"Janet Wilder" > wrote in message
...
> Bob Muncie wrote:
>> Janet Wilder wrote:
>>> Duwop wrote:
>>>
>>>> If you're gonna freeze some of it, why not freeze it cooked? Cooked
>>>> butt thaws up real well.
>>>
>>> Truth time: It's heavy. If I have to lift the top of the cooker to like
>>> add charcoal, I'm not sure I can manage it with the 7.5 pounds of meat
>>> and the bowl of water.
>>>
>>> Good fortune! I found the extra long, flexible funnel thing that we used
>>> to put oil in our Freightliner RV hauler (which we no longer have). I'm
>>> cleaning it up and it will be perfect for adding water to the bowl
>>> through the little door. I know: add *hot* water.
>>>
>>>
>>
>> Janet - I have not read past this time frame in this thread you developed
>> :-) And I am certainly the last person to be called expert in the art of
>> BBQ (smoking that is for those that want to argue, post it here and I'll
>> watch your feathers fly), but why are you using water in the pan?
>>
>> I have it on good "reading" authority, that it's better to fill the pan
>> with "play ground" quality sand (see note) which means it's sanitized and
>> without the impurities from the beach, to around 3/4 full.
>
> I know about the sand but I am very new to this cooker thing and I want to
> see how it operates the way it came. I might try the sand when I do the
> other half of the butt to see how it's different.
>
> Appreciate the advice, however. Thank you.


My water pan for my WSM has been collecting dust on the roof of the shed for
the past 3 years.

Learn to live without it and learn what real barbecue is about.

It's a heat sink, thermal mass. It's forgiving where fire isn't.

I'm not just jumping in here to start a fire. I've been through 3 ECB's,
and I've cooked a ton or two of very edible stuff on chainsawed trees and
rocks.

Your gourmet version of the ECB will do just fine sans water pan.
I may offend some here, but water pans are for sissies.

You'll use less fuel (coals) without the need to heat the water.
You'll get the Hiss bombs. (you can actually determine the temperature by
the rate of the hiss bombs)
It just tastes better.
(proofreading this, I realized that "hiss bombs" might not be in everyone's
vocabulary. That's what we call the sound of fat dripping onto live coals.)

The water pan is a shield. I want to cook my meat, not boil water.

Small fire, any meat, no water pan equals good stuff.
Most folks don't believe what I preach. Give it a shot one time.

TFM®