I used to hate water pans in my smoker. Not anymore.

Was convinced they just made extra steam and ruined bark. Then I cooked a brisket at 250 for 10 hours and the flat came out dry as cardboard. Added a pan filled with hot water the next time and the fat rendered way better. Anyone else skip the pan and regret it later?

1 comments

1 Comment

miles_roberts229d agoMost Upvoted

Jumped right into that same boat myself. Did my first couple briskets without a water pan and kept wondering why the edges were drying out before the center was done. Threw one in there on my third try and it was like night and day. The fat just melted away instead of turning into that tough rubbery layer. Plus my bark actually set better because the meat stayed moist enough to let the smoke stick.