Liquid

[alan mcfadden]

What does everyone use for liquid in your smoker...Just water apple juice beer? Looking for ideas what to use

 

[kit s]

What does everyone use for liquid in your smoker...Just water apple juice beer? Looking for ideas what to use

I myself don't use any for 99% of the time...if I do it is usually some of the marinade that i brine in with maybe some added herbs.

 

[dcecil]

Very similar to what kit said, don’t use it any most of the time but sometimes I will have a drippings tray in there that I will put some ingredients to make au ju in the drip pan. One thing I do a lot of is spritz. Use apple juice for just about everything.

 

[TomKnollRFV]

My MES is so darn insulated I don't really need water..did use it when foiling ribs <Mango juice> and some Apple Juice when doing a butt. Honestly I couldn't taste any difference then not using water.

 

[alan mcfadden]

I have thought you had to use some kind of liquid to keep it from drying out

 

[kit s]

It has tendency to steam meat instead of smoking (cooking) it. I have found that to be the case for me. Which reminds me....really dry your breast with paper towels and let dry in fridge open air as long as possible after removing it from the brine, or it may turn to a more bitter flavor because it is to moist.

 

[TomKnollRFV]

The Waterpan has actually very little to do with keeping meat moist. It's exists as a temperature regulator. Water boils at a consistent temperature. So it exists more to help keep temperatures down etc.

I've had consistently good results with no liquid in it other then what drips in.

 

[GaryHibbert]

What is your smoker?? If its a MES you don"t need to ad any water.
Gary

 

[alan mcfadden]

What is your smoker?? If its a MES you don"t need to ad any water.
Gary

Char-Broil® 725" Deluxe Digital Electric Smoker

 

[gmc2003]

If you use liquid in the pan then just use plain old water. Spicing it up with juice or beer or something doesn't add any flavor to the meat.

Chris

 

[SmokinAl]

I use water in all my smokers, except the MES, which I only use for cold smoking or sausage making.
So the pan is dry in the MES.
Al

 

[chef jimmyj]

The hot and fast guys need to use the water pan to help temp regulation and add moisture to avoid an overly dry bark. With low and slow the moisture is not really needed unless you are a stick burner then, as above , the water helps regulate the temp. Electric smokers are so tight, they hold moisture coming off the meat in the box so no additional water needed...JJ

 

[Bearcarver]

Like JJ said, Water may help in some Smokers, but in an MES it's a NO-No.

And like Chris said, forget about using any flavoring liquids in the Water Pan.

I use to add Water, then Beer, tried Apple Juice, and none of it did anything good.
All Adding liquid to my MES Water Pan did was make more condensation accumulate on my Window.
Without putting anything in the Pan, I already get condensation on the window so heavy that it runs down the glass, and if you dry it off it's back again in seconds. The MES is insulated so well that it doesn't need any moisture added, and I haven't put any in for 8 years.

Bear

 

[johnmeyer]

I have an MES, so don't use water in the pan. However, I'm pretty sure that flavoring in the water is a waste of time. I say that because the moisture goes from the pan to the food by evaporation. As I'm sure you know, when water evaporates it leaves behind most of the flavor compounds. After all, how do you make distilled water? You heat it and then condense the steam that forms. All the stuff dissolved in the water stays behind.

If you want more flavor on the meat, you could mop or spritz it a few times during cooking, although there is another recent thread that questions whether that helps attract smoke, or whether it makes the meat absorb less smoke. I don't know who is right on that one.