Thinking of trying WSM 18 without water. Maybe sand, clay plate, or empty pan


 
EdP

EdP

TVWBB Member
How does the lack of steam affect smokes?


FWIW, I modded my WSM for propane, so there's still water vapor from fuel combustion.

Thx
 
MartinB said:
It doesnt really imo.

I think the water really only helps control temps near 225.
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I agree. I've been no water since 08 ( first a clay saucer, but I cook @ 275+ so I ditched the sink and just use an empty foiled pan) and never noticed any lack of smoke flavor.
The only time I used water was for a spiral sliced ham and one time for an overnite brisket.

Ed, give it a shot a few times, your the only one that can judge the outcome.

Tim
 
I've used water, clay saucer, empty pan, nothing, and now a Hunsaker Vortex Plate. They all work.
 
I've been smoking 3 1/2 years. A few months afterwards I did a smoke without water in the pan (a dry pan covered with foil). I was so pleased with the results that I've never used water again aside from last year's Easter ham and I'm still puzzled as to why I used water that time. I'm so used to not using water that it's rather simple to hone-in on my method (vent openings, number of lit coals, etc). If the lack of steam affects the smoke I don't know what it would be. Maybe others can answer if it possibly affects the smoke ring, which I never really look for.
 
I quit using water not long after studying this forum. I got a clay saucer (terracotta plate) that fits on top of the water pan. Foil over saucer. Don't have to worry about dumping greasy water. Once it cools just wad up the foil and throw it in the freezer till trash day.
The meat has plenty of moisture. I wrap most kinds of meat in foil (except pork butt) a little over half way through the cook.
Iduno about propane though. I love the smell of cooking charcoal. :wsm:
 
Thanks for the responses, sounds like the steam from the water doesn't mean much to the meat itself.

I like the terracotta plate over the pan idea so I may try to find one first, if I can't I'll foil the pan with no water.


First smoke for me this season will be babybacks with post oak. :wsm:
 
A moist cooking environment is different. When I changed to no water, I noticed a change in bark. Better bark without water.
 
EdP said:
I like the terracotta plate over the pan idea so I may try to find one first, if I can't I'll foil the pan with no water.
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Get it at Home Depot. Make sure you wrap the top (overlap the sides) of the saucer with foil because if you don't the grease/juice you collect will soak into the saucer.

You'll still get a bit of liquid under the foil (pin holes in the foil, along an edge) but that little won't matter.
 
The real benefit of water is as the smoker goes above the boiling point (212f) the water pretty aggressively "sucks" extra energy to boil water. This makes water a pretty fool proof way of keeping temps down around 212f - so if you're new to smoking and vent control, you still turn out a decent product since the smoker is going to hugely resist rising temps. There is also a bit more humidity, but tons of debate whether or not that makes any difference at all.

The downside is that extra energy results in way more charcoal usage. And this can be a pretty serious downside. You can run out of fuel during an overnight cook, and in general it's just not efficient.

Sand (PLAY SAND not construction sand) is fine to use but if grease gets into it, it can go rancid. I prefer the ceramic briquettes, specifically charbroil makes cheap ones called char-diamonds.

Sand or ceramics will help buffer temp swings - if the wind blows into the grill or if you remove the lid, the temp isn't going to jump around as much and will recover much quicker. In a perfect "lab-ish" environment there isn't much benefit to mass inside the smoker, but in the real world it does help, in my opinion.

I don't use terra cotta as it's possible (unlikely) that they could contain lead. The actual risk of this is very very low, but ceramic briquettes last forever, don't crack, can be put in a 650f grill to clean them,... I just don't see a benefit of terra cotta over these ceramic briquettes.

If you check amazon, there's a person who sells 1" deep pans that fit into the water pan. I put in some ceramic briquettes then add the foil lined pan. That way, even if grease gets into the pan, it's super easy to wipe out.
 
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i switched from water on my ECB to no water on the WSM. first smoke i got beautiful bark. The only time i'm adding water at this point is if i'm struggling to get the temp below 270.
 
I currently use a Napoleon Apollo 300, which is very similar to the WSM. Regarding the water pan in the WSM, what is the approximate distance between the outside edge of the water pan and the smoker? To put it another way, what is the outside diameter of the water pan, where it sits in the holders. and the inside diameter of the smoker cylinder? The Apollo has a large water pan that holds approximately 2.75 gallons of water. The distance between the outside diameter of the water and the smoker is approximately 1". Thank you folks.
 
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This pic came from a Texas Monthly Top 5 barbecue joint , just sayin

attachment.php



And I just found where that pic came from, its at the very end of this vid

https://vimeo.com/288781945
 
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BradJ said:
I currently use a Napoleon Apollo 300, which is very similar to the WSM. Regarding the water pan in the WSM, what is the approximate distance between the outside edge of the water pan and the smoker? To put it another way, what is the outside diameter of the water pan, where it sits in the holders. and the inside diameter of the smoker cylinder? The Apollo has a large water pan that holds approximately 2.75 gallons of water. The distance between the outside diameter of the water and the smoker is approximately 1". Thank you folks.
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http://virtualweberbullet.com/22wsm.html#specs

Looks like 1 5/8" on the 18.5" and 1 3/8" on the 22.5" WSM
I have both and know it's over an inch.

Tim
 
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