Thinking of going back to water in the pan for brisket cook. Come inside and tell me I'm smart/dumb


 
For what it is worth, my WSM does like to run between 250-275, and below that was difficult. That was without water in the pan. And with the minion method.

And more so, the winds always picked up on my cooking days so far. IMO it would have been weird to see no spike on my 225F cook. I had a ton of coals in my cooker.
 
Actually, now that I think about it, I recall Harry Soo uses a WSM in competition, he wins all the time, and he uses a foiled but dry water pan. I have to assume it's a 22".
 
I started this journey with cheap offsets and a drum so I never got hooked on water. In my opinion, water seemed to create a situation where I used more fuel and created a messy clean-up. I started at the magic 225°F but learned it takes a long time and the commercial BBQ restaurants and pit masters in Texas don't cook that low either.

I target 275°F and don't panic if it drifts +/- 25°F. I tried ATC units but dropped that too. My motto is Keep It Simple Stupid. When I use the 18 WSM, I use a piedmont pan. If I cook using a hanging rack, then there is no pan. If I need moisture, then I mist with a spray bottle. This allows me to use different moisture types for different meats like apple juice for pork or beef broth on beef. In Central Texas our humidity is high so that impacts our heat control but creates a moist cook chamber.

Its supposed to be a fun and an enjoyable experience. Relax and have fun with it. Keep it simple when you can.
 
Mark_E said:
Actually, now that I think about it, I recall Harry Soo uses a WSM in competition, he wins all the time, and he uses a foiled but dry water pan. I have to assume it's a 22".
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He uses any and every WSM. If you download the PDF linked in tvwbb, you see him cooking on two 18.5 WSMs

I just finished another cook on my 22. Another batch of lean meat, and I tried 225F again. I had a lot fewer coals in it, and now it was easy to keep between 210-234 at a day where the outside temp was 90F.

I built a little vulcanoe which did not touch the charcoal ring. It was about 14 inches in diameter, and barely three coals high at the ridge.

You cannot cook overnight with this setup. But it tells me the 22 inch diameter also lights up a lot more coals, which would explain the higher temps.
 
just a little fyi...
Harry historically competed with his 18.5" WSMs and his Rock's BBQ Stoker. BUT has also competed using a 12"....
One reason why Harry normally used his 18.5" WSMs.... Anything larger wouldn't fit in his mini-van !
 
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Jonas-Switzerland said:
He uses any and every WSM. If you download the PDF linked in tvwbb, you see him cooking on two 18.5 WSMs

I just finished another cook on my 22. Another batch of lean meat, and I tried 225F again. I had a lot fewer coals in it, and now it was easy to keep between 210-234 at a day where the outside temp was 90F.

I built a little vulcanoe which did not touch the charcoal ring. It was about 14 inches in diameter, and barely three coals high at the ridge.

You cannot cook overnight with this setup. But it tells me the 22 inch diameter also lights up a lot more coals, which would explain the higher temps.
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Jonas... how many LIT coals did you have vs UNLIT coals ?
I can run my 22.5" WSM at a VERY LOW TEMPERATURE... OVERNIGHT, if I wanted to.
It's all about how many Lit coals you have (determines temperature range) and how many Unlit coals you have (determines the length of time that temperature range will be available).
 
I tried water a few times when I first got the wsm but the cleanup was a pain, never again.

Even though I sometimes use water, I never ever use the WSM 18.5 stock water pan. I threw mine away so I'd never be tempted to use it.

I just put a disposable foil lasagna pan on the lower rack and use that for water and drippings. Holds about five quarts of water, which is plenty of capacity imo.

Since I've modded my 18.5 for three racks, I can use water and still have two racks to cook on. For a big brisket, flat goes on top, point goes on rack #2, water goes on rack #3.
 
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Bob Bass said:
Jonas... how many LIT coals did you have vs UNLIT coals ?
I can run my 22.5" WSM at a VERY LOW TEMPERATURE... OVERNIGHT, if I wanted to.
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That's nice. Wasn't my experience though.

I always add about 1/3 full chimney as the minion method. 5-8 briketts are ashed over, the rest is just burning cleanly.

This year a breeze comes knocking every afternoon. My cooks have been influenced a lot by that. It did stay at210-220 in the beginning, but crept upwards in the next half hour to an hour. IMO too many coals got burning, and then it just went south. It spiked as soon as i lifted the lid. It only went down by choking it, and was sometimes snuffed out completely.
 
Mike Freel said:
My 18in WSM loves to run at 250 so that is where I do most of my smoking
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Same here.

But I see everyone stating temps --- but no one is say how they are measuring them or where. We all know the lid temp really isn't all that reliable/accurate. I stick my probe into the 'bossed hole' in the silicone grommet so that it is reading the barrel temp right over my foiled drip pan
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Its inside 'the ring of fire'. I'll get stable and consistent readings of 250-275 for the most part no matter what I do while the lid temp will be 225-250 for the most part. I have to be careful tho --- I can get weird/whacky readings if there is grease/fat/juice dripping right onto the probe - its caught me off gaurd a couple of times.

Is this ideal? No - I'd rather have the probe right on the grate.... but I usually don't have room to have the probe there AND I really HATE having to scrub the probe's braided cable after the cook (I think thats how I've killed two probes). Now that I have 'real' probe clips, I've found that I can put the probe UNDER the grate, but the probe hole in the grommet is just too easy. Its really there to make me feel better and to let me know when the coals are running out of heat -- as long as its reading between 225 and 300 --- I'm good with that - it usually bounces thru out the cook.
 
Not everyone Jim. Before you came onboard, there were multiple discussions related to where to measure temperature. Personally, I have metal grommets installed that replace the top grill hanger bolts. Their inner diameter is large enough to fit my pit probe. As such, my pit probe's tip sits inside the 22 WSM about an inch. Most certainly in the hot zone... But that is what I try to control... the temperature of the air as it arrives at the cooking zone.
Purchased the grommets when I purchased the Rock's BBQ Stoker back in 2011.
Incidentally... Harry Soo also measures his WSMs temperature at the grommets he installed along with his Rock's BBQ Stoker !
 
It's frustrating to see so many "it likes to run there" type of comments. Sure it likes to run there. You, the pitmaster, have set the conditions for just that temperature. Change the conditions and you will change where it "likes" to run...
Instead of firing the WSM with a few lit coals across or in the center of a bed of unlit coals, try the snake method. Your WSM that just "likes to run there" will now run in a completely different temperature range. It is the pitmaster, not the pit, that truly controls the cook.
What I wrote a couple of posts ago, regarding the number of lit and unlit coals, remains true, no matter how you fire the WSM.
 
Great discussion! No matter what I’m cooking on I always shoot for 225-250. I’ve been doing this for about 20 years, but I have tried other temp ranges. In my opinion and observation, cooking above 250 is for those who want to get done quicker and usually involves wrapping the meat at some point. I don’t like wrapping but if I am trying to expedite the cooking I will, but this is the exception and not the rule. No wrap cooks at lower temperatures simply turns out better product for me. I don’t mind the time it takes because I enjoy my cooking process and I don’t like compromising it for convenience - it’s a labor of love! 😊 As for water in the pan, I like using water in the WSM because it is how I learned, it’s how the smoker was designed, and it turns out great product for me.
 
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Even before I started using my ATC I never had a problem maintaining the temperature I was targeting.
My use of ATC is to keep ash off my deck.
I target 225 at night and 275-300 during the day.
Also I only use my deep dish pizza/water pan only at night.
I don’t think there really is a need for a water pan during the daytime hours when the cook can be easier tended.
 
I've had good luck on the WSM with water in the pan and without (just foiled). I think if you are trying to stay below 250 then you would be better with water in the pan.

I just did small port butts and chicken with a foiled, dry water pan and it turned out great. Hardly any adjustments and ran 240 - 275 for hours. At the end, I turned the door upside down for venting and got 325 to crisp up the skin on the chicken. Note that was with Jealous Devil Briquettes and they were great.
 
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