Hi folks:
I'm new to this board with a birthday coming up. Significant others
(brother, wife) are getting me one of these two smokers. I have been
reading and reading and searching this site to help me decide. I need
expert advice on this!

I love to smoke and grill,and want a unit that can handle both tasks -
a unit I only have to buy once. However, I don't want to give up
quality for versatility either. If you search the board, people who
want to do both seem to rave about the Hasty Bake as a smoker and a
grill. "For something a little more versatile that does great
barbequeing and also allows you to grill, you'll want to look at Hasty
Bake", "In my opinion the HastyBake is close to a universal outdoor
cooker. It easily beats all three at there own games!" Go for a Hasty
Bake Legacy model, at right on $1k. It grills, it does the low and slow
thing, and the adjustable firebox is a marvel."

On the other hand, people rave about the Klose, as well. However, I
can't get a clear read on whether it also is an excellent grill, as
well as a smoker.

Next to last question: Klose is easy to contact. However, there are
no Hasty- Bake dealers in New England. Assuming you recommend the
Hasty-Bake, where would you recommend buying one for shipping? I've
tried a few of their distributors who (curiously) are not e-mailing
back.

Last question is size. Is the Legacy (and similarly sized Klose) big
enough to feed up to 25 people (and mostly deal with 8-12?)

Sorry for the long post, but it's a big decision!
Regards-
JS

"Matthew L. Martin" wrote:
>
> wrote:
>
> > Sorry for the long post, but it's a big decision!
> > Regards-
> > JS
> >
>
> Yes, it is. I'd like to make matters worse for you:
>
> <http://www.kamado.com/updatepage11162004.htm>
>
> A Kamado #7 in mosaic or a textured #9 with a few accessories would meet
> your expressed needs.

I see the annual flower pot sales ads have begun. Just in time for
spring planting season!

-CAL

"Matthew L. Martin" wrote:
>
> wrote:
>
> > Sorry for the long post, but it's a big decision!
> > Regards-
> > JS
> >
>
> Yes, it is. I'd like to make matters worse for you:
>
> <http://www.kamado.com/updatepage11162004.htm>
>
> A Kamado #7 in mosaic or a textured #9 with a few accessories would meet
> your expressed needs.
>


"Matthew L. Martin" wrote:
>
> wrote:
>
> > Sorry for the long post, but it's a big decision!
> > Regards-
> > JS
> >
>
> Yes, it is. I'd like to make matters worse for you:
>
> <http://www.kamado.com/updatepage11162004.htm>
>
> A Kamado #7 in mosaic or a textured #9 with a few accessories would meet
> your expressed needs.

I see the annual flower pot sales ads have begun. Just in time for
spring planting season! Time to dawn the hoes and bermuda shorts (and
hoes in bermuda shorts)

-CAL

The HastyBake's fire box is mounted on a mechanism which raises and lowers
it via operation of a crank which comes out of one end of the unit. The
full height door which gives access to the firebox, ash-tray and interior
must be closed to use the unit for smoking. This door is at the other end
opposite the crank.

To smoke it is necessary to lower the firebox via the crank to its lowest
position. At this point it will be sitting on the ash tray at the bottom of
the unit. When fully lowered no air can enter the firebox from the bottom.
Obviously this greatly slows combustion. There is a little vent flap in the
center of above mentioned door which controls the flow of fresh air into the
unit. The exhaust flap is at the other end above the adjusting crank.

HastyBake furnishes a sheet steel heat diffuser looks like an inverted
letter "U" it is about half the length of the firebox and is placed on top
of the firebox at its end near the door..

Obviously only half of the volume of the fire box can be used for indirect
cooking since the other half is not shielded by the diffuser. Not a big
deal the box is large enough to hold 2.5/3 hrs of coal but it does have to
be replenished from time to time.

Now the bad news, at grate height the temperature directly over the diffuser
is MUCH hotter then on the half of the grate positioned over the empty non
shielded end of the firebox.

The result is that half of the total grill surface is to hot for slow
smoking. I would guess about 275 to 300 degrees... above boiling for sure.
Of course it is possible to move the food around the grate but that means
opening the top lid every 15 minutes or so. This plays havoc with the
average temperature inside the box and the food still cooks much faster then
it should.

If you are content to use the cooler half of the grate the unit works very
well. Circulation is excellent and the oven will hold the selected
temperature for a couple of hours. Of course you could increase capacity at
the cool end by using rib racks or construct a stacked grate assembly but
in the factory furnished state what I describe is reality.

These remarks are based on my heavy usage for 5 years of the smallest model.
I see no reason to believe that my experience does not apply to the entire
HastyBake line.

In summary... This is a wonderfully engineered product. It grills, bakes
and smokes to perfection. But like all mechanical devices it has it's
limitations and in this case it's the quantity of food which can be slow
smoked. I suggest you consider your requirements and if you can live with
the above limitation buy one because a HastyBake is a terrific product.

Richard Smith

On Fri, 18 Mar 2005 15:12:47 GMT, "Christine Allison"
> wrote:

>Richard Smith

Is there a reason why you're posting as "Christine Allison," the girl
with two first names?

"TFM®" > wrote in message
m...
> Duwop wrote:
>
> > The Tejas 2040 with grilling ability in the main chamber would be the
> > perfect unit. Shit, you could grill chicken in the main unit while
> > BBQ'ing in the vertical box.
>
>
>
> Ain't that like what Hound had?

Exactly. I learned about it from his postings.

> He had a Tejas smoker. Firebox, round horizontal chamber, and square
> vertical chamber.
>
> Awesome cooker, but it was a dedicated hot smoker.

Yeah, with the small addition of an adjustable firetray it would be the
total package.

I still got your pics from his visit with you.

On Sat, 19 Mar 2005 01:19:42 -0600, Nick
> wrote:

>On Fri, 18 Mar 2005 09:10:02 -0700, Kevin S. Wilson >
>wrote:
>
>>On Fri, 18 Mar 2005 15:12:47 GMT, "Christine Allison"
> wrote:
>>
>>>Richard Smith
>>
>>Is there a reason why you're posting as "Christine Allison," the girl
>>with two first names?
>
>Is there a reason that a man posting as a women caught your attention
>in such a way that you felt the *need* to make an inquiry as to
>his/her sexual nature? (preferences)

It's truly sad that someone who is allowed to vote and drive a car is
too dense to understand the difference between gender and sexual
preferences.

>Is this what is commonly referred to as "gaydar"?

Sadder still that you think accusing someone of being a homosexual is
an insult.