RE: [CH] Aji Amarillo/PB/Almost Hot Luck
Jim Morrissey (Jim@berk.com)
Wed, 25 Jul 2001 17:52:26 -0700
<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?>
Bullet water smokers, such as the one =Mark, and I mentioned, and in
particular the Weber Smokey Mountain (WSM), use the water pan as a buffer
between the fire and the product. It allows you to cook at long, low, steady
temperatures. Meats that have a high fat content need to be slow cooked, for
long periods of time, in order for the fat to render, and keep the meat
moist. The water does not effectively keep the meat moist, but keeps the hot
surrounding air moist.
Offset firebox smokers, are exactly that. A fire is built in a separate fire
box, normally using split logs of hickory, or oak,and the heat and smoke
travel through and around the pit area, smoking and cooking the foods in the
cooking chamber. Then exhausted through a damper controlled stack. Most of
these types of smokers also have some type of water pan in the cooking
chamber to keep the moist environment. A great pictorial on smoking
Jalapeno's, on a Weber Smokey Mountain can be seen here.
http://www.randyq.addr.com/chiles/chipotles.html
Hope this helps
Jim
Jim@berk.com