Foil pans and smoking question

[redavalanche]

What are some loose rules or reasons why I would smoke something in a foil pan?
I have seen some professionals on TV as well as some recipes call for smoking in a foil pan.
Can someone shed some light on this? Thanks.

 

[TomKnollRFV]

Two reasons I've done it <Though I don't use foil much, I have a grill plan, it has nice holes/slots in it so the smoke can still get into it>.

One: Less messy stuff in the smoker...but the real reason?

It's alot easier to pick up the pan then a pork butt when it's done right. Things that get 'fall apart tender' are easier to get out of the smoker when in the pan. You also will have all the juices collected in the pan if you like to collect them.

 

[phatbac]

i use a foil pan from time to time for small pieces of meat like chicken wings or legs on my stick burner so its easy to get on and take off the smoker. another reason is to use butter or broth as kind of a bath or braise for the meat (again chicken comes to mind). if you are going to wrap your meat like say a pork butt putting it in a foil pan with some liquid as a braise then wrapping it up will decrease the cook time. if you are cook a spatchcocked (sometimes called butterflied) whole chicken bird, and the bottom part doesn't need really any smoke or say a turkey breast then a pan can make life easier. i use a lot of foil pans to marinade or inject or even rub meat and leave in the fridge and not make a mess or just carry it to the smoker from the kitchen. i get those half size catering pans form Sam's club really cheap (36 for $7)

Happy Smoking,
phatbac (Aaron)

 

[gmc2003]

Two main reasons for me using a foil pan - first it's a whole lot quicker. I don't loose as much meat heat when foiling in a pan then I do fumbling around with wrap, and second containment of juices.

Chris

 

[mike243]

when I use a foil pan the main reason is to keep down the mess,when I use 1 I put a cooling rack under the meat so smoke can get to the bottom and not let it get water logged in the juice,also easier to cover if you want to stem it a bit

 

[SmokinAl]

On very lean meats I smoke them in a pan with some kind of stock, they stay much juicier that way.
On fattier pieces I put the meat on the grate & put a pan underneath to catch the juices, it makes clean up easy & you get a good base for an Au Jus.
Al

 

[redavalanche]

Thanks for the responses. I will have to get some foil pans. Here I thought they were only good to hold beans, LOL.