Today I was at the "barbecuen.com" web site. On it, they have an "explanation" of water smokers. I'm wondering what people think of this statement:
"The second component to the Water Smoker is the water used to create steam. The water which is situated either directly above or adjacent to the fire after a short while will begin to boil. As the steam rises, it combines with the smoke particles to become an 'automatic' basting material. This combination of water and smoke acts to continuously baste the food. After the water droplets cover the meat, they then drop back into the water pan, (since you did place the meat directly above the water pan, didn't you?) and are available to continuously baste the barbecue."
While certainly no WSM expert, I have used ECBs for a while. And, while I might be wrong, I never thought that the function of the water pan was to produce steam. I always thought it was simply there to redirect heat, so that the meat didn't get seared from the coals. Some people here use sand; and (I assume) end up with marvelous 'Q. Personally, I think that barbecuen .com doesn't know what they're talking about--at least regarding "water" smokers.
What's the verdict on this?
"The second component to the Water Smoker is the water used to create steam. The water which is situated either directly above or adjacent to the fire after a short while will begin to boil. As the steam rises, it combines with the smoke particles to become an 'automatic' basting material. This combination of water and smoke acts to continuously baste the food. After the water droplets cover the meat, they then drop back into the water pan, (since you did place the meat directly above the water pan, didn't you?) and are available to continuously baste the barbecue."
While certainly no WSM expert, I have used ECBs for a while. And, while I might be wrong, I never thought that the function of the water pan was to produce steam. I always thought it was simply there to redirect heat, so that the meat didn't get seared from the coals. Some people here use sand; and (I assume) end up with marvelous 'Q. Personally, I think that barbecuen .com doesn't know what they're talking about--at least regarding "water" smokers.
What's the verdict on this?