Should I Use a Water Pan
Q: I recently purchased a New Braunfels smoker. It has the fire box on the side. A friend of mine who is an avid smoker and barbequer says the true way to smoke is with a water pan. I think a water pan adds moisture and makes the meat jucier, but isit necessary? Do ou use water. I am new to smoking so I would appreciate your input. By the way, this website is great!
Thanks!
A: The water pan is not neccessary for proper smoking but it does serve a very useful purpose for new smokers in that it helps to maintain normal smoking temps in the smoking chamber due to the fact that water boils at 212 and the 200+ degree steam fills the chamber and helps regulate the heat.
I have done much testing with using water vs. not using water and I have yet to see a shred of evidence that a water pan helps to make the meat moist.. I have concluded that this is a myth and one should utilize a good mop or marinade during smoking for that purpose.
Having said all of that..
It is a great idea to use a water pan to help maintain a good smoking temperature.. and this can easily be accomplished in a horizontal smoker by placing a pan of water in front of the area where the heat and smoke enters the chamber. This will help regulate the heat in the smoke chamber and may even act as a baffle to keep the heat from directly hitting the meat.
Your friend is correct in that lots of home smokers do utilize the use of a water pan and it is a great way to maintain good smoking temps but with your side firebox it is not necessary for smoking good meat and if you are able to maintain proper temperatures by building a good fire and doing some minor adjustments with the intake and damper then using a water pan is totally optional for you.
I have several small smokers that I use and most of them have a water pan and I use them just for the simple reason that it acts as a good baffle between the fire and the meat.
On my large horizontal smoker with side firebox mounted on a trailer, I do not use the water pan most of the time even though I had one installed when I had it custom built.. it is just a matter of preference really.
Visit Smoking-Meat.com for hundreds of great tutorials and guides on smoking meat.
The Technorati Tag for this post is Smoking with Water Pan
Thanks!
A: The water pan is not neccessary for proper smoking but it does serve a very useful purpose for new smokers in that it helps to maintain normal smoking temps in the smoking chamber due to the fact that water boils at 212 and the 200+ degree steam fills the chamber and helps regulate the heat.
I have done much testing with using water vs. not using water and I have yet to see a shred of evidence that a water pan helps to make the meat moist.. I have concluded that this is a myth and one should utilize a good mop or marinade during smoking for that purpose.
Having said all of that..
It is a great idea to use a water pan to help maintain a good smoking temperature.. and this can easily be accomplished in a horizontal smoker by placing a pan of water in front of the area where the heat and smoke enters the chamber. This will help regulate the heat in the smoke chamber and may even act as a baffle to keep the heat from directly hitting the meat.
Your friend is correct in that lots of home smokers do utilize the use of a water pan and it is a great way to maintain good smoking temps but with your side firebox it is not necessary for smoking good meat and if you are able to maintain proper temperatures by building a good fire and doing some minor adjustments with the intake and damper then using a water pan is totally optional for you.
I have several small smokers that I use and most of them have a water pan and I use them just for the simple reason that it acts as a good baffle between the fire and the meat.
On my large horizontal smoker with side firebox mounted on a trailer, I do not use the water pan most of the time even though I had one installed when I had it custom built.. it is just a matter of preference really.
Visit Smoking-Meat.com for hundreds of great tutorials and guides on smoking meat.
The Technorati Tag for this post is Smoking with Water Pan
posted by Jeff at 2:42 PM
3 Comments:
I have found that using a water pan for pork makes the meat way too moist. There is plenty of fat in pork ribs and pork shoulder to maintain moisture. The water pan almost made my meat less tender and soggy. I will use sand in the pan next time as a heat equalizer.
Jeff
I just want to say thanks for such a great site! I smoked my first batch of ribs yesterday with all you guidence they came out great. Thanks for the site, it's the only resource I used.
Thank you well done . I got it.
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