centered around recteq grills in general, which I have not cooked on one, so I’m excited to hear about it. But before we kind of get into that, I wanna hear a little bit about your food and grilling background.

Laura Parsons: So I have actually been grilling pretty much my entire adult life. You know, it was just a gas or grill back, 10, 15 years ago. I’ve always enjoyed it. I’ve always been the griller in the family and I love to cook. I have a very strong passion, that’s one of my biggest, if not only hobbies that I have that I’m passionate about. I learned how to cook at a very young age. 12 is when I started cooking on my own, but of course I was in the kitchen with my grandmother when I was younger than that. So I’ve been doing it pretty much my whole life and grilling pretty much my whole adult life, but I didn’t actually learn how to smoke foods until three years ago. 

Taryn Solie: Oh, okay. So fairly recently.

Laura Parsons: Yes. 

Taryn Solie: What prompted you to get into smoking foods like on grills? 

Laura Parsons: Recteq actually. So before recteq came into our lives, my husband, I had bought him for father’s day, an upright electric, it was either electric or propane. I honestly can’t remember it’s been so long ago. A smoker for father’s day. I would sit there and I would watch him piddle with it and fight with it to keep it up to temp and yada, yada, yada. Smoking meat was for the birds. I’m never gonna watch a smoker with a 10 foot pole. So I was like, yep. I’ll let you do that. It’s funny when my husband and I met, I’ve been married previously. I’ve been in another previous relationship prior to my husband recently. Like I said, I’ve always been the griller. So when I met him and found out he actually liked to grill, which most men typically like to grill, but he’s the only one that’s been in my life that did, I was super excited about it. So I would get a break from the kitchen every once in a while. But when we found our love for recteq, that changed and I basically took over again. So now I know how to smoke. I do a fairly decent job at it. It’s fun because I’m a woman and there’s not many women out there in this particular influential position. 

Taryn Solie: Yes. Barbecue tends to be a male dominated world circuit, however you wanna call it. We’ve mentioned recteq several times. So tell people about it. It’s a wood pellet grill, but what makes it a little different? Can you go into the specifics about recteq a little bit?

Laura Parsons: Yeah, absolutely. I guess just to start off, how we found out about recteq is we moved to Georgia about four years ago, a little over four years ago. About three years ago, we found out about recteq, which happens to be headquartered here in Evans, Georgia, which is about 11 dangerous minutes from my home. Word of mouth travels fast. So we basically learned about the grill just from other individuals who live here. When my husband and I were informed of it, they were actually headquartered in a different building on the other side of town before they were where they are now. So one Wednesday, my husband has off and we go on a day date for lunch and we look at each other and we’re like, let’s pop over to recteq and see what these grills are all about. Long story short, without having to get into it, we walked in holding hands and my husband looked at me, he said, just say no. We are only here to look. I was like, okay. I mean, yeah, that’s what we agreed upon. So we walked in. Long story short, our salesman was phenomenal. Customer service was off the chain. The whole experience was so pleasant and so welcoming, like they made you feel like you were part of the family before you even became part of the lifestyle.

I had to use the restroom and when I came out, my husband’s looking at the recteq 700, which is affectionately known as The Bull. I don’t remember how it actually came up, but I was like, honey, just buy the damn grill. He was like, he was like, oh crap. My wife just gave me permission to buy a $1,200 grill, or I can’t remember how much it was. So we ended up not getting the 700. We ended up going with the 590 and that was our very first recteq. We brought it home. I put it together and the very first thing I did was ribs. I smoked some ribs and they were the best, most tender rack of ribs that I have ever made in my entire life on any grill that I have ever owned. 

Taryn Solie: Oh, interesting. Okay. 

Laura Parsons: Yeah. So that was actually with the very first cook, I became addicted. I basically told my husband, this grill that belongs to us just became mine. Which isn’t true. It’s a joke between the two of us, because, I am a stay at home wife and mom so I have more time to do the grilling and the smoking and stuff like that, especially when it comes to the longer cooks.

So we have a joke where he says, she let me use my grill today. Usually it’s a hot dog or a sausage. It’s hashtag poor Leo is his hashtag. Our friends actually dubbed that hashtag for him. So it was pretty fun. So that’s where my love for recteq began. Like you mentioned at the beginning, we actually have seven of their products, but five of them are grills. One of them which isn’t available anymore. It’s their large propane wok, it’s called the Matador. Then we also own a recteq icer cooler. 

Taryn Solie: Oh, my goodness. That’s a lot. 

Laura Parsons: Yeah. Which is kind of like, what is that company called? I can’t think of the name of the company with the big coolers that stay cold forever. 

Taryn Solie: Oh, Yeti you’re talking about.

Laura Parsons: Yes. It’s similar to those. 

Taryn Solie: Wow. Okay. 

Laura Parsons: So, my husband and I like to tell everybody we definitely have drunk the recteq Kool-Aid.

Taryn Solie: Sounds like it, to have that many grills. That’s a lot. So what is it is about, – sounds like it was the recteq, like the way that the food turns out on the recteq is what really sold you. Do you know what it is about recteq or is that not right? 

Laura Parsons: No, that’s part of it. The main reason is just the quality of the grill itself. It maintains temperature. There’s no temperature swings, like some of the other companies, pellet grill companies out there. I’m not bashing other companies. Everybody has their own thing they like or whatever. I just so happen to have ran into recteq before any other electric pellet smoker. So obviously that’s what I’m passionate about and it’s pretty cool. But yeah, the quality of the grill, the customer service. The owner has this personal phone number on his business card and you can call him day or night. He will pick up the phone. He’s very active on all of the social media platforms. Even to the point where I’ll just give you an example of what this company is, this is why we love it so much. There’s several stories like this out there on the different recteq social media groups. This one just stands out because I thought it was amazing. There was a woman, her husband, she was probably like, I don’t know, in her early thirties. Her husband had suddenly passed away and they had just gotten a recteq. She knew nothing about grilling. So she was trying to sell the grill. She was gonna sell it because she wasn’t gonna ever use it. They actually so happened to finance the grill instead of buying it outright, which recteq offers financing. So she was gonna sell it, so it was a bill that she didn’t have. Ray Carnes, the owner of the company, actually saw her post about her husband passing away and instead of offering to help as far as a monetary whatever, he offered her a ticket and full accommodations to come to the recteq academy so she could learn how to cook on a recteq so she could have other means of providing food for her family, for her young children because they don’t have a dad. So that was one of the many things. He is an amazing person. He has built an amazing company. Their saying is, it’s not just a grill, it’s a lifestyle. It is definitely not just a grill. We have met some of the most amazing people through the groups, just because of the love for our grills to the point where when they have their festival down here every year, the people we talk to the most over social media that just so happen to fly in from out of town. My husband and I have become the Parsons pad. We do recteq Fest or recteq academy after parties. The people that we speak to the most over these different groups that are recteq related, we invite them over to our house for a party so we can get to know them on a more intimate basis.

Taryn Solie: Oh I love that. 

Laura Parsons: Now we’ve never met these people, never once have met these people in person until the day they come to our house after the festival or academy. It’s just like, oh, I love that. Yeah, it’s amazing. I actually have a blog that I just started doing. Maybe within the past six or so months. I actually have my whole story on there of what the recteq lifestyle is all about along with tons of pictures from these different parties and get-togethers that we’ve had. So recteq is not just a company to us. They’re like family. 

Taryn Solie: Oh, I love it. A, what a strong endorsement. I don’t think many companies, regardless of it’s a grill company, but just companies in general, who put that kind of customer care, true care, not just service, but like care into their community. Can you talk a little bit, you referenced a couple times recteq academy. So can you talk a little bit about what that is? Because I think that’s a really cool thing that they do for people who are owners of their grills. 

Laura Parsons: Yeah, of course. So the recteq academy, which I actually had the pleasure of attending back in September of 2020, I believe it was. It basically is a barbecue school and they teach you different styles of comp cooking. 

Taryn Solie: Comp cooking meaning competition cooking, right. 

Laura Parsons: That’s correct. They teach you how to trim up pork butt the way that they expect it to be done if you do competition cooking. They teach you how to do the ribs the proper way and they teach you how to box ’em and then present them. It’s not just teaching, it is actually like a mini barbecue competition in and of itself. Because you pick your group, you name your group. It’s usually like four to six people per group. Then you get a grill master assigned to your group. The group picks their own grill master and they actually have grill masters from all over the world or all over the United States come help assist teach the academy. So you get to meet some of the biggest competition grill masters in America at the academy. It’s a pretty cool thing to be a part of. 

Taryn Solie: It sounds amazing. I mean, it sounds real like A, you would learn so much. But also like that sense of community that you’re talking about, it’s another thing, another aspect of the community of growing and fostering that community. I love that so much. That’s so great. So, okay. So I think we’ve got a good idea about what recteq is and about the community, but I wanna know what you grill and smoke on your recteq. Let’s talk about the food. So what are some of your favorite things to grill and smoke? What are some of your family’s favorite things to eat that you grill and smoke? What is something that really stands out? All that good stuff. Let’s talk about that. 

Laura Parsons: Okay. So I will be honest with you. Before we owned our recteq grills, I had never, ever, ever before made pulled pork or a brisket. Or an alligator or a whole hog.

Taryn Solie: Or an alligator? 

Laura Parsons: Yes, I have done alligator. It’s all on my Instagram page. We’ve done rabbit. I’ve done a whole hog head just for fun. So those are some of the things I’ve never done before. My favorite things to smoke on or grill on the grill are definitely gonna be steaks, of course. These recteq’s put out some of the best steaks. It would put most five star restaurants to shame as long as you know how to cook a steak. 

Taryn Solie: Sure. 

Laura Parsons: It’s steak, lobster tail. My husband loves it when I make lobster tail for him. I absolutely love crab legs on the grill, smoked crab legs. They’re so, so good. Then of course you got your ribs and your burgers you know. Like you mentioned before, we have five grills. One of them’s not considered a grill. It’s their wok. Each grill serves a purpose. We’ve got the little grill, which is the 340 and that’s their tailgating grill legs folded up. You can put it in the back of your truck or the back of your vehicle, or you could put it in your RV and you could take it with you. That one actually, believe it or not, I won on a giveaway that they were doing for Thanksgiving a couple years back. That one is actually our workhorse. Of all the grills that we own from them, that one’s the one I use the most. You know, and the numbers that they have behind them. The 340, the 700, the 590, the 2500, the 1070 and the 1250, which the 1070 and 1250 we don’t have. That means how much cooking square inches you have.

Taryn Solie: Oh, okay. 

Laura Parsons: So it’s 340 square inches. It kind of gives you an idea of how big it is. The 340 is our workhorse. I use it for dinner most of the time. If I’m doing long cooking, I’ll use the 590 or the 2500. 2500 is huge. They call it the BFG. I’m not gonna tell you what that means. That’s another thing I love about the company is their sense of humor. It’s off the chain as well. But yeah, it’s the big family grill. That one’s huge. It’s got the main and then it’s got two more internal cooking shelves on it. That one you use, basically, if you’re doing multiple, like six to 30 butts or you don’t want it to pop one butt on there and smoke one butt because you’d probably be the laughing stock of any Facebook.

Taryn Solie: Pork butts. We’re talking pork butts, before anyone gets any ideas. Pork butts.

Laura Parsons: Yes. pork butts. Definitely. Yes, yes, yes. But those are some of the fun things that I love to cook. Like I said before, I had never done a pork butt or a brisket or some of these other exotic cooks before recteq. I actually have become, and not to toot my own horn or anything like that.

Taryn Solie: No toot away. Please do. 

Laura Parsons: Based on what others have told me, I’ve become kind of an expert in pork butt smoking and brisket making. I’ve actually had people reach out to me and ask, Hey, you know, can I get you to make me a pork butt and I’ll pay you for it. I actually started doing that. Asking people, giving them the opportunity to order a pork butt or a rack of ribs or whatever from me. I just need their order by Wednesday so I can get it done by Friday at dinnertime when they’re ready to get off work and come pick it up, they have dinner done for them.

Taryn Solie: Oh, I wish I lived closer to you. 

Laura Parsons: Yeah. So I do a little bit of that. I’ve done probably about five pork butts that way. Then I have had one individual reach out and I believe it’s twice he’s reached out to me to do brisket. Yes, it has been twice and he said, your brisket is the best I’ve ever eaten. I will never eat anybody’s brisket ever again. 

Taryn Solie: And that’s saying something. 

Laura Parsons: Yeah, yeah, yeah. It’s cool. You know, because I never before ever thought I would ever make such a big, expensive, scary cut of meat, but I’ve mastered it down to a tee and I no longer have to ask for advice. I actually have people asking me for advice. Believe it or not, some of those people are men. A couple of people that I’ve met through my husband, who met them through work, reach out to me and ask me how I do my pork butt or how I do my rack of ribs. I tell ’em and they always text me back. They’re like, oh my gosh, that was the best ribs I’ve ever eaten. Or I love that method. It’s definitely gonna be my go to from now on. It warms my heart because they’re not scared to reach out to a woman and ask for her advice on curling or smoking big cuts of meat. 

Taryn Solie: Yeah, no, that’s great. I do think people in general kind of think of brisket and pork butts as scary things to smoke. There’s a lot that goes into them. Also typically male things, but I think that’s amazing that you’ve discovered your own secrets. Or your own way of how to do it. That’s great. 

Laura Parsons: I’ve had my mentors, so obviously I have my mentors and recteq groups to thank but it’s been one heck of a fun ride ever since finding the company. Like I said before, it’s really, really dangerous that the headquarters is located just right down the road from us. I have so much recteq merch. I have enough recteq merch to wear for probably three and a half weeks straight without doing laundry. 

Taryn Solie: Oh, that’s a lot.

Laura Parsons: So it’s funny. I make a joke, if I’m wearing recteq one day and I bring my husband lunch. He’s like, oh, Oh, God, you’re not going to rec tech. Are you? He’s like, I need to sell another camper today. 

Taryn Solie: Oh my gosh. Oh, that’s too funny. Well, I love this conversation. I think it’s so interesting. Like I have not been familiar with rec tech. I love to hear you talk about it because it’s obviously something that you’re passionate about. I know you have a website and you also have an Instagram account, right? Where you help, just let people in, let people know more about recteq. So where can people find you to follow along with what you’re doing? 

Laura Parsons: Yeah. Okay. So my blog is dangerouslydeliciousbbq.com. They can actually sign up to receive an email. I won’t spam. The only time you’ll ever receive emails is when I post a new recipe. Then on Instagram and Facebook, it’s gonna be under the same name. It’s dangerously_delicious_BBQ on both of those platforms. So it is pretty easy.

Taryn Solie: Awesome. Well, that’s great. Laura, I just wanna say thank you so much for coming onto the podcast today. This was so fun. I hope people got a glimpse into this recteq lifestyle. I’m assuming you would be more than happy to answer any questions if someone has a question about recteq. 

Laura Parsons: Oh yeah. You know it, I’m right there. I do wanna put this out here. My husband and I, it’s mostly me, but we’re a team so we do it together when we can do it together. We were recently invited on to the brand new ambassador program that recteq does. So I am an ambassador for them and I do have a 5% off discount code. The code is DDBBQ. Anybody who is interested in purchasing one can use that code at checkout and they’ll save 5% off their entire order. 

Taryn Solie: Awesome. That is fantastic. Thank you so much for sharing that. So D D B B Q. 

Laura Parsons: That is correct. 

Taryn Solie: Okay, perfect. We’ll put that on the show notes page too, and we’ll link to your Instagram and your website and to recteq on the show notes page as well. Perfect. Thank you so much, Laura, for coming on today. 

Laura Parsons: Thank you for having me. 

Outro: Are you kind of blown away by the stories about recteq? I love a company that takes a genuine interest in its customers. From what Laura was saying, it definitely sounds like recteq does. I’m dying to try her ribs recipe. That’s something I haven’t made yet on my wood pellet grill and her recipe sounded so good. I’m going to include links to the resources and recipes Laura mentioned on the show notes page, I’m also going to include a link to a Facebook group Laura runs that she wanted me to tell you about. It’s called Women of recteq – Girls Can Grill Too. It’s for women who are recteq owners and others who like to grill and smoke. I’m in the group and it’s a fun community to be in. To get to the show notes page, you can either go to my main website at hotpankitchen.com and click on podcasts in the main menu. Or you can click on the link provided in whatever podcast app you’re listening to. That’s it for today. Thank you so much for listening. And until next time, keep grilling like a mother.