I tried sand in the water pan last week and my ribs seemed to come out
drier than when using water. The lid temp averaged about 5 degrees
higher than usual. Clean up is certainly much easier with sand but I
think the water did more than just act as a heat sink. Anybody else
tried both ways? -RP

Randy wrote:
> I tried sand in the water pan last week and my ribs seemed to come out
> drier than when using water. The lid temp averaged about 5 degrees
> higher than usual. Clean up is certainly much easier with sand but I
> think the water did more than just act as a heat sink. Anybody else
> tried both ways? -RP

You didn't give enough information...
What are you cooking in?

Mostly when ribs dry out, they have been overcooked. You said that the temp was
5°. Is that the only variable that you have changed? Do you really think that
the water in the pan will add moisture to the ribs? You can dry out meat by
overcooking even when you boil it. Ever had beef stew with dry tasting meat?

BOB

BOB wrote:
> You didn't give enough information...
> What are you cooking in?
>

WSM....in the subject line.

K.B.Rook wrote:
> BOB wrote:
>> You didn't give enough information...
>> What are you cooking in?
>>
>
> WSM....in the subject line.

OOPS! Yep, I noticed that just as I hit "send" but the rest of the post still
stands.

Overcooked! The water in the pan can't be added to the meat.

BOB

Randy > wrote in message
...
> Anybody else tried both ways? -RP
>

Tried both ways. Sand is the only way for me.

As for your ribs, I suspect you just overcooked one batch. Try it again
with sand. Make sure you stop cooking when they're done.

--
TFM3

Note: Spam-resistant e-mail address

Randy wrote:
> I tried sand in the water pan last week and my ribs seemed to come out
> drier than when using water. The lid temp averaged about 5 degrees
> higher than usual. Clean up is certainly much easier with sand but I
> think the water did more than just act as a heat sink. Anybody else
> tried both ways? -RP

I tossed my WSM's water pan; you should too. Don't need it for sure.
--
-frohe
Life is too short to be in a hurry

"frohe" > wrote in message
news
> Randy wrote:
> > I tried sand in the water pan last week and my ribs seemed to come out
> > drier than when using water. The lid temp averaged about 5 degrees
> > higher than usual. Clean up is certainly much easier with sand but I
> > think the water did more than just act as a heat sink. Anybody else
> > tried both ways? -RP
>
> I tossed my WSM's water pan; you should too. Don't need it for sure.
> --
> -frohe
> Life is too short to be in a hurry
>
>
>

Frohe's right as rain there! Neither sand nor water play a role in real
bbq.

It's not a gimmick or gadget centered cooking style, folks. It's simply
meat and wood smoke combined.

TFM®

"TFM®" > wrote in news:e5AWb.433$Bb.25330
@twister.tampabay.rr.com:

>
> "frohe" > wrote in message
> news
>> Randy wrote:
>> > I tried sand in the water pan last week and my ribs seemed to come out
>> > drier than when using water. The lid temp averaged about 5 degrees
>> > higher than usual. Clean up is certainly much easier with sand but I
>> > think the water did more than just act as a heat sink. Anybody else
>> > tried both ways? -RP
>>
>> I tossed my WSM's water pan; you should too. Don't need it for sure.
>> --
>> -frohe
>> Life is too short to be in a hurry
>>
>>
>>
>
> Frohe's right as rain there! Neither sand nor water play a role in real
> bbq.
>
> It's not a gimmick or gadget centered cooking style, folks. It's simply
> meat and wood smoke combined.
>
> TFM®
>
>

YES! Do as Frohe says and listen to TFM!

TFM... The best line I've come across... "I'ts not a gimmick or
gadget..."

Stump

Randy > wrote in message >...
> I tried sand in the water pan last week and my ribs seemed to come out
> drier than when using water. The lid temp averaged about 5 degrees
> higher than usual. Clean up is certainly much easier with sand but I
> think the water did more than just act as a heat sink. Anybody else
> tried both ways? -RP

In barbecue, the moistness of the meat comes from *inside*, when the
fat and collagen break down during low and slow cooking. Overcook the
meat, and all that moisture will get sqeezed out and the meat becomes
dry. Water vs. sand in the pan has nothing to do with it. You can
get either moist or dry meat using water, sand, or even no pan.
Depends how long the meat is cooked.

Aloha,

Nathan Lau
Petaling Jaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

I switched to sand after the first couple of cooks....and won't go back to
water........no differance to the meat......big differance in ease of
cleaning, and some additional temp. stability. I haven't abandoned the pan
altogether, but I will give it a try this spring....

Anyone use *wet* sand? Isn't there any benefit from the steam?

Dan


Oncler wrote:

> I switched to sand after the first couple of cooks....and won't go back to
> water........no differance to the meat......big differance in ease of
> cleaning, and some additional temp. stability. I haven't abandoned the pan
> altogether, but I will give it a try this spring....
>
>

"Dan Krueger" > wrote in message
ink.net...
> Anyone use *wet* sand? Isn't there any benefit from the steam?



No. None.

Get this, learn it well, the water in the water pan in a bullet smoker acts
as thermal mass.

Thermal mass. Like the cooling fins on a motorcycle engine of days gone by.

Like the reason beer in bottles stays cold longer than beer in cans.

Like why a 5 pound hunk of meat takes longer to thaw than a 1 pound hunk.

It's a mass of water (or sand) that takes a great long time to get to
temperature. (are you getting it yet?) It takes an equally long time to
lose the temperature in the event of a cheesy fire or excessively windy
conditions.


BBQ is all about fire control. If you can't control a fire, you can't BBQ.

If you need some sort of contraption to assist you, you're not BBQ'ing.

If you don't get it yet, I can't be of much further assistance.

TFM®

TFM® wrote:
>
> If you need some sort of contraption to assist you, you're not
> BBQ'ing.

Right about everything but the "contraption" part and you're flat wrong
here. BBQ can be done in a hole in the ground fulla burned down wood coals
or it can be done in a Kamado with a BBQ Guru to control the temperature
inside precisely. The are both still BBQ'n, since the end result is the
proof that matters.
BBQ doesn't have to mean sleepless nights coupled with excessive drinking.
Wait, wait......yeah, I'm sure about the sleepless nights part.

Jack Curry

"TFM®" > wrote in message
m...
> BBQ is all about fire control. If you can't control a fire, you can't
BBQ.
>
> If you need some sort of contraption to assist you, you're not BBQ'ing.

Ideally no contraptions would be used at all. True BBQ is where you put a
raw piece of meat in your mouth along with a smouldering coal and don't
swallow until it's cooked. Anything else is cheating, and if you want to be
a purist you gotta bite the meat off a live animal.