To Foil or Not to Foil


 
G Savrnoch

G Savrnoch

TVWBB Super Fan
OK so for the limited cooks I've done on my WSM I've foiled the water pan. Makes me wonder if just using the pan alone is really that much clean up? And do you really need to make the water pan spotless? I mean is it not just OK to pour out the water, scrape the heavier grease into our "green bin" for city pick upm wipe down the pan and off you go?

Open to thoughts and experiences either way.

Thanks.
 
Either way is fine.
Most people just prefer to suffer the cost of foil in exchange for less cleanup work.
That being said, I've seen people only foil the bottom of their pan and use water in the bowl un-foiled.
 
I used the water pan (Brinkman Charcoal pan)with ribs and or when I want rock solid temps. I don't think you can beat water for steady temps. I use a heavy steel serving tray otherwise wrapped in foil. Last year I used clay saucers but cracked two likely because of thermal shock. Really it's whatever you want and then develop your own style once you get used to what you are doing. I'm not big on letting the grease drip into the fire. Empty water pans can give you temp spikes if you're not paying attention.
 
I foil the pan to make clean up easier. It catches any drippings and keeps smoke and soot from building up on the pan. Experiecne from boy scout days and cooking over an open fire tells me that cleaning pots and pans from smoke and soot was a PITA.
 
I definitely foil. To me, the clean up is that bad. I dont even like that I have to carry the nasty water somewhere to dump it and try not to get it on my patio or me. With foil though, at least all I have to do is dump it and throw the foil away.
 
I have joined the foil the pan, no water clan. I actually just foil the inside so I don't have drippings burning into the pan and making cleanup a nightmare. I personally don't see a need to foil the bottom of the pan however, it doesn't matter to me that the bottom has some soot built up on it... I'll just give it a scrub outside with an old scotchbrite pad and the hose every few cooks if it gets too grimmey. Buildup of burnt on drippings and basting liquid on the other hand is more work than I can handle...
 
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