foiling the bottom rack on 22" WSM


 
Jeff B

Jeff B

TVWBB Member
Well, I tried to save myself a little work cleaning up the water pan after a cook s I decided to foil the lower rack completely. I have the 22.5" WSM so I cant cover the water pan with one solid piece of foil so I thought it would be a good idea to try foiling the bottom rack. That lasted about an hour. The foil acted like a lid on a pot. It blocked the heat from the cooking part and kept it in the coal chamber with the water. At first I put in more K to get the temp up - but that only got the water in the pan boiling which made the temp drop - so I added more fuel, then more water, then fuel, etc...

Finally, I reached in with gloves and tongs to pull the foil off and now all is well - except we are going to be having brisket 2 hours late tonight.

I told my wife what happened and she said, " I could have told you that!" I guess indside coking rules apply to outside cooking. Go figure.
 
well Jeff, you really do not need water in the pan.
and you can use two sheets of foil to cover the water pan. Form a seam by folding the two sheets of foil together. This works well for me.
 
Hi Jeff I wouldn't foil anything. I just spray cooking spray in the pan before adding water and when finished I put a little squirt of dish soap and hot water in the pan and let soak overnight.The pan cleans up with very little to no effort and is ready for next cook. Plus I am cheap and don't like to waste foil. Remember it is just to hold water or whatever you choose to put in it.Hope this helps
 
Thanks for the input, guys. My biggest concern about the pan is keeping the grease out of the water. That takes the most effort in the clean-up. I was hoping that foil on the bottom rack would catch the grease. I could then just toss the foil in the garbage and dump the clean water in the sink. Spraying the pan with nonstick or foiling the pan are going to help with the cleaning of the pan itself nd I am going to try that next, but I'm still looking for the magic that will keep the grease out of the water. My next thought is to try aluminum disposable pans on the bottom rack directly under the food. That might work - until I want to cook on the bottom rack, too.
 
Well some set the meat on a rack in a foil pan on the top rack. I've done that before on HH butts and clean up is easy just remove the meat and dump the grease.

Tim
 
I use to foil my water pan for easy cleanup, but it was a pain to just get the foil in correct so I wouldn't get leakage inside the pan. So I bought a 14 inch clay saucer, foil it and put in the water pan. I just change out the foil about every 2 or 3 cooks. Lot easier to foil this way and I really believe that my temps are more stable with the saucer than when I used water.
 
I foil the pan with two heavy duty sheets. One goes on the inside, and the other on the outside. I make them long enough to fold over the lip far enough to compensate for the gap the other piece leaves. So they are 90 degrees to each other.

Yes, water gets under it, but it's no big deal. The day after the cook, I dump the water, through out the foil, and rinse the bowl with the hose and let air dry in the cooker.
 
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