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Drip pan question

UAL747-400ER
UAL747-400ER Posts: 1
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
I finally used a drip pan today. I put some water in it and it kept my ribs pretty juicy. I did not get much of a smoke ring. Is this normal? Is it ok to put water in the pan? It took a long time to get back up to 240 or so after putting it all in.

Comments

  • UAL747-400ER, I heard that you need not to put anything in the drip pan. As the name implys it's to catch drips. I've been told that the design of the egg is to keep food moist without added water even use dry smoking chunks. I'm sure more will chime in and let me know how little I've learned so far but that's the great part of this site. Mik

  • UAL747-400ER,
    You do not need to add liquid to the pan. It won't hurt though. One tip from me. Learn to use foil folded into a pan. When you get through cooking, throw away the foil. No mess to clean. [p]Jerry

  • UAL747-400ER,
    When I am cooking ribs or pulled pork I usually put apple juice (not from concentrate) in the drip pan for a little added flavor. I know that the egg holds in moisture but the apple juice does work in my own opinion.

    Everyday is Saturday and tomorrow is always Sunday.
  • Retired RailRoader,
    I am more curious on why there was not much of a smoke ring. I had to put the ribs back on the smoker for a bit minus the pan to get any kind of descent smoke flavor.

  • UAL747-400ER,
    The water in a pan is a trick used in metal smokers to help regulate temperatures. The water doesn't do much in the way of keeping meat juicy. Often, metal smoker users will substitute sand in the pan for the water because it works better (doesn't evaporate) and is easier to clean up (if you cover the sand with foil). Some folks swear that putting beer or juice, etc. in the drip pan imparts flavor to the meat. Others say it doesn't. Give it a try and see what you think.[p]TNW

    The Naked Whiz
  • Bobby-Q
    Bobby-Q Posts: 1,994
    me,
    Well when the ribs reach a certain temperatue...in the 130° to 140° range (not sure of the exact temp) you can no longer build a smoke ring. Smoke flavoring will continue to penetrate the meat but the ring stops forming around that temp.

  • Bobby-Q,
    Right, I smoked them with the drip pan for 5 hours with almost no smoke ring. I get a good ring just fine minus the drip pan.

  • gary
    gary Posts: 28
    Dear UAL747-400ER,[p]Cooking between 225 to 250 did not give me good smoke flavor nor a smoke ring on baby backs either. For the longest time, I could not make as a good as ribs as I could on my Webber. Everything else that I cooked on my large BGE tasted much better. This was driving me crazy. One day after reading this forum, I thought I would try the Jslot method. After the first time, the higher temperature worked for me. If you want to get a smoke ring with good flavor, cook them at 325. Typically, I cook the ribs indirect with a drip pan (apple juice) for 3.5 hours. Then an hour rapped in foil. Remove the foil and put on for about a half hour with whatever sauce you want.[p]good luck,[p]Gary