Boston Butts: water pan vs no water pan

kwdickert

Just wanted to report in that after doing about 7 or so butts in the last 8 mos (Memphians eat a lot of pork and their out of town friends expect it), I have decided that the water pan makes a big difference. I have done 3 cooks without a pan and i've done the rest with. The ones without the pan were noticeably not as falling apart as the ones with. It should be noted that  I don't foil the butt  at all during the cook. I also don't inject ever. The butts that were not as good as others lacked a water pan cooking. 

Also, I've messed with going from IT 200f straight to shredding vs letting it sit foiled for an hour. Let the butt sit! It's doing magic while it sweats and steams in that foil!!!!

500

Interesting. The times that added a water pan or spritzed, I found that the bark lacked a certain crunch and texture. It just seemed too wet. 

GregW

Given that my last cook this weekend was ribs with a water pan I'm going to say no water pan.
The water pan resulted in black dripping condensation falling back on the ribs.

JohnnyTarheel

For me Bark goes away with water pan.... 

theyolksonyou

I'm just too damn lazy

kwdickert

i guess it's a crust vs tenderness trade-off for me. 

Thatgrimguy

Are you pulling them all at the same internal temp?  I find lower temps/ humid environments can lead to briskets and butts being done at a lower internal temp than large meats smoked at higher/drier temps.  A water pan would lower the temp and obviously add more moisture. You can adjust your cooking style to match. If it's working for you then keep doing it!

LRW

I just cooked 6 butts over the weekend no water pan no foil. I had trouble removing them from the rack because they were falling apart. I cooked to an IT of 200 degrees.

bgebrent

Liquid in a pan in the egg is so unnecessary. The egg and its properties insure minimal loss of moisture.   I appreciate and understand your personal experience but would also suggest reporting back after 50 butts, and brine v no brine, and injecting v not.  Just me brother. 

kwdickert

I find it interesting that you all are against the water pan. Do you foil your butts at all? 

theyolksonyou

Nope. Light, rub, cook, remove, cool, pull, eat. Lazy and satisfied. 

StillH2OEgger

I'm also in the no water no foil crowd and the only thing that can make it not fantastic is pulling it too early.

YukonRon

Every butt I have done falls apart on the grate. I use no foil, I do brine, and I use peach preserves for final cover prior to placing on the BGE. I have yet to use a water pan. I have done about 20 or so. No need to add steam, it is so very moist and tender as is, with a tremendous tasting crust.

Carolina Q

Sorry, my friend. No water. No foil or rest either (unless done early). Delicious. Nice bark too. 

Ladeback69

I don't use a waster pan and have only used foil when I need to speed up the process or FTC.  I don't feel a water pan is necessary either, but if it works for you go for it, just don't let it go dry or your temp will rise faster then you want.  So keep an eye on it.

nolaegghead

A water pan can make a discernible difference in a high draft cooking environment (like a stick burner).  In the egg, the impact on the cook insofar as humidity goes is negligible.  What it can do is give you a 212F heat shield under the meat.  However that works out.

Secondly, pull the meat off when it's tender.  That's when it's done.  Foiling it is counter-productive if you want to pull it.  You want that meat, which is 200F (plus or minus a few degrees) to cool down.  Reason why below.

The reason you want to pull when the meat is cooler is two-fold.  First, what little water (moisture) is in the meat will significantly evaporate in Bhopal clouds of steam, needlessly drying the meat.  Second, who shoves 200F meat in their gullets? 

Chubbs

I never do water pans. I actually did on a select brisket recently and it was a great brisket. Was willing to sacrifice some bark to see if the added moisture would help. Not sure if I just cooked it better or the tray helped. It was still eaten and I still consumed a lot of beer. 

kwdickert

Man more against the pan. Its working for me where otherwise the butts aren't turning out as good. Can't argue with what people like. Curious that it makes such a difference for me and you guys dont agree. Bark isn't as important to me though. 

GuitarEC

I use a water pan, but I use a 50 /50 mix of water and apple cider vinegar.  Helps add flavor to my butts in addition to the apple wood chunks I use in my lump.  Also, the dripping from the butt mix in well in the pan, and I use that to mix with my pork right after pulling.

Just what I do, and most everyone who have tasted it say it's great - so I try not to mess with a good thing.

Just my $0.02,

Eric "GuitarEC"
N. Metro Atl., Ga.

fishlessman

kwdickert said:

Man more against the pan. Its working for me where otherwise the butts aren't turning out as good. Can't argue with what people like. Curious that it makes such a difference for me and you guys dont agree. Bark isn't as important to me though. 

its all in what your shooting for the finished product. im looking for extreme bark with huge pieces of pull, something i can pick up by hand and drag thru some sauce, i almost never make sandwiches. some dont like stringy pull and chop it, its good that way too

jtcBoynton

@kwdickert   your experience and conclusions that a water pan makes a big difference is not what most others see.  Using a water pan is more of a hassle than not and has potential problems.  Because others don't see any benefit, they don't think it is worth using.

kwdickert

jtcBoynton said:

@kwdickert   your experience and conclusions that a water pan makes a big difference is not what most others see.  Using a water pan is more of a hassle than not and has potential problems.  Because others don't see any benefit, they don't think it is worth using.

Only makes a difference in how moist the meat is and how falling apart it is. The Q is still tender without the pan. I could squeeze a handful of the fresh pork cooked with no pan and it'd shred just from me closing my hands. However, with the pan, MINE are so tender that it's hard ot get them off the grill. I don't get that without the pan cooking at same temps and all else equal for some reason and you all state that you do. I'm buying cryovac'd butts from Kroger but I doubt that's the issue. The bbq that I like doesn't have hard bits in it from pellicle that's dried up and crusted. It's tasty and just as tender as the meat but that's just what I like. So maybe what i'm learning is that you all like different methods because you like your pork done differently. 

Steve76

I'm no expert, but could it be that the dome temps are more consistent when you use the water pan, there by giving you a texture, flavor and consistency of your butt that you like better?? I've found that temp control is critical, but again, I'm somewhat new with all of this.  Just my 2 cents.

fishindoc

For what it's worth, I injected straight up apple juice in mine this last weekend...I think I gotta say it was the best I'd had yet

nolaegghead

Steve76 said:

I'm no expert, but could it be that the dome temps are more consistent when you use the water pan, there by giving you a texture, flavor and consistency of your butt that you like better?? I've found that temp control is critical, but again, I'm somewhat new with all of this.  Just my 2 cents.

That is correct.  A pan of water will regulate heat by buffering it towards the boiling point of water.  Somewhat.  But I find it's a PITA to use given I want my cooking to be as simple as possible and the benefits are not commensurate with the effort.

fishlessman

its more likely  for me to have a home made boston baked bean sandwich with pork on the plate, no sweet sugary slaw and no sweet tea, but then again im from the north

nolaegghead

fishlessman said:

its more likely  for me to have a home made boston baked bean sandwich with pork on the plate, no sweet sugary slaw and no sweet tea, but then again im from the north

I hearz yah.  I'm averse to sugah in my savory food.  SWMBO can put a teaspoon of shugahh in a gallon of slaw and it goes down one star.  There are exceptions.

KiterTodd

Good discussion kwdickert, thanks for sharing your experiences.

I do no pan and no wrap (other than FTC after it's done) and have been so happy with the results that I haven't tried it another way.  Not to say the other way isn't just as excellent if not more!  Heck, you have actually tried both.

I do like the bark, though, and find those little bits mixed in with the pulled pork add a good flavor.

On a related note, below is one of the more interesting articles I have read on the stall in meats.  He does quite an analysis but he also discussed the impact a water pan will have on cooking;
http://amazingribs.com/tips_and_technique/the_stall.html

(below quote it from above article)
"Will basting the meat, injecting, or putting a water pan in the smoker impact the stall? "There is no question extra humidity will slow down the cooking process, whether it comes from a water pan or wet mop." When we baste, whether by mopping, brushing, or spritzing, we cool the meat just by the fact that the liquid is cool. It then sits on the surface and evaporates prolonging the stall. When we put a water pan in the cooker, the moisture evaporates from the surface and raises the humidity in the cooker, slowing the evaporation from the meat, and slowing the cooking. "In low and slow cooking this allows the meat's interior to catch up with the surface temperature" explains Blonder.

Until now I had always believed that water pans were important to keep the cooking chamber high humidity and thereby reduce moisture loss from the meat. Apparently it does this somewhat, but they also cause the cook to take longer. But this is no reason to stop using water pans because the moisture in the atmosphere inside the cooking chamber mixes with the smoke, influences flavor, and lets the meat's interior catch up with the exterior so it cooks more uniformly. Water pans also help stabilize the temp in a charcoal fire because it heats and cools slowly and this tends to even out spikes and valleys in a cooker."

Little Steven

Steve76 said:

I'm no expert, but could it be that the dome temps are more consistent when you use the water pan, there by giving you a texture, flavor and consistency of your butt that you like better?? I've found that temp control is critical, but again, I'm somewhat new with all of this.  Just my 2 cents.

The dome temps will be lower when you have water in the egg. The water pan comes from other smokers where there is a drier environment inside.

fishindoc

However,,,,,I did notice the stall lasted much longer than without injecting

jtcBoynton

Has anyone actually measured humidity inside an egg with and without a water pan?