Cooking without water pan

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I am trying to cook in the traditional direct cook method of Barbecue. Can you use a WSM without the water pan and get good results?
 
Chicken halves, can be cooked, perfect, without the pan. Shoot for a sixty minute cook, so you'll have to figure out your own temperatures, dependent on chicken size. Halves on the top grate, use the water pan, inverted over the chickens, for an extra special touch on the skin.
I leave them skin up, the whole time. When I'm done cooking this way, the halves look like a picture. All plumped, shiny, with no grill marks, on the skin. Brine the chicken halves for about 8 hours prior to the cook, then let the skin, air dry for about 4 more hours in the icebox. Give them a good rub prior to cooking, slightly heavy with the paprika. Spritz with a sprayer, filled with apple juice and balsamic, every ten minutes during the last half of the cook.
Good luck.

Jim
 
Thanks Chris,

Sorry I didn't read all of your article. I think i'll give it a try. I will mostly be cooking pork butts, shoulders or ribs.

Thanks also to Jim for the advice.
 
No apology necessary, Mike. There's a lot of info out there on the Web site and I know it's impossible for everyone to know what's there.

Have fun going panless,
Chris
 
Jim Morrissey --

Your message on doing chickens without the pan has really intrigued me.

Suppose you used a spatchcoked chicken (I find these much more moist than a halved or quartered chicken) -- what would be the time factor for this? I don't think that it would be any different than doing two halves, would it?

Temperature should be about 300-350*, I would imagine. Agree?

I am anxious to try your method, as I am trying to convert my wife ( a non-chicken type person) into a chicken eater. She already likes ("I would eat this, again") the spatchcock chicken and if I can add to the taste and technique, that would be all the better.

I would appreciate any advice you can offer.

Thanks,
 
Sespe Pete,
Spatchcocked is fine. You need a hot fire, say in the 350? range should be about right, or just a bit hotter. Right about the hour mark is when you want it done, so it will take some experimentation on your part to get it down pat. I'm not trying to hold back answer's, it's just that some times the cooker and the chicken act a bit different, for some reasons. But, if the chickens are brined they should cook up fine in the 60-70 minute mark.
Wouldn't hurt to stick the spatchcocked ones, at about the 50 minute mark, and get a temperature reading. Just be careful when you stick them though, hot chicken juice will start shooting in every direction. /infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gif
As far as the empty water pan technique, you want to use the bowl, as a false dome, and pump heat right down on the skin. You may find that you have to prop it up a bit off the grate, when it's inverted, to allow the heat, some escape.
If there is anything else I can answer, just let me know.

Jim
 
Jim,
Your suggestion to invert the water pan has got to be the very best idea I have heard on this website since the Minion Method and MIM injected pork.

I will give that a try this weekend in Minnesota.

Dale
 
jumping on the end of an old thread I really like cooking without the water pan when only want to cook a small amount of meat.

Brisket cooks just great with a small fire and today just pulled off a 4# hunk of pork and 1/2 rack of spares cooked direct over lump

the key to cooking beef/pork direct in wsm is keeping a small fire burning cleanly and then temps can hover in 225? range

Buzz
 
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