<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Tashvi:
Dave,
What's your take on your process? Are you saying the steam produced from the water pan makes chicken juicy or is it because the chicken is cooked at a lower temp? Or both? I'm new to smoking and the wsm.
T </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
T, like a lot of things, you got to find out what works for you. If you want "good" chicken skin, by all means don't smoke your birds with water in the pan unless you're gonna take measures using pans and braising liquids to tenderize the skin mid or post smoke.
As to temps, I don't think there's any magic low temp that all of a sudden makes the chicken more moist. However, there's something to be said for cooking at low to moderate temps, the temps you'll have to use anyway if you use water in the pan. For instance, if you smoke a rib roast you'll get more of the meat cooked to your preferred doneness if cooking low-n-slow vs. high heat. Obviously not a factor with chickens though, especially if butterflied. It can make for more evenly cooked and thus juicier turkey breasts though. That's for sure. (By the way, a buddy of mine recently sent me a pic of a turkey breast he cooked low-n-slow with water in his bullet and it was amazingly juicy. The cook just reaffirmed his "return" to cooking slow with water in the pan, and he's now even using a water pan in his Primo some!)
To get back to the water in the pan though, yes, a water smoker adds moisture to the environment, although to varying degrees depending on the set-up. The friend of mine that I mentioned above says that guys that use the water smokers on the bbq circuit are the ones that are much less prone to foiling than the ones who cook dry. As to why so many bullet users here on the bullet forum "see" no difference, I think few have cooked enough with different methods to actually see for themselves, no disrespect intended.
As to water smoker set-ups though, the rate of steaming is not a constant thing and the proximity of the water to the fire and temp of the fire matters. Compare the old wsm pan with the newer '09 pan that hangs low to the coals. One will notice that the evaporation is significantly faster with the new deep Weber pan compared to the Brinkman pan that sits higher above the coals, and the old wsm pan sits even higher above the coals than that! If you're familiar with the kettle accessory called the "Smokinator", the drawback of the little water pan it uses is that it has to be refilled quite frequently because it's sitting right on top of the fire. Does it turn the kettle into a water smoker though? Sure it does. Just not anything like cooking on a bullet, though.
Like I said though, the fire matters as well. Not too long ago someone posted about doing an 18 hr. butt cook where they never had to add any water to the pan after filling initially. Same exact set-up as my rib and chicken cooks but that's a MUCH slower rate of evaporation than how I cook ribs and chicken with the vents mostly open. I'm making a more moist environment that slows down the moisture loss as the meat cooks. As to other benefits, obviously water in the pan helps moderate temps and I find I can get cleaner smoke which translates to better flavor. Also, because of the heat transfer of steam I think that cooks proceed a bit quicker, assuming same temps, of course. Hold your hand over a bullet vent with steam coming out of it and you'll want to remove it quicker than if the heat is dry. Right?
Anyways, sorry for rambling, but I'd just encourage you to try different things and see for yourself. I love chicken off the kettle cooked 350*+ as well. If cooking butterflied birds like that though I'm gonna brine or at least do a dry brine.
