# Using the WSM like a UDS - No water pan at all



## noboundaries (Aug 10, 2014)

I've been wanting to try using my WSM like this for a while where I remove the water pan and the lower rack and smoke/cook on just the top rack.  I guess it is closer to grilling but I still wanted to try it.  I did so today.

I had two 2.5 lb tri tips, 6 boneless/skinless chicken breasts, and 10 boneless/skinless chicken thighs.  I split the smoke up where I did the beef first, then when it was done I removed it and loaded the chicken. 

I loaded the 22.5" WSM with KBB charcoal and hickory wood, then evenly dumped 1/4 chimney of hot KBB over the charcoal/wood in the ring.  

The chamber temp rose QUICKLY, reaching 250F in a couple of minutes, even before I could get the Guru attached.  I closed down the vents and brought the chamber temp down to 225F before turning on the Guru and setting a pit temp of 235F.  The temps stabilized and the smoke settled down.  I loaded the tri tips.  They were done in just under an hour, much faster than I expected.  I wanted to take them off at 133F IT but didn't catch them until 137F.  They were still juicy and delicious, just a little more done than I like.

I loaded the orange juiced brined and dusted chicken using a Texas Chipotle Coffee rub I put together and modified slightly from a recipe I found online.  Because the chicken was skinless and boneless I left the chamber temp the same as I used for the beef, 235F. 

The chicken breasts reached 148F IT in an hour and that's when I sauced them.  They took another hour to reach an IT of 165F.  The sauce was pretty cold when I applied it but did not burn or darken.  It caramelized okay.  I probably needed to apply another layer of sauce but didn't want to whip up another batch.  

Overall I liked using the WSM like this.  The absence of ANY thermal mass in the smoker was apparent.  The Maverick algorithm is much more responsive than the Guru algorithm.  I could watch the Guru chase the desired chamber temp on the Maverick much more than when there is the empty water pan and lower rack in the smoker. And there was MUCH more chasing than when I put water in the water pan.  Still, the chamber temp never got more than 10 degrees off the temp set on the Guru.

The heating was much more even across the top grate than with the water pan in the smoker, which tends to direct the heat up the outsides of the smoker.  What was interesting was the lid therm read 50 degrees lower than temps at the top grate on the Maverick or the Guru.

The bottom of the meats did not burn and were not cooked any more than the top of the meat.  I did not flip any of the meats.  There were also no flareups from drippings and I smoked/cooked the tri tips fat side down.  The meat did not brown any more than it does when smoked with the water pan in the smoker. 

I think I'll use this method in the future more often due to the even heating.  Cleanup is definitely easier. 













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## knifebld (Aug 25, 2014)

Very cool use of the WSM

What would be the benefit of using this method if you are still smoking at a chamber temp of 235?


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## noboundaries (Aug 25, 2014)

knifebld said:


> Very cool use of the WSM
> 
> What would be the benefit of using this method if you are still smoking at a chamber temp of 235?


The only real advantage would be an even heat across the grate.  There can be quite a difference in temp between the edges and the center of the grate on a WSM when dry smoking with the empty water pan in the WSM.  I dry smoke quite a bit.  If using water in the water pan, the difference is minimal.   True Santa Maria style Tri Tips are cooked a lot like this, a foot or two distance above a hot fire.


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## fwismoker (Aug 25, 2014)

It's more of a true  bbq flavor  letting drippings flash into the smoke vs letting them go into a foiled pan and burn or a pan full of water.


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## jirodriguez (Aug 25, 2014)

I use that method when I want to cook something very hot - above 325°. You can open up all your vents and get a lot of heat.


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## Big Grouch (Dec 2, 2021)

I see this is an old thread. I wondered about using my 18.5 WSM like an UDS, mostly to avoid the mess of cleaning up the water pan. I always line it with foil, but even Gordon Food Service foil I have to make a seam in the middle and it leaks. If I dump out the water critters get attracted to it and dig up where it was dumped, so I have to carry it in to the toiled.


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## TNJAKE (Dec 2, 2021)

Big Grouch said:


> I see this is an old thread. I wondered about using my 18.5 WSM like an UDS, mostly to avoid the mess of cleaning up the water pan. I always line it with foil, but even Gordon Food Service foil I have to make a seam in the middle and it leaks. If I dump out the water critters get attracted to it and dig up where it was dumped, so I have to carry it in to the toiled.


Hopefully you are on sewer and not a septic tank


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## noboundaries (Dec 2, 2021)

No reason not to give it a try.


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## Mr. Zorg (Dec 2, 2021)

I know folks who used the formerly ubiquitous Brinkmann Gourmet smokers sans water pan and lower food grate, especially for skin-on chicken. One person that did this said for him, ECB stood for Excellent Chicken Broiler.

In any event this technique no matter what style of cooker, fits what Steven Raichlen defines as Modified Direct Grilling. TV programs showing Charlie Verdugo's Rendezvous restaurant in Memphis TN using this technique for their ribs over charcoal fire.









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When I was younger, single, & had little discretionary income, I took the charcoal plate out of an Old Smokey grill, burned down (dry seasoned) Mesquite to coals, then put a few smaller diameter Mesquite sticks and put cut up chicken, occasionally an arm roast or small brisket, on the food grate.


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## 912smoker (Dec 3, 2021)

TNJAKE said:


> Hopefully you are on sewer and not a septic tank


Yeah take it from a former plumber....not a good idea if your on a tank


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