Question about water pans.........

experiment with and without and see what works for YOU

Steam helps with tenderness so I use it. I don't on my chicken since it is difficult to attain the high temps I need with it in.

WSM + Water Pan + Stoker = Works for me.

I have a pro-q, while its not a WSM, it is very similar, couldnt get a good, steady burn time with the water pan, tried sand, it worked...than we balled up a bunch of foil, filled the pan with foil "baseballs" double layer of foil over the top, and it'll go all day. Water evaporates, eats up fuel, and needs to be replenished...if you're looking, you aint cooking...just saying

I use the terra cotta plate mod instead of water. Results don't seem to vary enough for me to go back to water.

You may find that if you fill your rack with meat (instead of cooking just a little bit), then the meat gives off enough moisture to keep the cooker humid.

I use the clay pot base also. Once I went waterless in my WSM, I never went back. Temps are more steady, I don't have to worry about refilling the pan, and cleanups are a breeze. I find no difference in the moistness of the final product.

im going to have to try the terra cotta idea, do you just put some foil on it for easy clean up? and what about the drippings burning? since its on direct heat? (not tryin to hyjack, just my input)

i used to use sand, was a realllll pain to clean up once it got some grease in it, and had a funny smell after the grease got in it, basically just a big heat sink, 2 inches of sand held heat for hours, even after the coals went out.

DubSmoke said:

im going to have to try the terra cotta idea, do you just put some foil on it for easy clean up? and what about the drippings burning? since its on direct heat? (not tryin to hyjack, just my input)

Click to expand...

I foil the water pan, then foil the clay saucer and nest it into the water pan. Install the water pan as you normally would. The drippings don't burn. Some people will also foil over the nested clay saucer and water pan. That always seemed like too much work for me.

No magic answer here...

when I was cooking on WSM's, I never used water in the pans after the first few cooks.. I just don't think it made for a better product and I also think this allowed me to get the temps up a little higher when I wanted.

now if you remove the water form the smokin process does it raise or lower the temp?

I like using water in mine. It allows me to keep a more constant temperature and I think the finished product is more moist. My experience with sand is that is a major pain to clean and it smelled awful when done(it does keep heat well tho).

I admit to being new to using a water smoker. However, for a few years now, I've used a UDS I built after researching the BDS, which is very similiar to the larger wsm, just with NO pan.

The disadvantage of no water pan in a vertical smoker is that the temp. WILL fluctuate more if you are taking the lid off to mess with meat OR the wind is variable. If I want to cook on my wsm hotter than 300 degrees, sure, I won't use water in the pan. However, it just makes sense to me to use it when cooking low and slow. I cooked a couple of butts recently in temps below freezing for the entire cook. I didn't add lump or water until the 12 hour mark, and I was able to sleep all night without worrying about spikes due to shifting wind. It's just a bit of peace of mind when you want it to stay rock steady, and you don't have to worry about the pit temp ramping up incredibly high when you happen to take longer than you want to in removing a rack to check meat underneath, etc.

One reason why the UDS is such a great chicken cooker is that temps naturally rise real fast when you take the top off to turn pieces and start checking. This helps the skin finish cooking, and it can even get crisp if you leave the top off long enough. For low and slow, I just like a more well "behaved" pit.

Now, I would like to know what the advantage of the flower pot base on top of the water pan is.

Dave
UDS, wsm, weber kettle, char-griller