Sand vs. water in pan


 
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That does seem logical, but you'll find the consensus here to be to the contrary. Doug D can explain the detail, but as I understand it, on the long, slow, low cooks, it is the fat content of the meat, i.e. butt roast that is responsible for moisture retention.

Paul
 
You can boil meat in water until its as tough as shoe leather, and you can't get a wetter environment than that!!

It is the juice and the rendering fat in the meat that gives it moisture. The whole reason for low and slow is to let the meat temp rise slowly. This renders the fat, but does not let any part of the meat get to hot and squeeze out all of the moisture.

Drive Safely

Royce
 
So there is absolutely NO positive residual effect from the water vapor in the smoker under ANY circumstances.

I have read contrary in numerous locations, so I am really just seeking confirmation. I'm looking to do the first big Boston Butt smoke this weekend, and if I can do the Minion for substantially longer with sand, and no drawbacks, then I will...
 
As I understand it, water does actually enable you to control the temp better; however, as the water vaporizes you get less control and need to replenish the water. Some here say they never have to refill the water pan when they use the Brinkman pan - I do.

I haven't tried sand yet but will soon. I expect to have to pay closer attention to vent adjustment to maintain the lower temp. There's a wealth of info on this subject on this forum. Use the "search" function.

Paul
 
Paul McBride....

Hey, welcome to the gang from a fellow Hoosier!

Just wanted to say HI. But as long as we are here....

This subject will be debated forever. For me, I noticed NO difference in the moistness of the meats when using sand vs. water. Again, it is used as a heat sink only. Beware...the manufacturers all claim it results in moister meat. Not true.

The only reason I use sand is ease of cleanup and less potential disasters..including having to refill mid-cook.
 
Hey, Kevin. Did you smoke last Saturday? I was going to, but woke up and it was -15* outside. Sad to say, I'm not that much of a fanatic...yet.

Well, since I've been having a bit of trouble keeping temps up for longish cooks (7 hours or so) using water (but not Minion), I might go ahead and try sand this weekend. Though I must admit I still feel more comfortable with water...
 
Paul
If you keep control the pit temp on the way up sand under the conditions you described should not be a problem.
Jim
 
What about the basting effect of water vapor (not steam) as the pan contents become more seasoned by smoke, rubs and mops as time goes by? I have effected meat flavor with my old ECB by seasoning the water.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Jack H:
[qb] What about the basting effect of water vapor (not steam) as the pan contents become more seasoned by smoke, rubs and mops as time goes by? I have effected meat flavor with my old ECB by seasoning the water. [/qb] <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>If you're already adding flavor to the meat by the use of smoke, rubs, and mops, how do you know that the stuff that drops into the water adds any more flavor? Unless you put the meat on bare and pour the rub and mop into the water.

I think the claims that water in the water pan makes the meat moist and that flavoring the water helps flavor the meat are just hoo-ha.
 
I can give one good example which demonstrates that a new cooker definitely runs "hotter" than an older, seasoned one.

I competed in the Big Chill cookoff in Lake Tahoe last year, using my old WSM and a brand new, never used one borrowed from Henry Joe Petersen (Jim Minion and Konrad can both testify to the joys of barbecuing during a snow storm!). Anyway, the new cooker was holding temperatures of 260-270 degrees with only one vent partially open. My older WSM was running around 220 with all three vents wide open. Since all other conditions were about equal, i.e. water in both pans, equivalent amounts of charcoal, etc., I had to conclude that a new unit does have a tendency to run hotter.

Chris, in my opinion you should leave the information on the site as-is.

Rick
 
I had heard this also about the WSM before I did my first cook in mine when it was new. I took a tip from my ECB manual and sprayed the inside of the unit with Pam cooking spray before the first cook. It ran no different in the first cook than in subsequent cooks with that treatment.

I suppose it is possible that a new shiny interior may reflect more heat than one that has a buildup and is rougher and less reflective. From my days working on high temperature (400+ C) semiconductor equipment, I seem to remember similar effects from new shiny chamber hardware versus the older, darker stuff. That was an emissivity issue, if I remember correctly.

Clark
 
I'll toss in my two cents on this one. I started out with sand and never looked back. The setup and cleanup is too easy and simple with the sand and I don't have to worry about adding to it during the cook. In the three cooks that I've done with the WSM, all of the products have had plenty of moisture. The ribs that I did were probalby the second best batch I've done in my life (The best batch was foiled for a few hours). I think the water steams the meat too much. The cooker works great with sand and temp control and consistency have been awesome. I don't believe that the water helps with moisture as much as people think.
 
I agree with Brian. I have never used water in my WSM only sand. I've done a dozen or so smokes and I can't say anything has been dry. I have a Smoky Mountain Smoker that only water was used in, if you were to compare the results I'd say they were the same....... except the WSM is much easier to use and control!
 
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