Suburban 414

Don’t underestimate this little guy. It’ll do whatever you ask it do….

My family has had Hasty Bake cookers from sixties

I’m come from 2 generations of Hasty Bake families. As I started out young, I cut my teeth on a number of different cheap gas grills, then moving into Weber charcoal grills and smokers. Recently I even took the plunge into the pellet grill arena. All that changed in 2021. With the passing of my father, I was gifted his pride and joy: a Legacy 131. The learning curve was steep, as it doesn’t cook like other charcoal grills. The airflow management is the key to these (highly recommend watching the YouTube videos). I have enjoyed the 131 so much that I decided to buy a smaller Suburban 414 for small cooks and taking to the lake. Low and behold, this immediately became by primary cooker. I have since sold the Legacy 131 and exclusively use the Suburban 414. It easily cooks 15 burgers, 4-5 slabs of ribs using a rack, and even upwards of a 13lb full packer brisket. All turning out the same great taste as it’s bigger Legacy brother, but using less charcoal and taking up less space. I was genuinely concerned it wouldn’t be big enough for my family of 4: I was dead wrong. 100% satisfied with this Suburban.

Update on my review in May 2021. Initially had a very rough time in maintaining a low (225) temp.
After several weeks of fooling with vents etc and and putting hi-temp gasket around door and lid and even on underside of vent flaps, I finally am able to maintain the proper temp. When HB gets to within 20 degrees of target temp, close the vents and monitor from there. Of all grills on my deck, HB is now my goto grill. PERFECT!!

I’ve had this cooker for 3 months now. For those who struggle with temp, here’s what I’ve learned:
1. Put gasket tape on the door to improve seal (just the top and left sides alone make a huge improvement)
2. Use charcoal briquettes in maze/minion for long cooks. I had a local sheet metal shop make three 6” dividers…good for 6-8hrs cooks with B&B
3. Watch the grill hood adjustment video as its very important to get a good seal
4. For me, cracking the door to control airflow works better until it reaches 275, then I close the door use the vents to keep it at 250-260 range
5. Never use dry wood chunks, always soak them as long as possible to prevent temp spikes. The pellet tubes may be an interesting option to use.

Btw, the PK grill cookmore grid fits perfectly & almost doubles your cooking area. This may be the most versatile cooker out there, love that rotisserie kit!