Benefits of sand vs. empty water pan?


 
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Chris Allingham

Chris Allingham

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In recent weeks, I've been reading all the posts about sand in the water pan, and I'm having a hard time justifying in my mind why I would use sand vs. an empty water pan.

Do those that have extensive cooking experience using both an empty pan and a sand-filled pan find a significant difference in temperature control when using sand?

Regards,
Chris
 
Hi Chris!

I have been tempted to do some testing on this very issue. Alas, it is too late to do any this year. I have had 4 great opportunities recently, but the weather was such a factor that it would have negated any test results.

I am also curious about the temp differentials between the grates and the dome, when using sand and when using empty water pan.

So, no testing for me until Spring.
 
Chris -

Most of what I have been reading on this topic is people that are using sand instead of water. Not instead of an empty pan. The sand works just as effectively as a heat sink and if you cover sand with foil the clean-up is easy.

Only done once, so I'll leave it at that...

chris
 
Chris H,

You're right, the posts have been all about sand vs. water. The use of sand is getting a lot of positive "buzz" lately, and I'm wondering if there's really much of a difference between sand and an empty pan.

Regards,
Chris
 
The only positive feature for water over sand is that you can start with hot water and get the unit up to temp quicker.

Is there any other positives for using water over sand?
 
From what I've read, meat doesn't appear to lose moisture and some things do better with a dry cook. I bet chicken or turkey would do very well. The chicken I did with a dry tin foil lined pan in my modified Gormet ECB came out great. Can't wait to finally do that with my new WSM.

Also from what I've read things like pork butts may do better with water in the pan. I t has something to do with have " better bark" with water. I'm gonna try it with sand and see what happens. I guess sand gives you more of a thermal barrier than just a dry pan alone. A pizza stone may do great too.
 
OK, I am a newbie, but I will pass on my observation about bark, I cooked a butt on a two burner gas grill by lighting one side, the bark was thick, dark, hard and not something I wanted to add to my pulled pork. My first butt on the WSM had a more brown bark was soft and very tasty, I chopped it and mixed it in with the pork happily. I attributed the difference to the water in the pan keeping the exterior of the meat moist. I could be wrong. I'm sure there were other variables, but the water seemed logical.
 
Here are a few things to keep in mind in deciding DRY or WET:

(1)The wet hot air will provide a more uniform heat stratification with in the smoker cavity.

(2) Moist air will minimize the "boiling off" of juices from the meat at temps under about 240F dome temp (temp lower near grate levels)

(3) When cooking at higher temperatures (350F)the water is not as critical in that the juices will boil off as if there was no moisture. This is inpart due to the greater air flow thru the bullet cavity to keep the temp up and the surface will be well in excess of 212F boiling point. The heat transfer is faster although the surface temp remains about 212F. This will result in dryer outer layers typically. For turkeys and chicken you can control this by using moist cheeze cloth which helps cool the meat surface (sort of like a swamp cooler effect). For short cooks of a few hours oiling the meat surface with butter or oil will inhibit the evaporation also by creating a natural barrier.

If your concern is pan emptying too fast, you can cut a plywood disc about 8 inches in diameter and float it on the water. This will significantly reduce the the evaporation rate due to the less exposed surface area

Sand pretty much acts as an insulator and will have a tendency to give you a cool spot just below the bottom rack. You might want to consider using pebbles in that they are a larger heatsink and will initially take longer to get up to an even temp but will hold it longer giving a more uniform heat transfer on the lower lever

When cooking at a high altitude the boiling point can be significantly lower (10 degrees lower)and in these situations you may want to run dry but may need to spritz the meat more often.

Just wanted to pass along some thoughts for consideration when you decide wet or dry. One method is not better than the other in general , just in certain situations

Alan (BulldogBBQ)
 
Personally I think the sand will stabilize the temperature allowing a longer cook with less flucuations than water. As the water evaporates the ability to maintain a stabil temperatrue decreases. I also feel that using water creates a steaming effect that I don't care for.

I'm going to cook a Deep Dish Pizza in the WSM by using sand and a cast iron skillet. This would not be possible with water in the pan.

Clean up and ease of use far outweighs any difference both positeve and negative of sand vs. water.

I'm Sandy and that's more story. /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

Peace
 
Let me try to bring this thread back to where it started.

We all know that there's a difference between cooking with and without water. Each method has advantages and disadvantages, and can be used successfully depending on the circumstances. I use water when I want a moist cooking environment and help in maintaining a low cooker temperature; I use no water when I want to dry something out or roast in the 325-350*F range.

But why use sand instead of just an empty pan?

As far as cleanup goes, there's no difference between an empty pan and a sand-filled pan covered with foil.

Obviously, a mass of sand will absorb more heat and radiate it back into the cooker more slowly than will an empty pan, but is the effect significant enough to make a noticable difference in the performance of the cooker? That's my question.

I found Alan's comment interesting about sand as an insulator, keeping the bottom grate cooler than would be the case with an empty pan. Does anyone else have experience with this effect on the bottom grate?

Regards,
Chris
 
Hi, Chris. Interesting thread. I haven't weighed in until now as the "tests" I've done in this area have been far from scientific. Then again, here's what I have seen....

The last cook I did had a 9lb whole brisket and 6lb chicken on the bottom grate, and a 6lb butt on the top grate. I had a 20" cake pan foiled and half full of sand. The top grate ran at 255-260 and the bottom grate ran at 240-245. I took the chicken out when it was done (lunch) and re-assembled the cooker, same differentials with the bottom grate about 10* lower then the top.

The cook I did before that one, I had two 7 lb butts on the bottom and four slabs of spares on the top. I had intended to use sand, but didn't have any, so I decided to just go with the empty pan foiled. My temps tended to jump around a little bit more than when I use sand, but I was still holding the cooker in my targeted 220-245 range. In this case, though, the top grate was running about 10-12* hotter than the bottom grate.

The only caveat to all of this is, I'm not using a WSM, but a modified Weber kettle. All-in-all, though, I would imagine that it operates about the same as a WSM does.

Hope this helps.

Rich G.
 
Doh! The last part of my previous post should have indicated that the BOTTOM grate was running 10-12* hotter when using the empty pan method.

Rich G.
 
Yo to all, Although I cannot relate any observations to the sand in pan method, I have been using a dry and empty water pan lately.

I use the ECB charcoal pan, with the WSM water pan on top of the ECB pan. Then I place a sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil over the WSM pan in a manner so the foil does not touch the bottom of the WSM pan - a triple boiler so to speak. I use this method for smoking sliced bacon at 275F. The foil collects the grease and the triple boiler method keeps the grease from smoldering or catching fire. (I guess I should start another thread on my latest technique for cooking bacon on the WSM.)

The main thing I have noticed when using a dry pan is that cooking temperature rises quickly and it is harder to lower the temperature once it rises to 300F or higher. However, the dry pan method will run at 275F consistently. Another observation I have had is that with the dry pan, you don't as much LIT charcoal to achieve 275F.

I haven't bought any sand to use for a longer cook for ribs, butt or brisket, but I will continue to use this dry pan method for items such as bacon or meatloaf that I like to cook at 275F or for items that require two hours or less cooking time. The dry method does work good for cooking at a higher temperature and for a short period of time, but if I want the WSM to cruise between 210-250F, I will still continue to use a heat sink of some sort, either sand or water.

Beers to all,
 
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