# Hasty Bake vs Primo Oval



## hbc01

I need some serious help in making the decision which one to purchase.  I have been doing research online for months!  I use forums in other hobbies of mine and know that you guys have the best advice and hands on experience.  So, please let me know your thoughts.


----------



## bigwheel

The HB's have a reputation of being flimsy built and not lasting very long for those who cook a lot. For those wanting a cement egg have heard good reports on this model. Seems like some folks on here have bought one. 

Shop Char-Griller Charcoal Grill at Lowes.com

or maybe this one

http://www.lowes.com/ProductDisplay...gId=10051&cmRelshp=req&rel=nofollow&cId=PDIO1


----------



## Max1

The Bayou will more than likely last longer, but comes with a hefty price tag too, Can you really afford $700? If it is your budget I say go for it, if not the Char-Griller is a good choice too, I have a few friends that have them and they love them. And for that matter they still might be on sale a Meijers for $250.

Char-Griller Kamado Kooker Charcoal Grill and Smoker- Black | Meijer.com


----------



## bigwheel

Well I took the liberty of pricing the Primo Oval thing the young man was considering. Now that one will take a huge nibble out of the plastic. In fact a person could afford two of the Bayous for what the other cost. Should be no hill for a climber.


----------



## Max1

Yeah BGE are hugely expensive too, hell the small one costs like $500 - $600! Too rich fir my blood. If I had that kind of money, I would get me a Chaney, or something like it.


----------



## bigwheel

Since swearing off of stinky old nasty old charcoal a few years back I got no need for such things. Gas is for grilling and electricity is for smoking. In fact I need a new gasser. Thanks for the reminder.


----------



## Cliff H.

Where I work there are Hasty Bake charcoal grills for sale.  I have sampled pork loins cooked on a Hasty Bake at my work.

My opinion is that they are incredibly overpriced for what they are.  

There is no way I would give $1800-$2000 for a charcoal grill made of stainless steel.

I would much rather have an XL BGE


----------



## Animal

Max said:


> The Bayou will more than likely last longer, but comes with a hefty price tag too, Can you really afford $700? If it is your budget I say go for it, if not the Char-Griller is a good choice too, I have a few friends that have them and they love them. And for that matter they still might be on sale a Meijers for $250.
> 
> Char-Griller Kamado Kooker Charcoal Grill and Smoker- Black*|*Meijer.com




I have one of those Char-Grillers and love it. Got it for $249 a year ago, for small cooks I use it more than my Lang. I would recommend it also. Very efficient on fuel and insulated for the winters here in Wisconsin.


----------



## Max1

If only I had the money, I would get one and get rid of my gasser.


----------



## bigwheel

Ok why dont we have a yard sale on the gaming equipment then you could use that money to buy some cool cooking stuff. I like the sound of it.


----------



## Max1

Nah, that's okay, I need that stuff to make money, not about to sell it.  :p That's talking LoCo son!

I will figure something out, I always do.


----------



## bigwheel

Well ok..thought we was looking for a way to free up some funds. Do yall have any ugly man contests up there?


----------



## cookking

I'm going to toss out another good gril/smoker for you to check out. The *Broil King Keg *. I have the original version which was called the Big Steel Keg. They are just like the kamado cooker(I'll say Big Green Egg)but made of steel and they are insulated between the inner and outer shells. Stil a heavy cooker it is light for moving around, portable enough that you can hook it up to the trailer hitch mine came with but without the risk of breaking. I have driven about five hundred miles with one on the back of my Expedition and had no issues. A friend of mine who I brought the one on the hitch to had his wife bump into it with her Surburban and not break it. 

It has no ceramics to wory about breaking like any of the other ceramic kamado cookers but it is well insulated and works just as good.

Now the price isn't cheap but you could feel better about it not breaking accidently. They are owned by a Canadian company now and may be difficult to find but loook into it.  
Broil King® - Broil King® Keg

Check out their forum too. Broil King Keg Forum - Index


----------



## Bob In Fla.

Isn't the Hasty Bake oven that thing I gave my niece a few years ago?  It gets it's heat from a light bulb and she was always baking tiny cupcakes and miniature cookies in it?

Personally?  I'd go for a Weber Smoky Mountain and a Weber grill, but given the choices mentioned above, I'd get the Primo Oval thingie.

BOB


----------



## bigwheel

I think some of us might be thinking of the light bulb oven gizmo here. Easy Bake Oven maybe? Us boy babies did not ever get those sniff sniff.


----------



## Old Dave

Hello Mr. HBC01,

Welcome to the forum and I see you have already been introduced to the “peanut gallery”. You asked for some “serious help” with some “hands on experience” and stated that you have done your research for months and you have received 14 posts telling you that your two choices are not much good and most suggested purchasing something else. Well my friend, this is just one more post from the peanut gallery but I do have hands on experience and I will try to provide some serious help. 

Both the Hasty Bake and the Primo or any other ceramic cooker are great cookers in my opinion and I do own two Hasty Bakes and three ceramic cookers. 

The HB and the Primo are both American made by two small companies with one being in Oklahoma and the other in Georgia. Both companies are about the same size and the HB company has been in the grill business 4-5 times longer than the Primo company for whatever that might be worth. I think both of them will be around for a while. 

I’ll start by telling you that I think the Hasty Bake is the best charcoal cooker out there at any price and I have owned several very good charcoal cookers. The peanut gallery said that these cookers are expensive and that is so true but if you want to own the best, it’s gonna cost ya. 







This in my model 130 Hasty Bake and although the peanut gallery would tell you that the Hasty Bake cookers are “flimsy and not lasting” this cooker is approaching 50 years in service and I am trying to wear it out! Two year ago, I broke one of the grids that hold the charcoal and just called the company and ordered a new part. Imagine, a 50 year old cooker and a fellow can still get parts! For what it’s worth and if I can finally wear it out, I may consider sending it back to Hasty Bake for a rebuild job as they do that in the Winter season to help keep the employees busy. 






This is my pride and joy and is a Hasty Bake Gourmet Model 257 all Stainless Steel cooker and is about 3 years old. Sure it cost way too much but it is nice to own the best of something and I feel the the HB is the best overall charcoal cooker out there. 

The HB will do it all in that you can cook low and slow for hours without much attention to the cooker, cook all the medium range cooks at say 275-325 degrees and then do the higher temp cooks at around 375-400 for baking and pizza. I also have two rotisserie setups for my unit which I really like. The cooker has good capacity with both cooking shelves so you can cook for the crowds. With the ability to crank up the fire to where it is very close to the cooking grid, you can sear at the tip of a lump charcoal flame and that my friend is super hot! I get 1-1/2 “  thick ribeyes done in about 4 minutes on the first side and about 2-3 minutes on the second side. 






This is five turkey breasts going on to the cooker and as you can see, it only occupies about half the space on the larger grid in the cooker. 






The results of that cook. 






This is two whole butterflied chickens in the rotisserie in my cooker.






This is the results of that cook.






This is a couple of Cornish hens on my EZ-Que rotisserie setup in my HB cooker.






This is the results of that cook....as you can see, I love the rotisserie units in my cooker.






This mixed cook is a whole rotisserie chicken along with a big slab of those Kroger “bronto” spare ribs.






Chicken came out looking good.






This is a couple of pork butts on the cooker about done. 






For something like pork butts and maybe briskets where I might need 10-12 hours of straight cooking, I set up a fuse burn in my charcoal box like you see in the picture. I have divided the firebox into two sides and I will start the fire at the front of one side and it will burn right on around my firebricks to the other side and this gives my several hours of cooking time and enough for my butts. 






The results of the pork butt cook. 

You can check my blog for additional information on this great cooker with tons of pictures. Just look up Hasty Bake in the index.

The Primo is a great cooker and I feel that if I could only own one backyard cooker, it would be a ceramic cooker. While I don’t own a Primo at the present time, I do own three of another brand of ceramic cookers. I have cooked on both the Primo Oval and also the round ceramic Primo cooker. In fact, my cooking team was the first team in the country to use all ceramic cookers in a KCBS bbq contest. We cooked on both the Primo Oval and Round, and a couple of Big Green Eggs.

The Primo will just flat do it all and with some tasks, much easier than with the Hasty Bake.  

It would be hard for me to compare the Primo to the Hasty Bake as they are two much different cookers. I love both of them and  hope this information will help you with your decision. They are both great choices. 

If you need any additional information, just fire the questions this way and I will try to help you out. 

Dave


----------



## hbc01

*Thanks Dave*

You are the reason why I love these forums, you have given me a new look and attitude towards the hasty bake.  The ceramics have lost the race in my decision.  But now the leader by a long shot is the Medow Creek P 36.  

PR36 Backyard BBQ Smoker | Meadow Creek Barbeques

Does your team have any experience with MC.  Many of the other forums are saying the MC will be a longer lasting investment.  I will be splitting the time between grilling and smoking.  The HB looks pretty easy to use with perfection temp control.  I just don't havent seen one and I don't want to be buying another grill in 20 years.  Its nice to see that you have yours for that long.  I appreciate any of your thoughts and thank you so much.  I'm addicted to looking at all of the forums to see the responses.  Have a great day Dave!


----------



## Cliff H.

Dave you have inspired me to reconsider my opinion of the HB grills.  

I have two models on the sales floor that I regularly tweak with at my work place.  We have one that we keep in the back warehouse that we use.

It is a great grill.  I'm not saying it isn't.

Right now I just can't see past the $2299 price tag.

Maybe after I cook on it some more I will have a better opinion of it.

Thanks for your comments.  I didn't know about the rebuild aspect.


----------

