WSM – sand – clay pot – or water?

Shiz-Nit

Shiz-Nit

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Just curios how do you all roll with your WSM. I have used water, a clay pot and even sand in my WSM. For the past while I have been using the sand in it and it really helps on fuel use.
 
When I had my WSM's, I always cooked with them empty except with water the first few times.. Never tried sand.
 
I just used water in mine for the first time in a simulated comp cook, and I can't tell the difference between cooking dry or wet. I did it at JD's insistance, but even though it was at MY house on MY pits I relented. I survived and lived to cook another day, but for comps JD is the PB and he rolls with wet pans-so he gets to clean the farkin' things!!

I never used sand, tried the clay pot base, rolled with lava rocks foiled over for a spell, then cheapo pizza stones, now I have a pizza pan that fits neatly (and lightly) in each pan and I just put a sheet of foil over it to catch the drippings and toss it when I'm done cooking.

I accept the fact that I'm cheap and lazy when it comes to cooking on the WSM's, and I'm OK with that!
 
I'm a water guy in Brinkman charcoal pans for butts and brisket. Dry pan for ribs and no pan for chicken.

I do think I need to try the sand next time.
 
I like running with water most of the time because it really helps maintaining a 220-250 temp range. When I want to run hotter I just use a foiled pan and I can maintain 250-275 much easier. It just depends on what I am trying to accomplish with the cook.
 
Ceramic plant base. Dump it when finished. Cheap to buy and they last a long time or at least till you break them.
 
I've tried them all, and had good luck with them all. To me no discernible difference in taste or fuel use.
Temps can drop for a long time if you don't add hot water. Water, imo, is a mess and not worth it.
For me, I've gotten the most consistency and ease of clean up from a pizza stone.
 
No water for me. I use a clay pot base, foiled and nested in the water pan.
 
Started with using water as those are the Weber instructions. Way too messy a clean-up, and what do you do with all that greasy water? A clay pot inside the water pan with foil over the top works well for me. Temp. control is just as easy as with water too.
 
Smokin' D said:
Started with using water as those are the Weber instructions. Way too messy a clean-up, and what do you do with all that greasy water? A clay pot inside the water pan with foil over the top works well for me. Temp. control is just as easy as with water too.
Click to expand...

Ditto
 
Smokin' D said:
Started with using water as those are the Weber instructions. Way too messy a clean-up, and what do you do with all that greasy water? A clay pot inside the water pan with foil over the top works well for me. Temp. control is just as easy as with water too.
Click to expand...

I used to have a space that was once a garden that grows nothing but weeds now. THAT is where is used to dump all my greasy water from the WSM.

This spring - the MRS & I made that space into our fire pit area. Meaning no more water pan cooks for me.

So far - I have been using the Brinkman Charcoal pan with the WSM water pan on top of that.

The temps seem to run about 20* higher - but I no longer have that water to get rid of.

Somehow I think that I will be graduating up to a clay pot base this summer.
 
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