Hasty Bake v. M1 Grill

[pdedge]

Trying to decide between the Hasty Bake and the M1 Grill.

Here's some background:
--Grew up cooking charcoal on a 22" Weber. Dad taught me pork butt and ribs on the grill and managed to get great results even without the resources on this site and the great gadgets we have now.
-- Got my own weber as a young man, and was dismissive of gas. "Might as well use your oven!"
-- Had children, got real job, was incapable of firing up charcoal on a weekday night.
-- New house had a plumbed natural gas line from prior owner. Got a Broil King Baron as a matter of convenience. Changed my life. Put the grill grates on, life got even better.
-- Finally have some money and time, and I want to get back into the charcoal/smoking game.

Looking at the Hasty-Bake and the new M1 Grill. Big things I like about both of those:

--Seems like you can do great low and slow cooking on both. Judging from the materials, M1 can do a legit smoking box?
-- I love the ability to crank the coals up close to the grill surface. When I'm trying to get a sear I've always been frustrated by how far away the coals are.

Anyone cooked on the M1? Can anyone compare plus/minuses of each? Is the ability to crank coals up really that important?

Any advice welcome!

[tbob4]

ecowper may respond to the Hasty Bake. He loves it.

[TheCountofQ]

I love my Hasty Bake, but have no experience with the M1.

Is the ability to crank up the coals important? I think so, especially for reverse sear.

The heat deflector and setting the coals low allow for cooking with no radiant heat, for the baking stage, then raising the fire box with heat deflector removed for the sear.

One can also set a water pan on the heat deflector, for adding humidity and leveling out temp fluctuations..

Can be hard to hit low temps of 225F, but adjusting the door to close tightly goes a long way. I use a temp controller/fan, with a homemade manifold to hit the existing air intake holes, and can run 12+ hours in freezing temps on a full load.

I recommend all stainless, but many are happy with the powder coat. With a water pan sitting on the deflector, it gets really humid inside. I usually have water running out the bottom, not from boil over, but from highly humid air within. I just think the stainless holds up better over the long run, with those conditions.

[ecowper]

I have a Hasty-Bake Gourmet Dual Finish. It is, without a doubt, the best all around grill I have ever owned. I can go low and slow with it, or super hot and fast. I've maintained temps at the grate in the 230 range and in the 800 range. I've smoked brisket, pork butt, pork ribs, hams, etc on here. I cook about a tri-tip a week on it. And usually at least the same for whole chickens. It can easily handle a 20 lb turkey. Or four pork butts at once. I had 40 chicken thighs on it one day.

The only modification I ever made was to seal the door with a high temp gasket that I bought from Cajun Bandit. The door definitely needs to be sealed, it's very loose and leaky.

You can build a fuse type fire in the HB firebox and get a good 8 hours of cook time out of it .... which means for brisket and pork butt, I do have to refill my firebox. Or you can dump one lit chimney of Kingsford Pro and easily cook a chicken, a tri-tip, a bunch of chicken thighs for chicken teriyaki, etc.

The ability to raise and lower the firebox is really fantastic for all types of cooking. But, as noted, especially for the reverse sear.

I also have a rotisserie for mine and can turn out killer rotisserie chicken, better than Costco's. I also use it to cook my Christmas rib roast, which is nothing short of awesome usually.

My kids love it, too!

[sos2979]

You either spend a lot of time cleaning it or that picture is right after you got it. I can't keep any of my stuff that clean.

[ecowper]

That was the day it arrived :-)

[tbob4]

That is an awesome photo.

[RavenVail]

I have had a Hasty Bake for several years and have been extremely satisfied. If you are interested, the company is having their annual dent & scratch sale this week. This is how I bought mine and I could never find the dent!

[CandySueQ]

Hasty Bake makes fine cookers! I've got a small portable one that I don't think they make anymore. Coal grate is adjustable, but not so much after the fire is lit. I'd definitely check out their sale.

[ecowper]

THe M1 is a good looking solution. It looks to me like they took the Hasty-Bake and added some upgrades/improvements to it. You can get the HB Gourmet for $1000 less, so there's that :-) ...... If I was spending $2500, I think I would just up the budget another couple hundred and get an Engelbrecht ......

https://grillsandcookers.com/collections/braten-1000

[TheCountofQ]

Or lower it a few hundred and get an all stainless HB.

[ecowper]

Yep, all good good options TheCountofQ .... but I'm pretty sure if my budget was $2500 I would scrounge up another $300 and get the Engelbrecht Braten 1000

[TheCountofQ]

It does look pretty versatile. It's been a while since I looked at them, and don't remember them having lids (but my memory tricks me at times). That is a nice improvement.

[pdedge]

Man, that Engelbrecht looks amazing. I have to admit that I love the idea of turning the giant wheel. It's a cosmetic thing, but what a look.

Great heads up on the annual sale. If I can get a Hasty bake at under $1000 that seems like a clear winner. Nothing against the M1 and Engelbrecht, but $1500 buys a lot of ribs and charcoal.

[JCBBQ]

I just took a look at the M1. Great looking cooker. Then I saw the price, and I think i'd go with ecowper 's recommendation and go with the Engelbrecht or like you said go with the HB for a grand.

[RanchoStarvo]

I have the powder coated legacy Hasty Bake. Finest charcoal cooker I have ever used. It is a rib machine. I have grilled & smoked just about everything on it, aside form a brisket.

Burn Co in Tulsa only uses Hasty Bakes and I hear they have good BBQ.

That being said, the M1 does look like it's built with thicker materials and the firebox might be set up differently. It could mean that you could use this at lower temperatures.... I would not buy the M1 just based on internet research, you need to find it in the real and review it. $2500 is too much to take a gamble on.

If M1 is your ultimate choice, let us know. If I had $2500 and did not have a grill or smoker, I'd probably get a $1,000 gas grill and a $1,500 pellet smoker.