[CH] Smokin!
mstevens@exit109.com
Wed, 25 Jul 2001 19:16:53 GMT
At 10:03 AM 7/25/01 -0700, you wrote:
>I've been following this thread with interest--what's the purpose of a
>'water smoker'? What's the water for, and is this any better or used
>differently than a non-water smoker?
>
>Warm regards,
>
Water smokers are in a different league than the more common "offset" smokers
with separate fire chambers attached to the actual body of the smoker.
A water smoker is generally a vertical cylindrical metal unit with several
levels. At the very bottom is the fire pan which holds (wanna guess?) the
fuel, usually lump hardwood charcoal with some hardwood lumps for smoke. Next,
above the fire pan is a water pan, which has a gallon or so of water in it.
Above the water pans there are usually a couple grates on which the stuff being
smoked usually sits.
The idea of the water pan is to moderate the heat within the unit (preferable
cooking temps are around 250F), prevent burning of the stuff being smoked as a
result of direct exposure to glowing coals, and lastly to prevent flareups of
fat dripping onto the coals.
Of course being the cantankerous lot the BBQ folks tend to be, there is a
subset of the BBQ community that espouses "Carolina Style" of BBQ where pork is
roasted directly over hardwood coals. They recommend cooking without the water
pan using a smaller fire of hardwood burnt down to glowing coals. They insist
that the flavor imparted by the juices dripping on the coals is an
indispensable element of BBQ
For an image of some of the smokers I've accumulated over the years check out:
http://www.exit109.com/~mstevens/fun_with_fire/outdoor/outerfire.html
=Mark