pan water or not?


 
I never use water in the pan. ...I cook mostly ribs and never had problems from them drying out. I also find temp control a cinch with the 22.5 bullet.

Ryan B
 
Petroni North said:
Someone earlier in this thread asked what ATC means and having read the thread to the end I didn't see a reply.
I might have missed it but I too would like to understand the 'jargon'. Any takers for an explanation? I'll now go hunt to see if there is a glossary of terms
Click to expand...

Automatic temperature control, like a Guru or Stoker.
Edit: Charlie had the answer in post#39:wsm:
Tim
 
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I just did my first cook with out the water pan. It burned for 12 hours on one kb bag at 260 to 225 .last weekend when i cooked I used 3 bags at 260. So I say no water pan .you can get a better crust with no water pan just spritz every once in awhile


:wsm::blackkettle::blackkettle::kingsford::smokeyjoe:
 
I use Lava rocks in water pan foiled..Only a few cooks on my 22 'WSM.. Might just try water next to see if there is any differnece.. Trying to get the red color on my ribs instead of the dark bark.
Using Hickory n Mulberry for wood.
Dan
 
I tried 'with water' in the beginning, but found it to be messy & potentially could rust my WSM,
so I filled the bowl with sand and covered a terra-cotta tray with foil and set it on top of the
water pan to collect the drippings. Since then, I've changed my MO once again, as the upper
unit was just too heavy to remove when filling with charcoal. Life's too short to be lugging
that sand up & down.

I now use an empty water bowl with a foil covered terra-cotta tray on top and it works just as
perfect as when the bowl was filled with sand!

BTW, I have no problem getting the proverbial smoke ring...
 
As it's already been mentioned, it's all about personal preference.

Weber recommends water, I use HOT water (half full lasts more than 8 hours). I also foil my pan.

At the end of the cook I scrape my grates over the pan and everything falls into it or into the bottom.

Then I shovel all the spent ashes into the remaining water. The ash absorbs the water. I fold in the sides and the ends into a small pillow that slides right into the empty charcoal bag (and a trash bag just in case of a leak) for the trash.

I also wash and dry my pan before re-foiling it for the next smoking session as well as any outside cleaning (wash cloth & hot soapy water).

IMO, the better you clean it the longer it will last, especially where corrosion can take hold.

From cold coals, clean up, re-foiling and putting it back into storage takes less than 30 minutes.
 
OK, I am doing brisket this weekend and have a question.

Does anyone find a difference in the bark with or without water? If you foil the water pan, do the drippings burn? I am afraid that if I don't use water, the drippings will burn and create an acrid tasting smoke.

Thanks,

Lee
 
I have done brisket with and without water and I don't notice a difference in the bark.

I ran my WSM without water for awhile and it went fine. However, I prefer water. It's just easier and it's also easier to clean out the water pan. All I do is hose it out. Not to mention you get easier to control temperatures.
 
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