First clay saucer smoke...


 
T

Tim Y

TVWBB Fan
Doing a little experimenting today and using a clay saucer for the first time instead of water.
So far (an hour into the cook) I have to say it's going very well. The cooker went straight to 225 and seems to be hanging there with ease.
I'm doing a rack o' ribs (spares I trimmed down to St. Louis (GO CARDINALS!) style) which I'll probably foil in a couple of hours (don't want to over-smoke the ribs) while I smoke a ham steak and a sausage roll for some bean soup later during this chilly week.
Then I'll unfoil and hopefully everything will finsh together.
 
Good luck with you cook, andif I can ask what size clay saucer are you using and where did you find it. Thanks.
 
Thanks Jon,
I got a 16" I found at Home Depot. I would have preferred an 18", but I just couldn't find one that size anywhere in my area. The 16" seems to be doing fine, though. It sits maybe a couple of inches down from the lip of the water pan, but there seems to be plenty of room between it and the bottom of the pan.
I'll add that just after I posted the first time, the wind picked up outside and the cooker shot up to 280 rather quickly...like in 5 minutes. I closed all the vents, and within 15 minutes it settled back down to 235, which is fine by me.
I'm really amazed at the quick repsonse time...I never got temps down so quickly with water in the pan. But on the flip side, I never saw temps jump so quickly, either. Just an observation. It's like dialing an oven.
 
I wouldn't call being able to get the temp back under control with the vents exactly "dialing an oven".

The reason you were able to get temps back down so "quickly" was that "five minutes" wasn't long enough for the clay pan to reach what I'll call here mass temperature "equilibrium". My best advice is that if you want to truly dial the wsm in like an oven, get an ATC. They're not that expensive, and you won't have to use water or anything in the pan besides foil. I'm happy with water for cooking around 250* and nothing but foil if 275*+.
 
I use a saucer for some cooks and water for others because I'm still trying to decide which I like most. I'm leaning towards the saucer because most of my cooks are at 250 or higher. For me, I get fewer temp spikes with water but I also like not having to deal with the water. We all develop our preference based on our personal situation.

GO CARDS!!!!!
 
I would never go back to water. Once you get the hang of the saucer, it works better, easier, and with less mess!
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Dann B:
Once you get the hang of the saucer, it works better, easier... </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Seems like if it worked "better, easier" that there wouldn't be anything to "get the hang of". I mean, it's not that complicated. Water in the pan will nearly ELIMINATE any significant temp spikes, whereas clay or sand in the pan just moderates the heat, not doing any good in the case of upward substained temp swings. Just seems like folks seem to make a problem where there isn't one, and the only "problem" with my cooker with a water pan is that I can't cook much over 250*.
 
I've tried a clay saucer (then two clay saucers) and I'm not overly impressed. Yes, for ribs, 280 is just fine. But, I don't want that for an overnight. No temperature control.

Maybe I have a leaky unit, but, with all bottom vents fully closed, it shot up to 270-280 and stayed there for some time.

I'm with Dave R: I'll stick with water for my future overnight cooks.
 
How baut a clay saucer with water????

Just me bein an SA
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I've done about 8 cooks now, on my smoker, about half were over-night cooks, and half were not. Everything from Brisket(twice), Pork Butt(twice), BB Ribs, Spare Ribs(twice), and Beef Ribs, and I've used the clay saucer for all of them. I recently bought a 18.5 smoker for my son in law and got him a clap saucer also. This is only one guys opinion, but for me the clay saucer is the way to go! Especially after sitting around or entertaining, and drinking copious amounts of beer, I don't have to worry about the clean up, it is so easy. I do almost all of my cooks at approximately 225 and use a ET732 thermometer to help me monitor temps. Good luck with your cook, and look forward to reading the results!
 
Sorry for the delayed follow-up.
Everything turned out great!! No complaints at all, especially with the easy clean up!
Temps stayed stable with ease.
After the temp spike reported earlier, I only had to open one vent about 25% on the non-wind side of the cooker when the temp started to drop around 210 after about 2 1/2 hours.
Overall, I was very pleased with the clay saucer method.
One major note I might add was that it was overcast that day and 48 degrees. I will have to experiment more when it's hot out to see if this is a summer-time method I would like to use for low N slow. I see from the other posts here there are mixed feelings on the clay saucer. Thanks for all the input, I appreciate it.
Final comment....do I see a major advantage to clay over water for low n slow? No, not really, other than EASIER clean-up. I think I'll do a butt next to see how I feel about clay for longer cooks. With a little more fuel for a longer burn, I see no reason why I couldn't have gone 10-12 hours or more with clay with the same results.
 
I guess to me, an ATC and foiled clay saucer seems easy from a set it and forget it standpoint. When I first started leaning the art of smoking, I was up all night watching and making myself a nervous wreck over 5 degrees off of my target temp.
I guess the thrill and newness has worn off, and I am now more results driven than process or technique driven. Maybe my process is well defined (to me) at this point....I suppose.
Anywhoo.....I can fill the ring, minion start the K, set the butts in place....geez this is sooo easy!
Dont forget to get a good night's sleep while your ATC and WSM work on making you a hero to your family, friends and co-workers. And did I mention clean-up? What cleanup? Is throwing a sheet of foil in the trash can considered cleanup? Guess I'm happy with my setup.
 
Well, Morrey, you're the second person to comment here about using an ATC, so I'll guess I'll throw in my 2 pennies.
First off...I agree with you...what cleanup with a saucer? It's a beautiful thing.
Just for the record, but I'm not a newb to smoking, but I am a relative newb with the WSM...I got it for Christmas last year. I've been smoking the tasties for going on 20 years, having used a variety of cookers. I'm fairly comfortable with my techniques for just about any kind of meat that I wish to put the smoke on. And I most definetly don't babysit my cookers...temp swings don't bother me...in fact, that's more or less how I learned to do high-temp cooks...mostly by accident and just rolling with it.
I, too, and like everyone here, am results driven...but I also like to play with my tools.
Anyhow, the use of a clay saucer IS new to me...I've been reading about it on here & thought I'd try it. I liked it. Did I monitor, observe, play, fiddle and watch the temp? You bet, otherwise what was the point of trying something new and learn how to use it? Was I trying to "fix" a problem? NO!! I was learning how to do something differnt.
As for an ATC...well, I've looked into those and even asked questions about them on this site, but after much thought, I came to the conclusion....what's the point? At least for me. I don't do competition cooks, but if I did, I would definetlely have one. For me and my uses, it's overkill...and with the awesome results I've gotten with the WSM (both short and long cooks), I see no need for one.
Another poster made the comment that "to truly dial the WSM like an oven, get an ATC." I couldn't disagree more!! I was truly impressed by the quick response time with the clay saucer. And had this not been the first time I used clay, I probably would have let it be to see how long it took to stabalize again...but I wanted to play and learn. Would I have had to fiddle with the vents with an ATC? No. Would I have fiddled with the vents with water in the pan? I wouldn't have. Next time I use clay? Maybe, but probably not. And if this were an overnight cook, I would have cared less if the temp spiked, regardless of method.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Tim Y:
Another poster made the comment that "to truly dial the WSM like an oven, get an ATC." I couldn't disagree more!! I was truly impressed by the quick response time with the clay saucer. And had this not been the first time I used clay, I probably would have let it be to see how long it took to stabalize again...but I wanted to play and learn. Would I have had to fiddle with the vents with an ATC? No. Would I have fiddled with the vents with water in the pan? I wouldn't have. Next time I use clay? Maybe, but probably not. And if this were an overnight cook, I would have cared less if the temp spiked, regardless of method. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

"It's like dialing an oven" were your words at the end of your second post, so I thought an ATC might just be what you would want. However, now you're saying that you don't mind temp spikes, so OK; I get that....it's done when it's done, huh?
icon_wink.gif
 
Man, this can be a tough forum, I never expected this post to turn into a debate! But I do appreciate the conversation.
Well, Dave, of course I would prefer NO spikes, but without an ATC that's what I get. LOL. Now, if you happen to have a spare ATC laying around, I'd be glad to give it a test!
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Dave Russell:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Dann B:
Once you get the hang of the saucer, it works better, easier... </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Seems like if it worked "better, easier" that there wouldn't be anything to "get the hang of". I mean, it's not that complicated. Water in the pan will nearly ELIMINATE any significant temp spikes, whereas clay or sand in the pan just moderates the heat, not doing any good in the case of upward substained temp swings. Just seems like folks seem to make a problem where there isn't one, and the only "problem" with my cooker with a water pan is that I can't cook much over 250*. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I would beg to differ. It is better and easier, at least for me, and there is a change to get used to. You have more precise control of temps without the water, but temps transition faster. The other problems with the water pan, back when I had water in it, were...
1) if water evaporated during an overmight cook, you had a mess to clean up. And even if it didn't, you still had a bunch of greasy water to dispose of.
2) If I wanted to move the barrel and top sections to add more coals, I had sloshing water to contend with.

Bottom line, saucer or sand makes for easier cleanup, no significant change in temp control, except for the better, and works better in cooler or cold weather.

Do whatever you're comfortable with, I'll keep the saucer

I regularly cook overnights with the saucer, no water, and maintain 225-240 all night long, no problem
 
Dan, thanks for your well-articulated input. I really appreciate reading what other folks experiences are.

I've only used the clay saucer two or three times and while it was slow in dialing in temps compared to just foiling the pan, it did seem to minimize the small spikes. However, it was day cooks where, like the OP, I didn't leave it alone and see what it would end up doing. Hard to do when meat's on the line, but I guess it's all what you're comfortable with.

One other thing though if you don't mind answering. Do you use the bottom grate much at the same time? I really like how the water in the pan moderates the temp between the two grates.
 
IMO, a heat sink is a heat sink. Your cooker will react differently from water to clay. Water may need to be refilled over a long cook, clay is static (comparatively with stable fuel temps). As for an ATC, stable temps is why we buy them. That said, I no longer use my Stoker during a daytime short cook because the WSM will hold proper temps for 5+ hours without much fiddling. Further said, some enjoy the fiddling and good for them. Sometimes I also just want to see how close to temp I can get without an ATC. Lots of opinions as always. Good food is the goal.
 
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