Light my (Hasty Bake) fire!

[70monte]

Awesome thread! Thanks very much to IowaGirl for starting it and the rest of you for your brilliant contributions. My brand spanking new 131 arrives on Monday (6/27), and I couldn't be more excited. Any suggestions on getting prepped for cooking? Is it a necessity to put the Lavalock gasket on the door? So many questions......Inquiring minds what to know.

Spray the inside of your grill with Pam or some other type of spray to season the inside. The Lavalock is one of those things that seems to be grill specific. Some people have no issues controlling temps without gaskets and others cannot control temps unless they have gaskets.

I would try it without the gaskets first and just remember, the grill will burn hotter until it gets the insides seasoned up. I would also recommend only filling the charcoal basket about 1/3 up or less and only get like a fist full size area of coals lit before shutting the lid. I do shut the side door as soon as I light my fire starter but keep the lid open initially. It takes way less lit coals than you would think.

Start with the vents opened 100% until you start getting around 25 degrees from your target temp and then start closing them down. It's going to be trial and error for awhile.

[IowaGirl]

I also agree with the "trial and error for awhile" advice. I struggled with the HB for the first 10 cooks or so, then it magically got a lot easier to control the fire and get consistent temperatures.

I cooked 2 racks of ribs yesterday and was very happy with the outcome. No overdone "dog treats" -- the dogs will only get the bones from this batch.