Clay saucer Vs. Water pan

[FlashGordon]

Ive got a pork shoulder on order for the weekend, so i will be doing that low and slow. Its just now i need to decide on techhique, rub, and glaze.

Once i have decided on my method, i will worry about the rest. I may even start with water, then swtich to stone mix it up a little. I really dont know.

[RobinC]

I think if you try and switch the heat sink mid cook you are just going to bugger up your temps. Use one or the other. Make sure you keep a cooking log and note down in this not just what you did but also your honest opinion of the results.

[keith157]

Apart from the obvious H&S risks in moving VERY hot pans as RobinC says there is no way you will keep a constant temp. Just opening the lid of a BBQ/Smoker to have a little peek will cause a dramatic drop let alone disassembling your smoker. Stick to one, record times/temps results and your honest thoughts on the cook, then change the pan next time. Record your times temps etc then compare over a nice glass of something cool

[FlashGordon]

Cheers ,

I think that’s a fair point. I was going to warm the plate in the oven, and whack it in, but i have a little recipe book which i have started and i will write down the results. Overall it just means more meat! i will obviously have to conduct many experiments to get a 'accurate' results, which will of course be a shame!

[keith157]

BBQ'ing is like anything worthwhile, it's a learning curve the more you do the better it gets, usually
As you mention the "experimental residue" has to be disposed of somehow

[FlashGordon]

Rather than starting another Thread. What's peoples thought on wood chips vs chunks?

[keith157]

Okay, for medium cooks, i.e a couple of hours or so on my BBQ I use soaked chips for indirect cooking/smoking, I even use whiskey flavoured charcoal in a foil pouch when grilling burgers & chicken etc. I use chunks for long smoking in my Pro Q.

[Eddie]

Generally I'm the same as Keith as I use chunks for smoking on the Pro Q and chips soaked in water on the grill.
For even more of a out of the box flavour BBQ Delight make a wide range of pellets flavours. Nice if you want to try something different with 14 flavours to choose from.

Eddie

[RobinC]

Pretty much the same as others. Anything that requires prolonged smoking (couple of hours or more) gets chunks. Anything less than that then I tend to use soaked chips. Don't forget you can also (for small bursts of smoking) use things like woody rosemary and lavender stalks.

[keith157]

Good point on DDD one of the smokers had access to old vines from a local grower...