Sorry for the delayed response, finally back here for an update...
Sonny - My friend asked me to build him a vertical insulated reverse flow smoker, and I figured I'd do one for myself while I'm at it. I'm not sure what they weigh, my guess is 400 lbs each?
I've been playing around with different methods and I'm beginning to lean away from water. With the water pan just over half full (3-4 gallons), I cant get the temp above 200. I suspect the cooling effect from water evaporating is causing this. If I reduce the amount of water (down to about 1" deep in a pan that's 18" x 18") then it all evaporates quickly and not really worth putting it in there. The reason I haven't fully given up on water yet is because it keeps the temperatures incredibly even throughout the cooking chamber, most of the time within 1-2 degrees top to bottom. With no water in the pan, the temperature difference top to bottom is sometimes as high as 50 degrees. With no water, the bottom grate gets so hot because its sits about 5 inches above the firebox and only separated by a 3/16" steel plate. I am considering alternatives to water such as sand, brick, or a combination of brick or sand with a smaller water pan sitting on top. My hope is to create some sort of insulating barrier to keep the bottom level of cooking chamber cooler while increasing the overall temperature.
Suggestions are welcomed!
Well Brett, in my time doing smoking, I have never used a water pan. :eek:
I'm old school,
very old school. I looked towards Salmon hanging on outdoor racks over several small smoking fires used by the Alaskan Natives. Then came from there.
Point being, much less to get more. My thoughts are that smoking is an art for meat preservation. But somewhere along the way Ad Writers (Professional Liars) turned outdoor ovens into smokers, and anything that makes smoke into a smoker.
But, I had to modernize. I was always a DIY guy. But decided after looking around, and finding SMF.com, I wanted to get a MES smoker for the box and the digital heat, then modify as need be to make it my own.
At my age, I don't want to spend days building and welding up. More likely it would become a boat anchor when I'm gone anyway. So buying an electric box, and using the ideas here that work well, melded with my own ideas and 'Speriance got me modernized. But for the most part it's just for me, for Salmon and Nuts, and other stuff that strikes me as might be tasty smoked. (I have a hankerin for some smoked Peanut Butter...) :confused:
I did try water in my MES pan once. But thought, "What am I doing?"
Often I find doing a combo of smoke and finishing another way works for me. Like smoking skin on chicken legs/thighs, then Air Fryer them crispy. Or a bit of smoke, then BBQ some Baby Backs. But none of mine has included water.
So I would encourage you to try your favorite ways without water, just to see if you like it.
Get back to simpler, more caveman like.
Sure, set-it-and-forget-it makes sittin around drinkin some brewskis, guffawin with the folks, and enjoying the kids much, much nicer. But we need those roots, too.
Try dry. ;)
