Hasty Bake Grill Review
I did a project for Hasty Bake in 2021. I do a handful of these a year for different grill brands and normally I do the cook, collect my content and then find a new home for the grill because I just dont have the room on my deck for one more grill. More than a year later this grill is still on my deck. I just cant quit this cooker. Why is that? Stay tuned for my Hasty Bake Grill Review.
First off, to clarify, this is a Hasty Bake Legacy 131 which is their most popular model. So what is so great about it? Not the outside design. Its just a big black box with a stainless steel shelf on the front and this handle on the side that looks like it was added at random:
I mean, there isnt even a vent in the lid of the Legacy 131. Dont get me started on that weird rounded arm only on one side. And lets not talk about the name. Im not the Bakin Fool and certainly not the Hasty Bakin Fool. Im the Grillin Fool!
So what is so great about it? That lack of vent in the lid is a huge part of what makes the Hasty Bake so great. The lid seals tight so no smoke leaks out where the lid meets the body of the grill. The smoke comes up from the fire, hits the underside of the lid and has to go back down and out the vents on either side of the body of the grill:
And those racks? Heavy. Well-made heavy. You can tell a lot about a grill by simply lifting the grill grates. They are also angled slightly down in the middle:
Rotate the pizza as one side browns.
The Best Charcoal Grill Under $: Weber Original Kettle Premium 22 Charcoal Grill
If you want a family-sized charcoal grill for less than $200 that can cook anything and will last forever, the Weber Original 22-Inch Kettle Grill is it. When George Stephen, Sr. introduced the Weber Kettle in 1952, he set America’s backyards on fire . Today’s design is not far from the original, and it’s by far the most popular backyard grill in the world.
For searing, Weber kettles put most backyard gas grills to shame. Add an inexpensive Slow ‘n Sear smoker conversion kit, and turn your grill into a damn good smoker for ribs, pork, brisket, and fish. The large, arched lid is big enough to accommodate roasts and turkeys. There are also several upgrades to the base kettle, including tables, propane ignition, and more. And it’s made in the USA!
Serous Eats / Courtesy of Weber
Hasty Bake Gourmet Pro 258 Review
By: Meathead
The new Hasty Bake Gourmet PRO 258 replaces the previous Gourmet 256 version of this fine combo grill and smoker. The only features that changed are the hood and warming rack. The new hood uses a unique, 20 gauge stainless steel double walled design taken from Hasty Bakes excellent, top of the line 357 PRO. These cool hoods glide straight upward on a spring assisted lid lift mechanism.
PRO 258 also eliminates the old 256 hood window and adds a gasket to seal the lid when closed.
The laser cut, stainless steel warming rack is another upgrade from the nickel plated wire rack on the old model.
And lastly, HASTY BAKE CHANGED THEIR NAME! Did you notice? They used to be:
Now they are:
They dropped the hyphen. A radical move after being hyphenated for 73 years!
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Otherwise, construction and performance are identical. Like the Gourmet 256, Gourmet PRO 258s main cooking grates are nickel plated steel rods. Overall dimensions are 30 inches x 21 inches x 47 inches, weighing 170 pounds. It has stainless steel front and side work tables and an 18 gauge, powder coated steel cart.
Meathead loves Hasty Bake! His full review of the previous Hasty Bake Gourmet 256 appears below. With that and the new details above, you have a complete picture of the Gourmet PRO 258.
Post comments and questions below
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What’s The Difference Between A Gas And Charcoal Grill
There are many differences! Check out the chart below or read our in-depth guide about the differences between gas and charcoal grills right here. But here’s the TL DR: When it comes to price, it’s easier to stick to a lower budget with a charcoal grillyou can even get a good one for $99. A good gas grill will set you back more. When it comes to quick cooking, a gas grill will serve you well, but if you prefer longer, slower cooks where you want that smoky charcoal flavor, charcoal grills are best. Temperature-wise, charcoal grills can get much, much hotterup to 1,200°F . They also can help you achieve that low-and-slow temp, whereas a gas grill’s range is more limited.
| Occasionally emptying grease trap and cleaning bars | Regularly disposing of ash and cleaning bars. |
The Best Charcoal Grill For Under $: Pk 360
The Portable Kitchen PK360 Grill and Smoker takes all the great elements of the classic 1952 PK Grill, tweaks and improves the design, beefs up construction, and delivers one of the more cosmetically beautiful charcoal grills we’ve seen. With 360 square inches of primary cooking surface, the grill box is larger than the 300 square-inch Classic model, but retains PK’s characteristic flat bottom and rectangular shape. There’s also a unique configuration of bottom left and right adjustable air intake dampers and corresponding top left and right exhaust dampers. The wide flat bottom makes it easy to push charcoal to one side and create two very distinct direct and indirect zones.
Serious Eats / Courtesy of PK Grills
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How Do You Use A Charcoal Grill
We have a whole guide right here to help you get started with charcoal grilling, from arranging your coals to determining temperature and even controlling flare-ups. The best way to light your grill without the scent of chemicals is to forgo lighter fluid and use a chimney starter. This model from Weber is our favorite for size and usability. To use one, load up the space on the bottom with a piece of newspaper or two, pile coals in from the top, then light the newspaper. The fire and heat from the newspaper ignites the bottom coals, then the fire builds up. When the top coals are covered with gray ash, you’re ready to go. You can read more about using a chimney starter here.
Construction And Air Control
Gas grills need to be well vented for safety reasons. If the burners are deprived of oxygen, the flame goes out, but the gas fuel keeps coming, building up under the hood and creating a serious fire hazard. The opposite is true of charcoal grills, which function best as sealed systems with solid, tight construction for effective air control. Just as with gas, the charcoal fire needs oxygen to burn, and you can use this oxygen flow to your advantage. Shut down the air dampers to drop the cooking temp or snuff the charcoal out entirely when finished. Open them wide to flood the fire with oxygen and create a rip-roaring, red-hot coal bed.
Flimsy charcoal grills with loose, warped lids and rickety moving parts make temperature control a nightmare. Charcoal grills don’t need to be tanks made of heavy, quarter inch-thick steel, but they shouldn’t be tin cans that lack structural integrity.
The air control required for charcoal grills actually makes them dang good smokers, too. Unlike smoking on a gas grill, where wood chunks or chips burn up quickly and the small amount of smoke generated blows out the back before your very eyes, charcoal grill vents can be closed down to allow very little air in and out. This gives smoke plenty of time to leisurely caress foods and impart that magic, smoky goodness.
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The Best Luxury Charcoal Grill And Smoker Combo: Hasty
Our new favorite charcoal grill is the Hasty-Bake 357 PRO. It is just about the perfect charcoal grill/smoker combo. The core concepts of the design go back to 1948. Since then, Hasty-Bake has refined and polished off the rough edges. The new spring-loaded hood design is a significant improvement over earlier models. It lifts up almost vertically and glides fairly easily.
The 357 PRO wouldn’t be a Hasty-Bake without their classic adjustable-height charcoal tray that can be raised and lowered with a crank. The coals can move from 14.5 inches to 2.5 inches away from the cooking surface for serious direct infrared searing, a lot like a classic Santa Maria-style grill. Energy at the food level reduces rapidly as the coals move away, so this is a very effective temperature controller. And if you want that great dark mahogany steakhouse sear, crank the coals to right below your steak. This arrangement is better than the Santa Maria-style grill where the food moves up and down and the coals are stationary because the head room above the food isnt reduced.
Perfection doesnt come cheap. The $3,600 price tag will be a non-starter for many, but talk about getting what you paid for: PRO is made of heavy, top quality stainless steel from head to toe and loaded with excellent, unique features.
Serious Eats / Courtesy of Hasty-Bake
Hasty Bake Biggest Sale Of The Year
WHEN: THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2ND – SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 4TH, 2021
HOURS: THURSDAY 8AM-5PM AND FRIDAY- 10AM-5PM, SATURDAY 8AM-1PM CST
*lines will begin forming Thursday morning and customers will be allowed into the sale corral in the order they arrive
Have you been waiting for the right time to buy a new Hasty Bake Charcoal Grill, or add another one to your collection? Well, the wait is over. The annual Scratch and Dent sale is here, with the biggest savings all-year on Hasty Bake Charcoal Grills!
If you dont mind a little scratch or ding, you could save up to 40% on a brand-new Hasty Bake. Most models will be available while supplies last. Swing in and pick-up the grill of your dreams. Or order online and have it delivered! Other in-store items on massive discount are accessories, seasonings, apparel, covers, and more!
For the first time ever, we are opening up the Scratch and Dent sale online!
Visit www.hastybake.com and select the Scratch and Dent Collection to purchase select Scratch and Dent models online with free shipping Thursday September 2nd at 8am through Monday, September 6th at 11:59pm CST. Example pictures of typical scratches will be provided online.
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Brief Overview Of Pk Grills
Similar to Hast Bake, PK Grills also has over 70 years of experience when Hilton Meigs made his iconic barbecue grill in Texas back in the early 1950s.
The grill was made from cast aluminum and had the name of Portable Kitchen Grill, hence the name of the company.
During that time, the grill has seen a huge success thanks to its combination of material quality, ease of use, corrosion resistance, and heat retention.
In fact, this model is so legendary that it remains one of the most popular charcoal grills on the market to this day.
Durability And Materials Used
Lets start with one of the most obvious differences between the two, which is the materials used to build their grills.
On one hand, Hasty Bake mainly uses premium stainless steel to make their grills. This one is known as 304 stainless steel, which is the same one used in stainless steel cooking pans.
On the other hand, PK Grills are made of high quality cast aluminum. Both stainless steel and cast aluminum are excellent when it comes to rust resistance and being easy to wipe and clean.
Stainless steel is more durable than aluminum but is equally durable to cast aluminum. In other words, both of these grills will stand the test of time and continuous use.
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The Best Charcoal Grill That Doubles As A Fire Pit: Burch Barrel
Been on the hunt for a sturdy camping grill that doubles as a firepit?The Burch Barrel is a combination camping grill and firepit that hangs from a tripod. This is not your grandpas cowboy cooker: It blends an open-fire camp grill with a vertical lift Argentine-style mechanism like a Santa Maria grill. The bottom accommodates charcoal, wood, or both for fuel. The unique, adjustable height charcoal and cooking grates can also be set in multiple positions for different heat levels. When youre not busy cooking, you can raise the lid via a locking cable and use the Burch Barrel as a fire pit. This grill is made by and for lovers of the great outdoors who enjoy hunting and camping, but Burch Barrel reports residential sales are on the rise.
Serous Eats / Courtesy of Burch Barrel
The 12 Best Charcoal Grills You Can Buy In 2022
From an affordable Weber to grilling technology of the future, these are the best charcoal grills you can buy at every price point and for every backyard.
This definitive guide to the best charcoal grills of 2022 explores everything you need to know to find a charcoal grill best suited to your needs, including features to look for, materials and price. Charcoal grill not for you? Check out our guides to pellet and gas grills.
Beyond BTUs, max temperatures and fuel cost, the fundamental difference between charcoal grills and its competitors is convenience. Charcoal grills are inconvenient in every way that a gas, pellet or electric grill is not. This is the fundamental appeal. In the same way many driving enthusiasts prefer manuals to automatics, there is carnal satisfaction in direct control, higher failure rates and sky-high potential. Yes, charcoal grills can do things the others cant, but its the no-handlebars process that makes it great. From the most iconic backyard toy of the 20th century to something called a Yoder Smoker, these are the best you can buy right now.
- Best Overall Charcoal Grill
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Hasty Bake Charcoal Grills
In 1948, Grant Hastings produced the first Hasty-Bake Charcoal Oven. As one of the original manufacturers of the “backyard barbecue,” Hastings was a pioneer in the industry.
Specifically, Hasty-Bake introduced the first portable unit, the first hooded unit, and a new method of cooking using indirect heat. Hastings’ design controlled the intensity of heat by using vents, a heat deflector, a ventless hood and an adjustable fire box, revolutionizing the method in which food was cooked.
The patented Hasty-Bake design receives continual praise from food and industry critics across the country. In addition, Hasty-Bake products are recommended by chefs and authors of cookbooks such as Born to Grill and Smoke & Spice.
But don’t take our word for it. The best way to discover the difference cooking on a Hasty-Bake can make is to taste the results for yourself. That’s why Hasty-Bake ovens produce blue ribbon results in barbecue competitions across the country. For example, the Grand Champion of the 1994 American Royal in Kansas City , Doug Steel and his Heat’s Neat team, used a Hasty-Bake to prepare most of their award-winning recipes.
Charcoal grill enthusiasts have trusted Hasty-Bake to manufacture the highest quality charcoal grills for grilling, smoking, and baking since 1948. Some say Hasty-Bake was the original backyard charcoal grill, but what we do know is that it’s the best backyard charcoal grill. Made in the USA.
The Best Affordable Charcoal Grill With Smoker Upgrade: Slow ‘n Sear Kettle Grill
Speaking of Slow ‘N Sear, this company was built on their innovative charcoal insert, mentioned above. It’s a high quality, stainless steel accessory that instantly upgrades Weber kettles and many other round, charcoal-burning cookers by enhancing two-zone separation and intensifying sear power. Toss in some wood chunks and smoke ribs low and slow on the opposite side over smokey, indirect heat. In addition to the enhanced performance for low-and-slow smoking, Slow ‘N Sear creates a super sear zone when filled with red hot charcoal.
Recently, they changed the company name to SnS Grills and introduced their very own Slow ‘N Sear Kettle Grill. Aside from the Slow ‘N Sear insert, their kettle is similar to Weber’s cart-mounted Performer Charcoal Grill with a few noteworthy upgrades, like a high quality stainless steel cooking grate and covered port for threading a digital temperature probe onto the cook surface. If you add the cost of a Slow ‘N Sear insert to a Weber Performer the Slow ‘N Sear Kettle is about the same price. This makes it a solid package deal that’s definitely worth the consideration of folks on the lookout for a new charcoal burner.
Serious Eats / Courtesy of SnS Grills
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The Bottom Line: Which One Is The Winner
With that said, you now know all the main differences and similarities between Hasty Bake and PK Grills.
As you can see, the two brands are excellent choices for anyone looking for a smokey, juicy steak with a crusty exterior.
However, if I have to pick a winner here, I believe that this one should go to PK Grills for multiple reasons.
For starters, PK Grills are made of cast aluminum, which has the same corrosion resistance properties of Hasty Bakes 304 stainless steel, except that its much lighter and even more affordable!
This makes PK Grills more practical and efficient, especially if you want to move them around and clean them properly.
In addition to its affordability and portability, aluminum conducts and distributes heat much better than stainless steel.
Why You Should Trust Us
I’ve been reviewing grills and smokers full time since 2012. To my knowledge, nobody else does this full time, and nobody else has cooked on as many grills and smokers as I have. I assemble products, measure temperatures, slam lids, turn dials, kick casters, study warranties, take pictures, and cook a lot of food.
I also consider look, feel, functionality, durability, and price. Given the enormous variety of products and designs, there is no one-size-fits-all test.
With charcoal grills, I test for effective air control by smoking low and slow at 225°F, roasting in the mid-range around 350°F, and letting ‘er rip with a blazing, red hot fire. Leaky grills are harder to control and get rated accordingly. To dial in my target cooking temperatures accurately, I use multi-channel digital thermometers with temperature probes clipped to the cooking surface. Charcoal grills usually don’t have as many bells and whistles as gassers, but I assess whatever goodies are included, particularly ash removal systems.
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