Some of the links on this forum allow SMF, at no cost to you, to earn a small commission when you click through and make a purchase. Let me know if you have any questions about this.
Yall drink the beer, water fer the water pan, it's there ta keep the humidity up in the cabinet so's yer meat is losin less moisture an ta hep stabilize temps.
It's my opinion that anything in the water pan will be mostly a waste. SOME aromatic type herbs, and perhaps some wine/liquors will impart SOME flavor...but if ya like the beer...make a mop with it.
i have used all sorts of things in the water pan, have YET to notice to difference in the flavors.........normally the water pan is just a thermal mass........in a nut shell, thats about it.........
Tell you what is good in the water pan. I do this with anything but chicken. About an hour or less before the meat is done I'll drop ears of corn or whole potatos in. Just think all the flavor that has dripped in the pan from your meat. They come out awsome.
I used to put 3 cans of Budweiser in the pan and top off with water. After I tried it with straight water, I realized its not worth it to use the beer. There is no taste difference.
I've found that when I do beer butt chicks, I get more beer flavor when I sit the chick w/ the beer can inside it, in a round cassarole dish that has about 2 in. of beer in it, and still using the water pan below. The outside of the chick gets much more beer flavor from the cassarole dish. That's my personel experience.