The BEST charcoal grill for your outdoor space / Hasty Bake Legacy 131 / One Year in Review

[@DebtFreeDIY]

What's your all time favorite grill?

[@jackarnold3290]

HASTY BAKE !! And it is not even close. Lifetime delicious food.

[@surfingonmars8979]

@@DebtFreeDIY ALL of them!

[@jackarnold3290]

Bought a Hasty Bake grill last week. Lifetime quality, worth every penny. Charcoal flavor is YUMMY !!!!!

[@misterruggles9736]

we bought the classic hasty bake almost 20 years ago and its still perfect. we paid about $600.

[@DebtFreeDIY]

Wow that's so good to hear! I'm 1 year in and absolutely love it. 😊

[@jcbever1511]

I bought the HB 75th Anniversary model and couldn't be more happy with it. I've smoked brisket, porkbutt, ribs and salmon, along with grilling chicken breasts, thighs and wings. I have a 22" Weber that I will not get rid of, but it's not getting as much use as the HB.

[@gosman949]

I've had a Hasty Bake for over 30 years and it is still going strong. Enjoy the next 30 with yours!

[@DebtFreeDIY]

Wow that's awesome! Do you keep it out of the elements to get that kind of longevity out of it?

[@gosman949]

@@DebtFreeDIY no unfortunately just the Hasty Bake cover on it is all the protection it gets. By the way, their cover is the best also. It is about 30 years old too! They don't make covers like these anymore! Not sure if Hasty Bake even does anymore.

[@DebtFreeDIY]

@@gosman949 Thanks for the info! 😊

[@frankallen8440]

First time viewer and now a subscriber. I've had a Hasty-Bake for about 2 years. Thanks to Kent.

[@crushingbelial]

Admittedly I didn't even know HB existed when I first got into bbq and grilling. My first serious one was a kamado Joe. Nowadays I have a kettle, bge, kbq c60 and an hb250 on the way. Had I known of HB earlier on I may have avoided going the kamado route. I like them don't get me wrong but it is a different approach and flavor profile

[@DebtFreeDIY]

Sounds like you've got quite the grill setup, Adam! The HB is definitely a great grill. I'm on year 3 now and still loving every minute of it!

[@crushingbelial]

@@DebtFreeDIY what a great endorsement. My silly little point was I wish I knew about it earlier. All the best to you and yours

[@jackarnold3290]

Like you. Sold my Big Green Egg, Sold my Weber Kettle Master Touch, Sold my Cookshack Smoker. HASTY BAKE now does it ALL and better with charcoal flavor. HAPPY ME !!!!!

[@user-cm3wd5hk1p]

@@jackarnold3290im looking at the kbq c60 as well. My main grill is a Big Green Egg and Santa Maria style. I’d like to build a wood fired oven and not sure I want to keep the big green egg any longer. It’s great, but it’s one of those it’s so versatile it’s not great at any one thing kinda deal

[@jackarnold3290]

You are brilliant! Hasty Bake Fiesta is THE BEST and worth every penny. Lifetime quality.

[@Moondoggy1941]

The first BBQ my GF bought me a small propane cooker from the Big HD store, so I was looking for a BBQ for my house, I had a unique opportunity to check out all of the BBQ gasers at the condo and apt complex's. Something I learned that most BBQ are made to look good but will rot out fast. My first real buy in the charcoal cookers is a Hasty-Bake all SS, it is over 30years old and still works great. I love cooking Tri-Tiip on it.

[@DebtFreeDIY]

Jim, I completely agree on your assessment of most grills. Pretty on the outside but just don't have any longevity. I love hearing these stories of Hasty Bake's lasting for years and years! Thanks for sharing!

[@HastyBakeGrills]

Love it, man! So glad you're happy with it!

[@DebtFreeDIY]

Thank you! And thanks to the Hasty Bake crew for making such a great product!

[@RobbyandTammyS]

@@DebtFreeDIY I know this is a strange question, but I am blind and would like to know if you can feel the pointer on the side to know whether it’s on bake smoke or sear? Thank you so much yes, our use common sense and wear a glove while feeling for this! :-)

[@DebtFreeDIY]

@@RobbyandTammyS yes you totally can. It has raised lettering at the pointer indication.

[@RobbyandTammyS]

@@DebtFreeDIY fantastic! Thank you so much for responding so quickly! Will be placing my order once we finish building our next house! :-)

[@thomasmack2409]

Hasty Bake makes the best grill ever. I have a Fiesta and love it....

[@DebtFreeDIY]

Couldn't agree more. Is the Fiesta the built-in one?

[@thomasmack2409]

Yes, it’s built in.

[@TomHudson00]

This is an excellent video! Well done.

[@bowsewr7074]

Love my stainless steel HB 257 Gourmet. There is a Learning process but it's awesome

[@jackarnold3290]

Bought the Hasty Bake Gourmet Pro 259 last week. Selling everything else.

[@danieldotter6077]

Great review thanks for sharing

[@DebtFreeDIY]

Absolutely. Thanks for the kind words!

[@katzsteel]

Totally agree with the Weber kettle. I have a performer with fold down table. The most versatile grill I have, and I have a lot of Webers! I wish they would make a 24” performer as that’s my only complaint when smoking. Would like a bit more room. The 26” just seems too big. I’ve looked at these Hasty’s. How’s the fuel management on long cooks?

[@DebtFreeDIY]

Yes. Weber's are great! As for the Hasty Bake, I've done 6 and 7 hour cooks on mine. No issues. Just takes a bit more prep work and I light on the opposite side of the air flow to help it stay low and slow. 😊 I've got hopes to try a brisket soon!

[@jackarnold3290]

@@DebtFreeDIYYour brisket on your Hasty Bake will be the best you ever tasted.

[@jeffreyyoung702]

Just stumbled onto your channel. Nice video and well thought out. I got the Hastybake bug about 2 yrs ago. Have not looked back. Have a couple other grills (hangar queens) since the Hadty arrived. Good luck with your channel. I subscribed.

[@DebtFreeDIY]

Hi Jeffrey! The Hasty Bake really is amazing for an all around grill! Thanks so much for the kind words and the sub! Have a great weekend!

[@Mr2004MCSS]

Nice video. I've owned a HB for almost 4 years. The first one I had was an old 60's model I bought off of FB Marketplace. I then found a new one like yours with a HB cover for $450 from a guy who bought a couple of them at a huge discount. I really like this grill but smoking on it has been a challenge because mine wanted to run at about 350 degrees no matter how I set the coals up or how much I initially had lit. I've used lump and the B&B comp logs like you mention below. I finally put gaskets around the side door and along the bottom under the door and can not control the temps pretty well. I also have an M1 which is basically a HB on steroids that is basically twice the price of the HB but built with 10 gauge steel vs the 18 gauge of the HB. It holds temps like a dream. I just discovered your channel and I'm retired and totally debt free which is a nice feeling. Keep up the good work.

[@DebtFreeDIY]

Hi Wayne! Thanks for the kind words! We are consumer debt free and I know the peace and freedom we have with that alone so I can only imagine the feeling of being completely debt free and retired as well! 😊 Congrats! As for the HB, first of all that price you got was a steal! My only temperature issue I have ran into is it can be a challenge for me to keep it below 250. I find long smokes tend to hover around 260-290 for me. Thanks again!

[@Mr2004MCSS]

@@DebtFreeDIY I worked for the Gov't and was able to retire at age 50 and was lucky enough to have my house paid off before that. I did have some debt still when I retired almost four years ago but was able to knock it out. My HB was a great price that I couldn't pass up even though I really didn't need it. BBQ is a hobby for me and I have multiple different cookers. Too many actually. LOL

[@DebtFreeDIY]

@@Mr2004MCSS that's awesome!

[@GamerNxUSN]

Had no idea these were made in Oklahoma. Do you know if there are any dealers in OKC? When I google, it shows they are in Tulsa and I don't head up that way very often.

[@DebtFreeDIY]

Good to hear from a fellow Okie! I know in this area that Ace Hardware has started carrying them, so that might be a good place to start. 😊 Thanks for watching!

[@jackarnold3290]

Just call Hasty Bake and they will send you one. Hasty Bake grill are shipped all over the world. Got mine last week.HAPPY!!

[@juvethefish114]

Great vid and production. Do the sides of the cabinet get super hot during a cook? Would you burn a kneecap? Coming from gas grills, I’ve never had to think about my knees hitting anything that would get hot. With little ones running around, I’m just trying to figure out how hot that thing gets. Thanks!

[@DebtFreeDIY]

Thanks for the kind words! Yes, the sides do get hot but I'm not 100% how super hot it gets . I'll be cooking on it this weekend and I'll check and see exactly how hot it seems to be and comment back on here and let you know! 😊

[@nordicwilly6650]

Thanks for review. In the smoke setting, what is maximum distance from bottom of charcoal basket to the food grate?

[@DebtFreeDIY]

I'll check tonight after work and report back

[@DebtFreeDIY]

Looks like approximately 16 inches.

[@steve219big]

Does yours have the rotisserie attachment?

[@DebtFreeDIY]

It does not

[@universaldonor3100]

what is the amount of grease these magic grill grate channel to the grease cup vs the grease that is in the bottom of grill

[@DebtFreeDIY]

So honestly, I don't know an exact amount. I change the grease pan a LOT more than I've had to clean the bottom. And honestly a lot of what ends up on the bottom is probably my fault because I don't always clean that grill grate channel like I should so it runs over some in those cases.

[@universaldonor3100]

@@DebtFreeDIY thanks for reply

[@DebtFreeDIY]

Sure thing!

[@surfingonmars8979]

Cheap grills are like cheap cars. They both work, but how well, how long and how conveniently….?

[@rickyboyd2919]

It’s looks good but the air controls don’t look robust or accurate. What are your thoughts on the air controls after a year. It looks like an easy are for them to improve but maybe they are fine in real use? I’m considering this or a pk grill.

[@DebtFreeDIY]

Hi Ricky! So the air controls do seem a little different I'll admit but I've never had an issue controlling the temp. I think one benefit is that they're offset (low on one side high on the other) so it pulls air up and through. Last week I was cooking, finished up and shut the vents off and lowered the firebox to help snuff the fire out. After about 30 minutes I remembered that I was gonna throw on some flank steak to have for the next day. I raised the firebox, opened the vents and top and it was able to pull right back up to temp from below 200. That being said, normally If I want it to get up and running hot quicker I tend to use a chimney. If I'm not in a hurry or doing burgers/ dogs or something that needs a normal temp I just light it like normal. And if I'm doing low and slow with ribs or something, I use regular hardwood lump combined with B & B competition logs (denser) and then light on the opposite side of the lower air vent so that the fire has to kind of work backwards. And with all of that being said, I've heard great things about PK as well! But personally if/when this one kicks the bucket I'll buy another. I like it that much. (sorry so longwinded lol)

[@rickyboyd2919]

@@DebtFreeDIY I appreciate the response and enjoyed the video. I’m already debt free except for the house which I want to do as well. Good Luck with the channel.

[@DebtFreeDIY]

@@rickyboyd2919 that's so awesome! That's where we are in the process as well! We're really looking forward to the day we achieve that goal!

[@Mr2004MCSS]

I also have a PK 360 in addition to a HB Legacy 131 and the PK has way better temp control but doesn't have near the room that the HB does.

[@HastyBakeGrills]

Hi Ricky! Most people put too much of an emphasis on fine-tuning air. Realistically, the draw is not just created by intake/outake/wind, but by the natural draft of the fire. The fire needs what it needs, and depriving it or flooding it too much will both have adverse effects. HB grills have 10" of collective intake/exhaust. That's more available air than Weber (around 6"), PK (around 7-8" on most models), or most other grills on the market. We intentionally use the flap system because it's darn near fail-proof. It doesn't depend on bolts or sliders like the aforementioned grills and doesn't leak ash like they do either. You can also easily see and adjust where your vents are. The position of the vents and shape of the unit also allows for 120" of linear air movement from intake to exhaust, vs the 18-24" on webers or PK. That linear air translates into CONVECTION, which is the key to color, smoke, bark and most importantly flavor. For as simple as our flap system is, most folks can maintain 5-7 hrs of zero-maintenance burning (no adding charcoal, no adjusting vents) once you get used to the grill. Sometimes it's the simple things that just work better. Lots of things have changed over 75 years, but we've remained remarkably the same!

[@Matlock69]

Actually, I've never bought a cheap grill. :)

[@DebtFreeDIY]

It takes me a little longer to learn than most... 🤣

[@jackarnold3290]

@@DebtFreeDIYRespectfully disagree. Everything about using my Hasty Bake was super easy.

[@orbea42]

No. I bought one of these about three years ago and all the powder coat paint on the inside of the top flaked off after simply cleaning it with Dawn soap a few times. This simply should not happen. Not acceptable. The grill was always covered with a cover made by them when not in use. It's just poorly made. I would not recommend any of the grills.

[@DebtFreeDIY]

Wow that sucks. I am over 4 years in and still loving mine. That being said I don't clean the inside whatsoever. I want all that natural seasoning. 😊 Heck the powder coating on my lid inside could be gone and I wouldn't know cause it's caked with smoke, soot, grease and who knows what else. 😂

[@countbackfrom10]

I think you may be confusing powder coating with creosote. Creosote is a substance that forms on the inside of grills, particularly charcoal ones. You can scrape it off or leave it alone it doesn’t do anything.

[@IrisMotion]

What about cleaning grill I hate cleaning these things

[@DebtFreeDIY]

I just let it get super hot and clean it with a scraper

[@jackarnold3290]

You could buy the least expensive Hasty Bake (with nickel plated grills) then pay $95 to upgrade to Stainless Steel grates and be happy you did. Easy to keep clean and never rusts.

[@BarronHeight911]

I thought you said you live in reality?? $1,200 grill!!!

[@jackarnold3290]

Over time you can buy several $400 grills which will rot and be thrown away. Cheaper to buy ONE Hasty Bake for your lifetime.