I got really curious based on multiple Hasty-Bake conversations, including here and on FaceBook, about grill temps distributed across the Hasty-Bake grate. Especially when you are running low and slow with the deflector in place and a water pan on the left side of the firebox.
Here’s what I did .... first, I set up the firebox with a 9x13 foil pan at the left side for water, then 120 Kingsford Pro unlit briq’s, a small split of red oak, and a gap at the far right side that can hold 30 lit Kingsford Pro briq’s. I set up just straight SS grates, no Grill Grates. I lit 30 KP briq’s until ashed over. I filled the water pan with hot water. And dumped the lit Kingsford into the gap at the far right of the firebox. Then I added 20 briquettes over the lit stuff and the oak split to bridge to the unlit charcoal.
I put 3 temp probes on the grates, one at the middle of the left grate, about 2†from the back wall. One at the middle of the right grate, same distance from back wall. And one at the middle of the right grate, about 2†from the hood.
Here’s the FireBoard graph of the temps over 4 1/2 hours of cooking. During the first period where the right/back temp is high and unstable, I had both left hand vents open and the fire door vent. when the right/back grate temp comes down and gets stable, I have closed down the vents so that the left back vent is 1/2 open and the fire door vent is 1/4 open and that is all I have opened up.
The bottom line is that the entire grate is within just a few degrees across the whole thing and extremely stable.
I suspected this, but had never really done this. Now I know.
Here’s what I did .... first, I set up the firebox with a 9x13 foil pan at the left side for water, then 120 Kingsford Pro unlit briq’s, a small split of red oak, and a gap at the far right side that can hold 30 lit Kingsford Pro briq’s. I set up just straight SS grates, no Grill Grates. I lit 30 KP briq’s until ashed over. I filled the water pan with hot water. And dumped the lit Kingsford into the gap at the far right of the firebox. Then I added 20 briquettes over the lit stuff and the oak split to bridge to the unlit charcoal.
I put 3 temp probes on the grates, one at the middle of the left grate, about 2†from the back wall. One at the middle of the right grate, same distance from back wall. And one at the middle of the right grate, about 2†from the hood.
Here’s the FireBoard graph of the temps over 4 1/2 hours of cooking. During the first period where the right/back temp is high and unstable, I had both left hand vents open and the fire door vent. when the right/back grate temp comes down and gets stable, I have closed down the vents so that the left back vent is 1/2 open and the fire door vent is 1/4 open and that is all I have opened up.
The bottom line is that the entire grate is within just a few degrees across the whole thing and extremely stable.
I suspected this, but had never really done this. Now I know.
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