Not using water pan


 
K

Kyle Ss

TVWBB Member
One time I cooked Memphis dry rub spares and didn't use water pan. I was thinking of doing another cook not using it just to see what happens. Maybe when doing something that cooks in fewer hrs like chicken or char sui pork. Anyone not use it(especially when using middle rack)? I found that middle rack didn't cook as well because of being shielded. Interested in people's thoughts. I'd imagine one could control temp without it if desired and all the big commercial smokers don't seem to have water pans.
 
When you say not using it, do you mean taking it out, or just not adding water? I've done high heat chicken without it and I imagine other things would work fine, but low and slow would be more difficult. I typically wrap mine in foil and don't use water. Then it simply acts as a heat shield and while its a little trickier to control temps it's not all that much harder. You would most likely need the heat shield if you are cooking on the lower rack.
 
I echo what Dustin says - wrap the water pan in 2 pieces of foil, 1 on the bottom and then 1 covering the top, and put it back in the smoker and let er rip. Clean up is a cinch, just wrap up the foil and throw it away. Keep it in so that you still get the indirect cook - otherwise you're just grilling it really high (several people prefer to do some chicken and ribs on direct heat, just a matter of preference), but for the big cuts that need a lot of time a la pork butt and brisket, the heat shield is necessary for the low/slow indirect cook. Have had great results with no water in the pan and couldn't go back, personally.
 
I have never used the water pan in mine. For low/slow cooks I use a pizza stone. For high heat cooks I put no heat sink in but I do put an empty disposable pan under the item I'm cooking to shield it from direct heat.
 
I'm convinced that every WSM is a little bit different, and more so when you factor in folks using different charcoals, wood, ambient temps, etc. I don't think there's any one right way to hit your targets in terms of time or temp. It's all about experimentation and what works for your setup.

For me, what works best for a high heat cook is to foil the water pan as discussed above. For a low and slow cook, extensive testing (i.e. failures) has taught me that the one way that works for my unit is to fill the water bowl with sand and then foil it.
 
The Memphis dry rubs I completely removed water pan. However, I opened the lid to mop every 20 mins so temp was constantly going down . But I hear you- low and slow cooks it's a different story.
 
I often cook chicken on the top rack without the pan in place. It's a rather common practice for chicken in the WSM. You could certainly cook other meats that way as well. The fat dripping onto the coals lends a slightly different flavor that some people like. I would not be tempted to cook on the lower rack without the pan in place, though, fearing that the radiant heat from the coals would be too much. But admittedly I've never tried it.
 
Carl H. said:
The fat dripping onto the coals it.
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Ive always been worried that this could cause a fire ever since I saw my bro in laws smoker go up on thanksgiving a few years ago. Seemed like fat from turkey went into the burner and went up. However that was a propane smoker. Anyone have fires in a wsm removing water pan and having fat drip into coals?
 
Kyle Ss said:
Ive always been worried that this could cause a fire ever since I saw my bro in laws smoker go up on thanksgiving a few years ago. Seemed like fat from turkey went into the burner and went up. However that was a propane smoker. Anyone have fires in a wsm removing water pan and having fat drip into coals?
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Yes. It's similar to cooking direct on a kettle, but with more headspace.
I did two racks of thighs and legs "roadside" and left the lid off for too long while basting. All that fat caught fire pretty fast, but putting the lid on snuffed it out.
So if you try it, don't take the lid off and wander away.:wsm:

Tim
 
I have not done ten thousand cooks in my WSM but, a very well respected member gave me the tip about wrapping a terra-cotta planter saucer in foil and setting that inside the foiled water pan, it does make cleanup a real snap!
I'll be running three butts next week for a 20 passenger party, if I can get a package at Costco with just two that will be fine but every time I go, it looks like they are all triplets!
 
I use Lava rocks in my water pan, to keep the temps stable.I foil the pan to keep the grease out.
Dan
 
I used my water pan the first couple times I used my WSM. I started getting some black flakes coming off of my lid. I did a little reading and it seemed as if it was due to the moisture from having the water in the pan. I don't know if that is right or not, but I have not put water in the water pan since then. I haven't had that problem since. Holding a steady temp isn't too bad, but it is a little bit more touchy than with the water. Using sand is a great idea. I may try that next. I also put a drip pan on the second level to catch any drippings so that clean up is super easy.
 
Would it be OK to have the water pan in the WSM with nothing inside and no foil? I know it would make cleaning it up a pain, but I'm just wondering if there's any negatives to that?
 
Troy S said:
Would it be OK to have the water pan in the WSM with nothing inside and no foil? I know it would make cleaning it up a pain, but I'm just wondering if there's any negatives to that?
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I imagine the fat/oil and any spices/meat that fell down would cook due to the fire being directly beneath. You'll probably have an area of charred sadness on the bottom of the pan and some burnt oil fumes getting around the smoker and on the food, I don't think any of these would make for a happy cook.
 
Zac_Callier said:
I imagine the fat/oil and any spices/meat that fell down would cook due to the fire being directly beneath. You'll probably have an area of charred sadness on the bottom of the pan and some burnt oil fumes getting around the smoker and on the food, I don't think any of these would make for a happy cook.
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Thanks for the reply, Zac. I was just wondering. Only used my WSM once so far. Just getting more familiar with it.
 
Dustin B. said:
I used my water pan the first couple times I used my WSM. I started getting some black flakes coming off of my lid. I did a little reading and it seemed as if it was due to the moisture from having the water in the pan. I don't know if that is right or not, but I have not put water in the water pan since then. I haven't had that problem since. Holding a steady temp isn't too bad, but it is a little bit more touchy than with the water. Using sand is a great idea. I may try that next. I also put a drip pan on the second level to catch any drippings so that clean up is super easy.
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I tired that once, what a mistake. Over the course of the cook - I forget whether it was butts or a brisket - I ran the pan dry. It took many, many attempts to get that hardened crud out of the pan. So, for me, it's foil and water for long cooks, foil only for ribs, no pan at all for chicken.





BD
 
I foil the pan then, I put a terra-cotta plant saucer (also wrapped in foil) and have never used water. Cleanup has been pretty easy for me. I would never "not" foil if I was running a dry pan. Asking for trouble or at least more work. But, that's just one mans opinion.
 
For most cooks, I use water AND a foil-wrapped terra cotta saucer. I center the saucer on the bottom grate, and it keeps drippings out of the water. Having cooked with and without water, the added humidity in the cooker seems to aid consistency.

Cleanup is pretty simple, since I'm not that fussy -- dump the water, hose out the debris and maybe wipe with an old rag. The outside has a buildup, but I don't see a real need to keep that part clean.

Jeff
 
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