Higher temperatures when using water - a method that works

[Guest]

I see a lot of discussion about difficulty maintaining higher temperatures in the WSM, when using water in the water pan for moisture. You might like to check out this method, one I recently used that seemed to work out well. I cooked a 15 lb turkey and the temperature stayed at a constant 325? for the entire 3.5 hours. (You can use the Prev and Next arrows above the picture to see the entire series of pictures, if you like.)

 

[Guest]

Ray, I have a question. Why did you use the small pan instead of simply putting the same amount of water in the water pan itself? Just wondered...

Steve

 

[Guest]

A good question, Steve; I hope my answer holds water! /infopop/emoticons/icon_razz.gif I have done that but, as you probably know, the lower the water gets in the water pan, the hotter it gets and the faster it evaporates. I wanted some moisture, but not too much (I like the skin to be crispy). The square pan has a flat bottom, which allowed an airspace between it and the bottom of the WSM water pan. This gave a measure of insulation between it and the direct heat of the fire. It seemed to work, as some of the water did evaporate, I had no problem keeping the temperature up, the turkey was very moist, and the skin was crispy.

 

[Guest]

Hi Ray, just curious, did you brine the turkey before cooking it ? I have cooked a 14lb turkey on the WSM, and I brined it overnight.

I was a little bit unhappy with how the meat tasted; it was not really "fresh" tasting but seemed to have that lunchroom flavor.

 

[Guest]

No, it was not brined. I don't care much for heavy rubs, mops, or brines, preferring the natural taste of the smoked meat. The turkey did have a nice smoke flavor to it, was jucy enough and tender, even though it had been frozen. Most of the skin was dry and crispy, very close to what you would get from the oven.