Drip Pan Question/Idea

George, adding sand to the drip pan sounds like an extraordinarily bad idea. Anything you put in your egg can, and will flavor your food.  This is one reason you would never use pine chunks for smoke.   When initially setting up your egg for a butt smoke, just fill the drip pan with water.  Most of it will evaporate, but there should be plenty to get you through the cook, and if it starts to dry just add more.  You can use other liquids as well, but remember anything like apple juice that has a high sugar content will evaporate more quickly and will caramelize in your pan making a damn mess.    I think you'll be satisfied with the results you get with water. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

I have a glass (not plastic) baseter to suck up drippings I want to save (like from duck) before they burn up. If I don't want to save them I skip the drip pan and let them sizzle away on the stone or coals. Other Q's like a gas Weber have "flavorizer bars" to burn off the drippings and give better flavor. Some like Charbroil use lava rock. The point is that burning fat adds something to the flavor. It's a pre-historic taste that reaches our most primitive genes. That's what distinguishes barbecue from the oven in your kitchen along with whatever smoke wood you choose, if any.