This Thing Can Do It All

Recteq set out to do something unique with its new X-Fire Pro 825 pellet grill—replace your gas grill. Like most pellet grills, it can easily do low and slow cooks, but its Dual Mode feature gives you the speed and sear of a gas grill and can reach 1250°F. After cooking some burnt ends, brisket, and a 24-oz porterhouse, I’m sold.

While the company may not have the same brand recognition as Traeger or Weber, or be found in a big box store like Home Depot, it makes excellent products and enjoys a cult-like following, and now I see why.

Price and Availability

The Recteq X-Fire Pro 825 became available on April 17th, 2025, and retails for $1,549. It’s available from the company website with free shipping within 48 hours, or you can find it on Amazon along with a few starter bundles.

A Little Assembly Is Required

This thing takes some time to assemble before you start marinating meats and throwing on your BBQ apron. The instructions are clear, and Recteq has an excellent YouTube channel full of assembly instructions, cooking tips, troubleshooting, and more. I managed to assemble the entire grill in a little over an hour by myself, although I’d highly recommend a second set of hands.

The grill is rather heavy and arrived on a pallet. The package comes with the top grill section, which has the cooking surface and pellet hoppers, and then all the other parts. Once you unbox it, you assemble the legs, bottom tray, handle, and durable caster wheels, then install the shelf and control box. Plug in a few wires, drop the cast iron grates into place, roll it to its destination, and you’re ready to smoke some meats.

Everything about this grill feels extremely durable and well-made, from the tight horn-shaped handles to the stainless-steel frame and heavy cast-iron cooking surface grates. I really like that it came with four wheels, two of which can rotate and lock into place. This makes it easy to lug around the patio.

The entire assembly process went great, especially with the tools provided and the detailed walkthrough video. My only complaint is that I now have a bunch of cardboard filling up my recycle bin until garbage day. The struggle is real.

This Thing Can Smoke, Sear, and Open-Lid Grill

Pellet grills have gained popularity because they deliver rich flavor with 100% wood pellets rather than charcoal or propane gas. The only problem with pellet grills of old is that you still need a gas grill that gets hot enough for steaks and burgers. Well, the X-Fire Pro 825 is Recteq’s solution, and so far, it’s delivering.

I’ll be honest, I had my doubts. How do you achieve temps upwards of 1,250 degrees with nothing but wood pellets, and how will a pellet grill handle a large 825 sq. inch cooking surface? The Recteq X-Fire Pro 825 has a dual front-mounted pellet hopper, two augers, and two burner pots, one on each side, each holding 10 lbs of pellets.

This grill has four knobs on the front. In smoke-only mode, the left burn pot turns on and operates like most pellet grills that only have a single burner. It gets plenty hot, temperatures seem even throughout the grill, and it holds temperatures very well. For grilling, you can turn on both sides and control each side with the two inner control dials, adjusting temperatures to low, medium, high, or max.

The secret sauce is Recteq’s addition of a “Sear Control Knob” on the right side of the grill, which opens deflectors above the burn pot and flame. As a result, you get an incredibly hot direct flame for searing burgers and steaks. You can also adjust the deflector to four different open positions, controlling how much flame you let out. As you can see in the image above, you can get plenty of open flames, and I only had it halfway open.

By opening the X-Fire Pro lid, switching it to grill mode, and cranking up the heat, it can double as a standard grill. It’s not just serviceable as a grill, either. It’s extremely capable and delivers excellent flavor no matter what I throw on it.

We Have the Meats!

Okay! Let’s get to the good stuff. How well does this thing cook? I have used the X-Fire Pro 825 for various cooks this summer. I’ve done pork belly burnt ends, burgers, grilled veggie kabobs, brisket, steaks, a rack of ribs, and smoked some salmon I caught myself in Alaska.

The entire experience has been simple and delicious, and everything I’ve cooked has come out great. I’m impressed with the smoking capabilities and even more impressed with the smoky flavor during high-temperature grilling. The two included temperature probes work great. It stays low and slow when I want it, yet gets wildly hot in a hurry.

After the initial burn-in (burn-off), I first tried pork belly burnt ends. I was worried that splitting the hopper into two sides and only having 10lb on each side would cause problems, but this thing maintains heat incredibly well. It didn’t burn through pellets any faster than my Traeger, and I’m not worried about it running out during overnight cooks.

In grill mode, I turned on both sides, used the sear control knob to open the deflectors, and turned it up to high. After about 15 minutes, the X-Fire Pro hit 845°F, which is toasty for a pellet grill and more than enough to sear a steak. I didn’t need to turn the dials to “Max” to achieve the temps I wanted. I had it over 920°F at one point, so I’m pretty confident it’ll get over 1,000°F when you turn it to max, but I didn’t try it myself.

The Recteq X-Fire Pro 825 comes with an easily accessible drip catch can, pellet drop levers, and removable ash trays on each side of the grill for easy maintenance. Once you’re done cooking, pull out the tray, dump the ash, and you’re ready to go.

The front auger cover does say “hot surface,” but it never got hot enough to be a concern. If necessary, you can easily slide it open and add more wood pellets in the middle of a cook.

Controls, Wi-Fi Access, and a Good Mobile App

Every smoker should have Wi-Fi connectivity to adjust the temperature and monitor progress remotely. While the X-Fire Pro 825 only worked on 2.5 GHz, everyone can appreciate staying inside on a hot summer day and monitoring temps with the app and meat probes.

I can open the app, turn on the grill remotely, and set a temperature so it’s getting up to temp before I ever go outside. I enjoyed the Recteq app, even if it’s a bit barebones. You can easily switch between smoke and grill modes, set timers, and beginners can tap the “Guided Cooks” or “Cooking Suggestions” buttons to help ensure they’re doing everything right. The suggestions let you choose the meat type and cut, then give directions for the correct temperatures and cooking times. It’s pretty useful.

If you’re looking for a power button, it’s not near the screen or controller but on the left grill control knob. You can turn it to smoke mode, off, or grill mode, and that’s the main dial for powering up the augers and system. Once you do that, you can use the PID controller to adjust temperatures.

My only real complaint with the entire pellet grill is the small digital display, which is small and can be hard to see in direct sunlight. The PID controller also has a few limitations. It only goes down to 225°F, which is a bit of a bummer as I’d like to achieve lower temperatures. Additionally, it only goes up in 25-degree increments.

The temperature font is tiny, and I wish it had a bigger display like the Traeger Woodridge we reviewed. As a result, I often found myself opening the app to check on temperatures rather than bending down to view the screen. Overall, I never lost my Wi-Fi connection. The app worked great; it kept a log of previous cooks, and the temperature stayed steady.

Should You Buy the Recteq X-Fire Pro 825 Pellet Grill?

While I’ve owned grills from Weber and Traeger, I came away extremely impressed with the Recteq X-Fire Pro 825. If you’ve ever considered a pellet grill or are still using an old, dirty gas grill, I can recommend the X-Fire Pro without hesitation.

Sure, it’s more expensive than many gas grills, and you can find some fairly affordable pellet grills these days, too. However, this unit can do it all. Rolling low and slow, you’ll get endless smoke for a truly fantastic flavor, plus this thing gets so hot you can easily do open-lid grilling. The X-Fire Pro 825 gives you the best of both worlds without occupying too much backyard space.

It has an elegant design, bright control knobs with LED lighting, easy ash removal trays, and more heat than you’ll ever need. The company offers an optional rotisserie attachment, too, so you can truly do it all.