At a buddy's picnic this past weekend, he had one of his coaching friends smoke up a variety of meats instead of grilling burgers and hotdogs himself as he has in the past. The smoker he used was a large horizontal type with a rectangular bottom and barrel-shaped lid. The firebox was in the bottom, below the cooking area, and he was burning whole logs in there.
A large water pan covered the full area of the cooker below the cooking grid. He smoked two whole turkeys, a couple of pork butts and a beef roast. I got to the party just before the food was ready, but I watched him add water from the side of the cooker using a garden hose without opening the lid. He said that he could never let the water run dry and that he controlled the temperature by adjusting the airflow to the firebox from the side. All the meats tasted great, especially the pork and the turkey. He also smoked a bunch of hot dogs for the kids. I never saw a smoker like this before, that used wood for fuel and incorporated a water pan. It seemed like a variation of the principles used in the WSM and other vertical smokers. Is what I saw pretty unusual?
A large water pan covered the full area of the cooker below the cooking grid. He smoked two whole turkeys, a couple of pork butts and a beef roast. I got to the party just before the food was ready, but I watched him add water from the side of the cooker using a garden hose without opening the lid. He said that he could never let the water run dry and that he controlled the temperature by adjusting the airflow to the firebox from the side. All the meats tasted great, especially the pork and the turkey. He also smoked a bunch of hot dogs for the kids. I never saw a smoker like this before, that used wood for fuel and incorporated a water pan. It seemed like a variation of the principles used in the WSM and other vertical smokers. Is what I saw pretty unusual?