Shoutout to the guy who told me to try a water pan in my offset smoker

I was dead set against it for years, thought it was just a crutch for bad fire management. But after 4 straight briskets with dried-out flats, I gave it a shot last weekend and my last cook had the best bark and moisture I've ever gotten. Any of you water pan skeptics ever cave and try it?

3 comments

3 Comments

nathankim19d ago

Oh man, I was exactly the same way. I thought a water pan was cheating and that you should just learn to control your fire better. But I think you might be mixing up two things a little bit. A water pan isn't really for moisture in the meat, it's more for evening out the temperature swings in your cook chamber. The moisture on the surface of the meat is mostly from the fat rendering and the steam from the water pan can help with bark formation, but it won't fix a dried out flat if your temp is too high or you're cooking too fast. Once I realized that, it made way more sense to use one.

johnson.river19d ago

Heard Harry Soo say the same thing about water pans being for temp control not moisture.

logan_wood18d ago

Yeah that's exactly what changed my mind too... I was one of those guys who thought water pans were for people who couldn't manage a fire. But after ruining enough briskets I finally tried one and the temp swings smoothed out way better than I expected. @johnson.river mentioned Harry Soo talking about temp control and that's what sold me. I still use a small pan just to keep my chamber from bouncing around 30+ degrees every time I open the firebox door.