Water water everywhere, but not in the WSM?


 
I'm a relative newby to the bullet and have found that water really helps for moderating the temperature. I've tried an empty foil wrapped bowl and had a hard time get a stable temp below 275. If you want a no brainer 250 degree cook go for hot water in the bowl and all vents open unless you have a lot of wind. That fatty water in the bowl is messy but then you don't have to use 5 square yards of foil to double wrap the bowl!
 
I have been using a Piedmont Pan in my 18.5 for a while now, and really like the flexibility. Using it dry the air space keeps drippings from burning and when I do use water it does not boil off as quickly and seems to extend burn time of the coals. I ran it side by side with an unmodded 18 and was able to hold Slightly higher temps as well.
 
I just use water myself. I don't see what the big fuss is. Do what works for you. I find I like the safety buffer of the water. I just dump it out when I'm done and give it a quick rinse. I don't worry about it being super clean. Takes me like one minute.
 
After a dozen years or so, I have gone back and forth on the water/no water methods. On balance, I have had better results with water and not wrapping than with any other scheme. Water provides the high humidity environment that helps power through the stall without losing moisture, and not wrapping delivers a nicely textured bark that isn't soggy. Since we are cooking with very little wood -- compared to a stick-burner -- I also like the idea of exposing the meat to smoke for the duration. This is just me.

One of the things I like about this hobby is that there are a number of different routes to good barbeque. One method might be different from another and the results might be different as well, but as long as they are both good and reflect the personality of the pitmaster, gimme a napkin and a beer and let's have at it.

Jeff
 
I couldn't agree more Jeff, and thank you for that link, that's pretty much a must-read on this topic and regarding the stall as well.
 
J Hasselberger said:
After a dozen years or so, I have gone back and forth on the water/no water methods. On balance, I have had better results with water and not wrapping than with any other scheme. Water provides the high humidity environment that helps power through the stall without losing moisture, and not wrapping delivers a nicely textured bark that isn't soggy. Since we are cooking with very little wood -- compared to a stick-burner -- I also like the idea of exposing the meat to smoke for the duration. This is just me.

One of the things I like about this hobby is that there are a number of different routes to good barbeque. One method might be different from another and the results might be different as well, but as long as they are both good and reflect the personality of the pitmaster, gimme a napkin and a beer and let's have at it.

Jeff
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I couldn't agree more. I love this site because you can see how other people cook their food. Definitely more than one way to reach the final destination!
 
Tommy B said:
The amazing ribs guy did a big write up on water vs no water. Based on that article and my own experience I use water on any cook where my target temp is 275 or below. For high heat I don't use water.
Everyone has their own methods of what works/makes sense to them but at the end of the I really don't think it makes a ton of difference either way.
I 100% agree it makes clean up a bigger pain.
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So I thought I should add to my earlier post. I always use water but I never refill the water pan... So on a long butt or brisket cook the pan goes dry and I just keep cooking. There is always some grease/drippings that fall into the pan but I don't keep a water pan the entire cook. So maybe I am a half water guy?
 
Butts and brisket I use water, chicken and ribs I don't. I double foil with an air space so clean up is just wad the top layer up and toss it.
 
Tommy B said:
So I thought I should add to my earlier post. I always use water but I never refill the water pan... So on a long butt or brisket cook the pan goes dry and I just keep cooking. There is always some grease/drippings that fall into the pan but I don't keep a water pan the entire cook. So maybe I am a half water guy?
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I'm actually the same way. Don't want to splash water onto the hot coals below and I figure by then I got it stabilized enough that I don't even worry about it.
 
No H2O here either. I used it for the first couple of cooks, coz that's what it said on the packet! After getting some hints, tips & tricks from here the water pan has got lost somewhere.
All I use is a foiled 11.5" terracotta pizza serving plate as a heat deflector, [14.5"]. I have no issues catching the temps on the way up, any drippings that seep over the side of the plate gets zapped and adds more flavour. Just my 0.02ȼ.
 
I use water in the pan. I keep a foil pan on a the lower shelf to catch most of the drippings. The water gets dumped into a HD garbage bag with the foil pan. I tie the bag off tight and throw it in the garbage can.
 
I think I get a better smoke ring when I use water in the pan than when I cook with an empty pan and spritz the meat occasionally with water or juice. But maybe I don't spritz often enough.
 
J Hasselberger said:
Agree. It doesn't add moisture to the meat, but it helps keep moisture in and affects the cooking process.

http://www.scienceofcooking.com/why_is_humidity_important_in_cooking.htm
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I agree totally.
This is way, considering moisture in the air, I add just a little of water in my drip pan (1 lt) in the bottom rack in WSM to provide moisture in the very first 3-4 hours @250F.
Then water ends and cook goes on w/o water until the end.
If moisture is in the air I do not add water in the drip pan.

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Chris Allingham said:
I think I get a better smoke ring when I use water in the pan than when I cook with an empty pan and spritz the meat occasionally with water or juice. But maybe I don't spritz often enough.
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I totally agrre Chris!
 
Chris Allingham said:
I think I get a better smoke ring when I use water in the pan than when I cook with an empty pan and spritz the meat occasionally with water or juice. But maybe I don't spritz often enough.
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I've tried a number of spritzing schemes and settled on this: full pan of hot water at the start; don't open the lid at all until about an hour from done (around 190 internal for a brisket, for example); generous spritz with apple cider vinegar. The vinegar seems to take all the bitterness out of the bark. All that's left is a deep smoke flavor. Again, this is just me.

Jeff
 
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