We love Hasty Bake! The clever and unique design features enable you to easily grill, smoke or roast whatever you like. We have never tested and reviewed finer charcoal grills than Hasty Bake, and the Legacy is their most popular model. We award the Hasty Bake Legacy 131 our top Platinum Medal.
OKAY, truth be told, IF price/money was REALLY no object, I'm with CHNeal on the Lang šš
The hasty bake might be in the budget. I'm curious how much fire tending goes into it and if the coals hold over close to a kamado. The other one looks cool... but I'm definitely not made of money.
Sticking with the high end thought. Anything Lone Star Grillz makes is outstanding. I have their large insulated cabinet running on charcoal and wood chunks with a controller and blower it is near set and forget.
I know but after going through the rusting out and falling apart of low and mid priced units, I'm of the buy once and cry once. The kids are already fighting over who get what.
The air management is outstanding with the combination of intake and exhaust flaps which gives you a wide range of reliable temp control. It works very well as a smoker, and you can double your capacity by buying a second grate (hangers to accomodate are already there) so plenty of space for an 18" config. And it can also be configured with the existing hardware to be used as a grille. With a second grate you can also set up to use a vortex for those high temp chicken wing cooks, as an example. It's got the wheels you desire, an excellent lid seal, an ash basket is standard for ease of clean up, works with both briquettes and lump. I use lump regularly and get great results by shaking the fuel basket before lighting which will settle the lump pieces in closer proximity which gets near briquette burn length with better flavor development. It's built like a tank at 140lb, so it's not very portable, but it won't rust out in a few years either if you don't turn it into a fish tank.
That is definitely a hot looking rig. Reverse flow, vertical cooking rack, big tires and nice mags!! How does it smoke? Any issues? Firebox insulated? What is it's sweet temp spot?
I have a LSG pellet and offset. Covers me for whatever I decide to do. IMO, the LSG pellet is in a league by itself. The smoke profile is incredible even at 350. Good luck deciding, this group will have many good opinions.
Since the HB Legacy may be in your price range (appx. $1300), but your preference appears to be to stay with a kamado style cooker, then the no-brainer option is the Weber Summit Kamado E-6 at $1249.
Smokin-It 3D
Weber Kettle with an SNS
Masterbuilt kettle that I call the $30 wonder grill
Bullet by Bull Grills gasser
Anova WiFi sous vide machine
Thermoworks Thermapen and Chef Alarm
Iāve cooked on bullet water smokers with great results and have cooked open a BGE for the past 12 years. I love my BGE, but if budget is a consideration I wouldnāt hesitate to get an Oklahoma Joe Bronco. I think their venting system is superior to most other drum smokers.
Ok, so I think my budget is definitely $1500 or less. I don't mind having an actual fire to start but I don't want to tend fire all day, nor can I with work and errands. So I guess I'm looking at another Kamado, maybe a barrel, a pellet, or one of the gravity fed things.
Iāve got an offset, but tend to use my SNS Deluxe Kamado or my Weber Performer with the SNS insert much much more, due to lack of time and inclination to babysit the offset. I love the 22ā SNS Kamado, and wouldnāt mind having a 24ā kamado. 18ā would be tight I think.
KBQ is over $1500. Get a WSM (or equivalent) and put in money for an ATC. I have a bunch of smoker/grills and based on your budget that is where I'd aim.....FWIW.
In addition, I'm a KCBS BBQ judge, competitors are turning to drum smokers for competition turn in....again, FWIW.
Last edited by TripleB; December 19, 2022, 01:32 AM.
āā¦one of the gravity-fed thingsā may be a good choice. Charcoal flavor, charcoal temp range, pellet convenience, and you can pick the size that suits you best (but remember, you can cook a small meal on a big smoker, but you canāt cook a big meal on a small smoker).
Iāve been mostly completely happy with my Masterbuilt 1050 for years now. (The small unhappiness has been caused by things theyāve fixed with small design changesā¦)
Looks like the 1050 is priced just under $900 right now.
nunyaz has a good idea. Use the extra budget space for a griddle.
I like pellet grills. Set them and forget them until done. I have a Traeger that I have had for 6 years. It has served me well. I also have a LSG pellet cooker. Great smoke profile. And built like a tank. But it is in the 2500. Range
I have a grilla pellet grill, a 18" wsm, a Bronco and a kettle that I use regularly. The kettle is the most versatile because of all of the add ons available. The Bronco is great, but you mentioned wheels. The Bronco has wheels, but it is a beast and not easy to move. The wsm is the most portable, and my first real smoker. It has a learning curve, but it runs rock solid in any weather. The grilla is the Chimp and is the easiest to use.
All that being said, I lust after a KBQ. Though I think they require lots of attention.
šš
... IF I had $1500 to spend on my pit, here's how *I'd* spend it:
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