Disposing of Water Pan Waste


 
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Chris Allingham

Chris Allingham

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Got an e-mail yesterday from a Jeff Elson who had a good idea for disposing of water pan waste. It's so obvious I don't know why I'd never heard of it before.

Place a large funnel into an empty milk jug (or other 1 gallon disposable container with tight-fitting cap) and ladle the pan contents into the funnel. Pour the last bit you can't ladle-out directly into the funnel. Cap and dispose of in the garbage.

Jeff says, "This works best when the liquid is warm as the grease and fat is still in a liquid state and will not plug the funnel...if using a plastic container to hold the liquid make sure the liquid is not too hot. You can also place newspaper under the jug to soak up any spills or dribbles."

No more dumping pan waste down the drain or outside where it will attact bugs, critters, etc. Great tip, Jeff!

Regards,
Chris
 
Hmmm... I usually just let the water cool until the fat is solidified, skim off the fat and dispose of it in the trash, then pour the water down the drain. Seems pretty straightforward to me.
 
The "solidify & skim" method works well if you have the time to wait. The "bottle & toss" method works well if you can't wait or don't want to wait. For example, last weekend I had three friends over and we cooked a case of ribs on 4 WSMs. They couldn't wait long enough for fat to solidify before having to pack up their cookers and go home.

Regards,
Chris
 
One of the advantages in using the "bottle and toss" method is the ability to "store" the grease in a sealed container until trash day and not gumming up the plumbing with residual oil/grease from the pan. The disadvantage is that you can't use this method if you let the stuff cool and solidify, as it will plug up the funnel, i.e., one of the "pork fat rules".

My apologies to Emeril,

Jeff
 
I guess I feel like I paid for that fat and that water and if I don't consume them it's a waste of money.

Bill

[This message has been edited by Grill With Bill (edited 05-18-2001).]
 
I like the "over the fence" method the best. Keeps their vines from further encroachment on my property line which just happens to be where I store and use my smokers. Course, it also draws an audience of critters. Hmmmm, maybe that is why they are always hanging around when smoke is in the air.

Dale
 
Another tip: I have a funnel which was made for adding oil to the car. It has a short, wide spout (just fits inside the milk jug). It is much more "clog resistant" than a standard funnel, so even if the fat has solidified it will go through (with maybe a little assistance).
 
Larry, I will definitely look for one of those "wide funnels". That will be great for those times when I don't get to the pan until the next morning, or when the weather is cooler and the stuff solidifies relatively quickly.

BTW, throwing it over the fence will definitely attract some critters to the neighborhood--but the upside is that you get a (o)possum or skunk to smoke.

Jeff
 
I like to clean my WSM by dumping the ash/pan water into a five gallon bucket lined with a heavy duty garbage can liner. I clean it a day or two after cooking. Dump the water in, scrape down the inside of the cooker to loosen any carbon or other build-up, then dump in the ashes. Ashes soak up the water. I can usually clean the cooker two to three times with one liner. Then I tie off the top and into the garbage it goes.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Helvetica, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Brad L:
I like to clean my WSM by dumping the ash/pan water into a five gallon bucket lined with a heavy duty garbage can liner. I clean it a day or two after cooking. Dump the water in, scrape down the inside of the cooker to loosen any carbon or other build-up, then dump in the ashes. Ashes soak up the water. I can usually clean the cooker two to three times with one liner. Then I tie off the top and into the garbage it goes.</font> <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I've got an old 3 gallon popcorn bucket with a lid (the kind you get for Christmas, full of popped corn) that I think I'll try this out with. I can double up the 3 gallon bags and seal it off until trash day. should be good for two cooks. Great idea!

------------------
Couch Potato
 
Hey Chris, up here in New England we stir it into our Clam Chowda !
 
Yes Theo, I've heard from several people over the years who like to cook with the stuff in the water pan. I just can't bring myself to do it, much less stir it into my soup! But to each his own!

Enjoy your chowda,
Chris
 
I toss the contents (That to which is left after making gravy, O man) in the compost. It can't be hurting anything by the looks of the pumkins that are growing around the pile. I guess I pitched a pumkin in ther early last November!!
 
I wouldn't recommend you continue to put meat waste into your compost bin. Meat products and by products will attract pests such as mice, rats, dogs, raccoons, etc.
 
I just put the pan in the kitchen sink, add 3 or 4 TBSP of detergent, and mix it all up with a little hot water. Stir it all up into kinda a non-soap non-fat mixture, and down the garbage disposal.
 
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