Water or No Water


 
T

Tim Tschudin

New member
I was reading some of Harry Soo's notes and I see that he does not use water at all. He just foils his pan and that's it. I've tried a couple of smokes without water and I find that the bark is on my meat is more firm with no water. Weber built the WSM to be used with water...Thoughts?
 
I do both...I don't use water if I'm going for high heat, I use it if I want to hold steadier temps over a longer cook.

It's fun to experiment every which way. That's the beauty of BBQ.
 
No water for me in either WSM. I tried it one time back in 2006 when I got my 18.5 and realized it was way too much mess and trouble. Since then I've used foiled empty pan, foiled pizza stone in the 18.5 and foiled clay pot base in the 22.5 and have even tinkered with no pan at all, which worked very well and I will be tinkering with the no pan approach some more.

Try it both ways and see what works best for you.
 
I certainly like the no mess approach. I've tried no water with ribs and chicken but not with a brisket or a pork butt. I'll do those next, as far as temps go my 22' seems to really hold temps either way.
 
I've tried these alternatives and still like the water more. I cover over the water pan with foil with four holes made near the out edge. Keeps the water and water pan clean. Cleanup consists of rolling up the foil and tossing it. It's way more trouble to empty the ashes.

Rich
 
Originally posted by Tim Tschudin:
I was reading some of Harry Soo's notes and I see that he does not use water at all. He just foils his pan and that's it. I've tried a couple of smokes without water and I find that the bark is on my meat is more firm with no water. Weber built the WSM to be used with water...Thoughts?
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Like other pitmasters, Harry has found out that he gets better bark without water in the pan. Of course, he foils everything, too, and generally speaking, that's my rule. To ensure the most tender product I'll foil, especially briskets and back ribs, no water in the pan to get faster bark formation. However, I've gotten great results with st. louis ribs and butts with water in the pan and no foiling. Foiling makes for more predictable cooks, though. Good rubs and adequate temps, smoke and trimming will all help the bark.
 
Ah, the age old chicken or the egg debate. Me, no water. Hate the steam, hate the leaking creosote, hate the clean up.
 
Try it both ways and see what works best for you.
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I'm still young at this too but you really should do your cooks both ways and then make up your mind. I'm leaning toward no water but the best ribs I ever made were using water, no foil. I foil my brisket and have made excellent brisket both ways. My wife says the best brisket I made was over water??? I have decided to do one this weekend over water and yes it is messy but so is almost everything associated with the charcoal. It's worth it though
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Originally posted by Gary S:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Try it both ways and see what works best for you.
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I'm still young at this too but you really should do your cooks both ways and then make up your mind. I'm leaning toward no water but the best ribs I ever made were using water, no foil. I foil my brisket and have made excellent brisket both ways. My wife says the best brisket I made was over water??? I have decided to do one this weekend over water and yes it is messy but so is almost everything associated with the charcoal. It's worth it though
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Gary, I've also made some of my best ribs and brisket with water in the pan, but since I don't smoke briskets without foiling anymore, I won't use water on the brisket cooks. Just doesn't make sense to since cooking dry I get faster bark and can cook much faster, period. Never gotten the complaints over a "messy" water pan clean-up, though. To me, changing the top layers of foil on my big bullets water pan is more of a pain than messing with water. However, the dreaded "black flakes" are always a threat if cooking dry a lot and going back to a long cook with water. Make sure there's not too much build-up in the dome before starting that brisket cook if you use water.
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I have my pan about 3/4 full of sand. I foil the top of that to keep it clean. Smoked babybacks and a 5 lb rib roast. Both turned out great. I have a couple butts to do this weekend. Gonna be a longer cook so I'm eager to see how they turn out. FOR ME cleanup is alot easier than water in the pan. Good luck!

Joel
 
However, the dreaded "black flakes" are always a threat if cooking dry a lot and going back to a long cook with water. Make sure there's not too much build-up in the dome before starting that brisket cook if you use water.

Now there's the difference experience makes!! I wish I'd seen your post before I started.
Things are going along this morning just fine. Rubbed up the brisket last night, wrapped and ready for this morning. Out of the wrap...smells gooood. Smoker's fired up nicely, Brinkman pan on about half full. Got the brisket on for a couple of minutes, hooking up the 732, pull off the dome and what the F...is that?? Black flakes all over the top of my brisket!! Anyway messed up my cook a bit in the beginning, screwed up the bark a little too wasn't terrible but not worth bragging about. I did not like the water pan!!!

I'm liking the clay saucer only more & more. I did the washer mod and brought the bottom of the grill straps in a little closer for a tighter fit. Does not interfere with the lower rack either.
Thanks for the warning Dave. Too bad I didn't see it sooner.
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Gary, I'm actually rather surprised that you don't see more "black flake warnings" here on the forums, but be assured that there's no black flake issue if you always or almost always use water in the pan. If you've been cooking dry as I've done for several cooks, though, before doing a long cook with water you're best off giving the dome a good cleaning to remove the thick coating. Don't know if I'll be messin' with water anymore, but it's not because I'm too lazy to rinse out a pan. It's just that I've learned how to get pretty decent bark even with foiling, which is easier for all the space that the big 22.5" cooker affords, compared to my smaller bullet. Foiling gives me a more predictable product and timeframe, as well as a shorter cook times, and no, as I've often said, I don't want water in the pan if I'm gonna foil the meat. Yes, the clay saucer works pretty good, and the only drawback I find is that comparing the top to bottom racks, they don't COOK the same as when using water in the pan. It's not just about difference in temps. Steam off the pan compensates for the lower temps on the lower rack if using water, if that makes any sense.
 
Originally posted by ScottE:
I have been reading the Harry Soo thread and he is really big on foiling.......
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Yes, he's VERY big on foiling and when to foil! Bark must be fully set using the fingernail test in multiple areas.

Scott, you should try Harry's class. Great experience
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