clay pot method?


 
Corey Elks

Corey Elks

TVWBB All-Star
Ok, done a lot of reading on this from all u pit masters. Im pretty new at this but my understanding of the water was not only to help hold temps(like the clay pot would) but also to add moisture to the long cooks. That was one advantage of the big green egg, was it did not need a water pan due to the nature of it being sealed it holds in the moisture, which is not true with th wsm. So is moisture not really a issue when cooking bbq? thanks for all your replies and keep on qing.
 
This is one of those things where there's room for disagreement, but the pro clay pot people obviously think the extra moisture isn't necessary.

Do note that the combustion process produces moisture so it's probably vaguely humid in there anyway.

Note that in no case are you *adding* moisture to the meat, you are just slowing down the rate of it leaving the meat. With a humid atmosphere this should be slower. Slower enough to notice? Try it and decide for yourself. I don't think anybody's really done definitive testing, including on very cold days when there's hardly any moisture in the air to start.
 
I do not add water to the pan in any of my cooks.
I simply foil the entire water pan keeping it completely empty.
Water in the pan does not (in my opinion) help keep your cook moist.
 
Here how I set up my water pan.

Waterpansetup001.jpg

Clay saucer w/ the bottom wrapped in foil.

Waterpansetup002.jpg

Water pan with the bottom wrapped in foil.

Waterpansetup003.jpg

The clay saucer in the water pan.

Waterpansetup004.jpg

Then I foil the top of the clay saucer while it's in the water pan.

I never use water in the pan. i think the saucer does a great job as a heat sync and clean up is super easy.
 
I don't believe the argument that water in the pan slows down the moisture loss in the meat.

On the other hand there are many compelling reasons why clay saucer works better than water:

1) Less likely to have injury from spilling boiling water.

2) Easier set up, easier mid-cook monitoring and easier clean up.

3) This is the big one, no chance of a temp spike mid-cook because the pan ran out of water while you were away, asleep, etc.

4) More efficient use of charcoal, and less emissions released into the environment.

About the only reason I can think of where water has an advantage would be if you are trying to maintain temps around 225 or so for a long period of time, but I can't remember the last time I tried to cook at that temp, so for me it isn't an issue.
 
Then I foil the top of the clay saucer while it's in the water pan.

I never use water in the pan. i think the saucer does a great job as a heat sync and clean up is super easy.
Click to expand...

That looks great. How thick is the clay saucer? Where did you buy one that fits, as yours does?
Thanks,
 
Honestly I have no idea how thick it is. It's heavy and think enough to do the job. Walmart sell the 14" clay saucer for $10. It's worth picking up and trying.
 
Originally posted by Branon S.:
Walmart sell the 14" clay saucer for $10. It's worth picking up and trying.
Click to expand...

Would the 14" clay saucer be sufficient for the 22.5 WSM, or would it require a larger one?

Also, with respect to the issue of water adding moisture, for those so inclined, I would think it a simple matter of placing a disposable loaf pan with water on the grill, and replenishing as needed.
 
I know HD and Lowes sell a 16" clay saucer that may work better in 22.5 WSM. Not sure if there is a larger clay saucer out there that is easily available and cost effective without special ordering it.
 
Actually, come to think of it, with the arrival of my DigiQ DX today, I s'pose the clay saucer concept is a moot point, considering that a foiled water pan, as I recall having read, is all that's needed to maintain temps (as long as the device is working properly).......
 
Lots of competition quality barbeque is made in smokers without water. That should give you a good clue that steam isn't necessary to get excellent Que.

The water in the water pan helps moderate the temperature. With an empty pan, the temp goes up too high.
 
I know this has been asked before - so my apologies.

If you decide to switch from water pan/with water - to the clay pot method. Does the clay pot sit ontop of the water pan - or does it replace it completely.

I have a newer 2009 model where the water pan is HUGE and unfortunately it takes more than one piece of foil to cover (ie - seams).
 
Originally posted by Branon S.:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Terre Hooks:
The 16" Clay saucer does not "fit" a 22" WSM very well. I'm taking mine back.
Click to expand...

Is it too big or too small? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

If I may jump in here, I think it's probably too big - after measuring the diameter of my 22.5 WSM bowl, I felt that while it would fit, the 16 inch would be situated too high up in the bowl - consequently, I purchased the 14 inch. Un-foiled, it sits approximately 2 3/4 inches below the rim (un-foiled bowl as well.)
 
The 16" clay saucer is too small for the 22" WSM water pan. If you look at the pictures above you see that the saucer "nests" into the water pan with lip of the saucer resting on the top lip pf the water pan.

The 22" WSM water pan measures nearly 20" across. It would take a saucer measuring nearly 19" across to fit "properly" into this pan.

Now a smaller saucer would fit down into the WSM pan but that would not give the same amount of "air space" that you would have if the saucer was fitting properly, in fact I would think, the saucer would probably be resting on the bottom of the pan.
 
Originally posted by Bruce Bissonnette:
The 16" clay saucer is too small for the 22" WSM water pan. If you look at the pictures above you see that the saucer "nests" into the water pan with lip of the saucer resting on the top lip pf the water pan.

The 22" WSM water pan measures nearly 20" across. It would take a saucer measuring nearly 19" across to fit "properly" into this pan.

Now a smaller saucer would fit down into the WSM pan but that would not give the same amount of "air space" that you would have if the saucer was fitting properly, in fact I would think, the saucer would probably be resting on the bottom of the pan.
Click to expand...

OOPS! Sorry 'bout dat! Never considered the air space issue...
 
I put the 16" clay pot in my 22.5 WSM and it seems to do fine. I've only made 3 "cooks" so far. I have targeted 225° and the temp has nicely "floated" at 225° to 230° for several hours. I'll continue to use it.
By the way, I've only used K and wood chunks--no lump.
 
Originally posted by Don B:
I put the 16" clay pot in my 22.5 WSM and it seems to do fine. I've only made 3 "cooks" so far. I have targeted 225° and the temp has nicely "floated" at 225° to 230° for several hours. I'll continue to use it.
By the way, I've only used K and wood chunks--no lump.
Click to expand...

After reading Bruce's post, I went back and re-measured my pan - THIS TIME I came up with 18.5 inches - don't know how I got 17 on the original measurement, but that's how I based my decision to go with the 14 inch. I s'pose my first clue as to it's insuitability should have been the fact that it does indeed sit flat on the bottom of the pan. Duh.

Given a closer inspection of the pix and his reasoning regarding the air space, I think I'll go back to Lowe's this afternoon, following ODU's pummeling of Notre Dame in the televised 1st round of NCAA B-Bawl, and pick up a 16-incher for this weekend's 1st cook with my DigiQ DX.
 
Originally posted by Bruce Bissonnette:
The 16" clay saucer is too small for the 22" WSM water pan. If you look at the pictures above you see that the saucer "nests" into the water pan with lip of the saucer resting on the top lip pf the water pan.

The 22" WSM water pan measures nearly 20" across. It would take a saucer measuring nearly 19" across to fit "properly" into this pan.

Now a smaller saucer would fit down into the WSM pan but that would not give the same amount of "air space" that you would have if the saucer was fitting properly, in fact I would think, the saucer would probably be resting on the bottom of the pan.
Click to expand...

"Properly" and bbq don't always mix. It will still work just fine.
 
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