Hasty Bake, M1, or LSG Charcoal Grill

I may take a bit of heat for this as I know there are those who sing the praises of Hasty Bake and M Grills. I have owned both the HB Gourmet 256 and the M Grills M1. I no longer own either. It’s not that they were bad grills, it just wasn’t what I thought it would be, mainly from a performance standpoint. As far as charcoal grills, I currently cook on a 26.75” kettle and absolutely love it, which is kind of funny when you look at how much $$ I’ve spent of the “better quality/better performing” grills.

With that said, if I were to venture into another high end adjustable grate charcoal grill, I would give serious consideration to the LSG and Pitmaker grills.

PM me if you want more specifics about my experience(s). Would be happy to chat by phone

I agree with above. I've contemplated going the M1 or Hastybake route but the Weber can and does churn out some serious smoked goodness...just needs babysitting.

If you want something really heavy duty, check out Stumps grill. Nice unit!


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I would also look at the Assassin grills.

Out of those three choices I would probably go M1. Weber Kettles are okay but don't have adjustable grates and they are not my favorite grill to grill on. Granted there are tons of accessories for them.

rwalters, you always sang the praises of the M1 and said the only reason you got rid of it was that you moved to a place with a smaller backyard so you had to downsize. Now it seems like there were other things you didn't like about it. Care to elaborate on that?

70monte said:

Out of those three choices I would probably go M1. Weber Kettles are okay but don't have adjustable grates and they are not my favorite grill to grill on. Granted there are tons of accessories for them.

rwalters, you always sang the praises of the M1 and said the only reason you got rid of it was that you moved to a place with a smaller backyard so you had to downsize. Now it seems like there were other things you didn't like about it. Care to elaborate on that?

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Sure. The move was what prompted the sale. The reason it didn’t make the cut was because of the following (these were issues for me, and may not be biggies for others):
1) I have a large family and we love to entertain. Something that is very important to me is to have a grill where I can easily create a nice charcoal fire under the entire cooking grate. From my experience, that is not easily achieved with the M1 with the way the “grilling” airflow has been configured. Air moves from right to left under the charcoal. The air greatly impacts the fire on the left side of the cooker, but does very little to breath life into the fire on the right side. A two zone fire is very easy to create on the M1, but not a solid charcoal tray fire.
2) I often struggled with grease leaking from between the lid/base on the back side of the cooker, often making it to my patio during greasier cooks.
3) When burning splits, I always had a temp difference of around 60-100° between the right and left side of the cooking grate. This doesn’t leave a lot of room for large low n slow cooks without having to shuffle things around. I assume there are plenty of guys that are ok with that... but for me it made the large cooks more work than I was hoping for. Lazy, I know... lol.
4) The paint seems “soft” and I found it to easily chip/scratch.

It was a FUN and SOLID cooker and put out some great food in the time I had it. Sadly though, it just did not meet my needs like I was hoping it would.

rwalters, thanks for that info. I can see how some of those things could be concerning. Was the uneven temps also an issue on your Hasty Bake?

70monte said:

rwalters, thanks for that info. I can see how some of those things could be concerning. Was the uneven temps also an issue on your Hasty Bake?

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As far as the Hasty Bake, no, uneven temps were not an issue. I had other “issues” with it... lol.

Heck, maybe the problem is me... perhaps I am to picky or expect to much out of cookers [emoji848]

On a side note: Based on my experience and understanding of airflow/charcoal fires, the PK360 makes a LOT of sense to me. I mention that because I know that you have one. The only reason I do not have a PK at this point is because I do not believe it would be big enough to meet my needs. If PK were to ever produce a version that exceeded 500sq” (preferably 600sq”+) I would probably be the first in line for it. To have a grill designed where airflow comes up directly under the fire just makes sense! Even with kamado’s that is not the case. Yes, the air comes from the bottom, but it enters one side of the cooking chamber (vs directly from the bottom), and much like the M Grill, the air scoots under the charcoal until it finally hit the back wall and rises, having its biggest impact on the fire opposite of the vent. I know this because every kamado I have ever cooked on tends to run quite a bit hotter at the rear when grilling at higher temps. This is probably the biggest reason that I love cooking on my 26.75” kettle. Direct bottom airflow = super even heat

I'm still waiting for a review of this


https://www.yodersmokers.com/charcoal24x36.html


Buy one and let me know

The biggest negative for me about the 360 is the size but the positives out way the negatives for me plus I have two 360's so even the size is not really an issue anymore.

They are extremely durable, retain heat exceptionally well and don't use very much charcoal. They are great for two zone cooking because of the vent setup. They are also pretty easy to dial in temps. I doubt you will ever see a real big PK because the "P" in PK is for Portable and 500 or 600 sq inches would not be very portable.

I have several Weber kettles and performers and like them okay but I've always had trouble keeping the temps up in them and the charcoal seems to burn out quick. I only use the kettle these days to cook chicken wings using the vortex accessory. The rest of the time when I grill, I use one of the PK's. I need to sell the Performers since I never use them.

70monte said:

The biggest negative for me about the 360 is the size but the positives out way the negatives for me plus I have two 360's so even the size is not really an issue anymore.

They are extremely durable, retain heat exceptionally well and don't use very much charcoal. They are great for two zone cooking because of the vent setup. They are also pretty easy to dial in temps. I doubt you will ever see a real big PK because the "P" in PK is for Portable and 500 or 600 sq inches would not be very portable.

I have several Weber kettles and performers and like them okay but I've always had trouble keeping the temps up in them and the charcoal seems to burn out quick. I only use the kettle these days to cook chicken wings using the vortex accessory. The rest of the time when I grill, I use one of the PK's. I need to sell the Performers since I never use them.

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Your experience with the PK360 sure does tempt me... even though I know I'd probably struggle with the size on half of my cooks. It does seem like a very well thought out design! Oh yeah, and thanks for discouraging me and ruining my hopes for a larger PK... lol

As far as the Webers not getting hot enough, yes, I have experienced that. Cooking on a 26.75" kettle, when grilling across the entire surface using GrillGrates, I have found that two full chimneys of lump does the trick! I did several LARGE cooks earlier this summer where I did multiple rounds of cooking over about 2.5-3 hours, running at 350-400 dome temp. The 2 chimneys of FOGO lump lasted the entire time.

I have a hasty bake legacy that I bought off of craigslist for 200 bucks. It has been my go to charcoal cooker lately. I bought some grill grates for it to sear steaks, I can move the fire closer or further away, which is a great benefit in my opinion. I was originally thinking of Santa maria style grill, but the HB lid is convenient. My weber performer red head still gets some use, mostly with the vortex for wings. Good luck with your decision.

I looked seriously recently at the LSG grills when ordering my LSG IVC smoker. After speaking with Chris, I ended up going with the Assassin.

I LOVED the LSG, but appreciated the fact the Assassin would allow me to more easily do two zone cooking or smoking as it controls the airflow. The LSG does not as the vent runs across the entire rear and cannot be controlled.

What I found surprising, is how much I use my 26" Weber Kettle even with the LSG smoker and Assassin Grill. As much as I love the Assassin, it take a bit more effort than the Kettle and sometimes after a long work day, I want the ease of the Kettle. I also like that the Kettle gets the charcoal much closer to the grate than either the Assassin or the LSG. Per Jeff at Assassin you can not run the charcoal on the higher rack on the Assassin to get the grate closer to the meat.

TXNewbie said:

I looked seriously recently at the LSG grills when ordering my LSG IVC smoker. After speaking with Chris, I ended up going with the Assassin.

I LOVED the LSG, but appreciated the fact the Assassin would allow me to more easily do two zone cooking or smoking as it controls the airflow. The LSG does not as the vent runs across the entire rear and cannot be controlled.

What I found surprising, is how much I use my 26" Weber Kettle even with the LSG smoker and Assassin Grill. As much as I love the Assassin, it take a bit more effort than the Kettle and sometimes after a long work day, I want the ease of the Kettle. I also like that the Kettle gets the charcoal much closer to the grate than either the Assassin or the LSG. Per Jeff at Assassin you can not run the charcoal on the higher rack on the Assassin to get the grate closer to the meat.

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It’s funny how a $299 XL kettle is often preferred to other charcoal grills costing many times more. As already mentioned, I have found the same to be true. It’s simple, will last darn near forever and just works

The two things I didn't like about the 26" kettle that I've looked at is the lid is pretty heavy and the legs were wobbly like they were going to collapse. It does have a lot of room though.

As far as the 360 goes, I think you would enjoy it for the smaller cooks but wouldn't probably be the best option for larger crowds. It also does great as a smoker as long as you can fit what you want to smoke.

70monte said:

The two things I didn't like about the 26" kettle that I've looked at is the lid is pretty heavy and the legs were wobbly like they were going to collapse. It does have a lot of room though.

As far as the 360 goes, I think you would enjoy it for the smaller cooks but wouldn't probably be the best option for larger crowds. It also does great as a smoker as long as you can fit what you want to smoke.

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It is definitely heavier than the 22 I had for a short time and sold for the 26.

Although the cover is heavier, it doesn't bother me as I simply slide it off right into the cradle to hold it open. And If I move the grill, I simply hold the cover in my off hand and the the grill moves much easier.

I agree the legs could stand to be a bit more sturdy.

The only thing that bothers me about the PK360 is that it’s made in China. That’s an awfully expensive grill for something made overseas. Plus when I bought my Classic, which already costs enough, I had to pay to upgrade the cooking grates to stainless. Now less than a year later, my SS grates are covered in rust. Kinda turned off to PK at the moment.


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NYC ‘Que said:

The only thing that bothers me about the PK360 is that it’s made in China. That’s an awfully expensive grill for something made overseas. Plus when I bought my Classic, which already costs enough, I had to pay to upgrade the cooking grates to stainless. Now less than a year later, my SS grates are covered in rust. Kinda turned off to PK at the moment.


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Kinda surprised to hear this about the SS grates. Are they not 304 SS? Being a PK, I would expect them to be.

NYC ‘Que said:

The only thing that bothers me about the PK360 is that it’s made in China. That’s an awfully expensive grill for something made overseas. Plus when I bought my Classic, which already costs enough, I had to pay to upgrade the cooking grates to stainless. Now less than a year later, my SS grates are covered in rust. Kinda turned off to PK at the moment.


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Even though it's made in China, the casting is as good of a quality as the classic. I have both. Those upgraded SS grates are made in China along with the cart that the classic sits in. The only thing American made is supposedly the grill body and lid.

I don't care that it's made in China because so is a lot of the things I own. It's hard to get away from that anymore.