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Water Smokers
Small Water Smokers to Full Size Pits
 By popular request, we are expanding our pages to include a new section dealing with Water Smokers or Water Pan Smokers. These smokers range in size for those individuals desiring to create great barbecue without necessarily the investment of time or money in a larger unit which looks and performs similar to the more expensive wood-burning smokers.
Much of the information in our barbecue pages is universal and can be applied to both the conventional Wood Smoker and the Water Smokers. These pages are intended to point out where some of the differences lie and what works best with the Water Smokers. We will be updating these pages on a regular basis. So, if you find additional information is needed, come back and perhaps we will have added it!
The Basics of the Water Smoker
Water Smokers, especially the electric ones, are really great for allowing the master chef to put the meat in the smoker and just check on it every hour or so. Another reason these Water Smokers are becoming more popular is because many are less expensive than their Wood Smoker counterparts and require much less time maintaining the cooking temperatures.
We would first like to discuss the various components of the Water Smoker and how they differ from the Wood Smokers.
The Heat Source
Unlike the Wood Smoker, the Water Smoker is either electric or charcoal 'fired'. There is not the fire box located at one end of the smoker. Generally, the fire (for the sake of ease, we will include electric in the term 'fire') is located either directly beneath the meat, or adjacent to and just below the meat.
To obtain the best levels of smoke, use water soaked wood chunks near the sources of the fire. This fire causes the wood chips to smolder and circulate within the cooking chamber. This smoldering is actually small smoke particles being released from the wood.
The Water Source
The second component to the Water Smoker is the water used to create steam. The water which is situated either directly above or adjacent to the fire after a short while will begin to boil. As the steam rises, it combines with the smoke particles to become an 'automatic' basting material. This combination of water and smoke acts to continuously baste the food. After the water droplets cover the meat, they then drop back into the water pan, (since you did place the meat directly above the water pan, didn't you?) and are available to continuously baste the barbecue.
Key Notes
 Using the Water Smoker will increase cooking time by approximately 400%. If your recipe calls for 1 hour of cooking, be on the lookout for 4 hours. This time is approximate so cook according to the internal temperature of the meat.
The continual basting of the meat has the effect of the smoke penetrating deeply into the meat resulting in the meat having a thorough smoke flavoring. Additionally, the basting allows the meat to retain much of its original juices (which often are removed by normal dry heat).
Often the meat will brown to a nice caramelized outer skin. This produces a great looking piece of meat at the dinner table. The Water Smoker will also allow the simultaneous cooking of different types of meat.
If the fire is too hot, try placing ice in the water pan. This should cool the cooking area without affecting the fire itself. If the fire remains too hot, then use a spray bottle with water to cool the 'hot spots'.
Ceramic Water Smokers, which have their origins in China and Japan, do a better job of retaining the moisture because of their insulating properties are better than their aluminum counterparts.
Try this: Once the temperature of the meat reaches 130 degrees or so and you are nearing the end of the smoking process, let the water dry out and keep smoking using a layer of wood shavings in the water pan. This will increase the smoke being produced and absorbed by the meat! This will increase the outside skin flavor while the inside remains moist. This final stage should last about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Temperatures
The temperature of a Water Smoker is normally a little higher than the Wood Smoker. Keep your temperature between 210 degrees and 250 degrees. As mentioned with the Wood Smokers, there is no excuse for not knowing the temperature of the smoker, use the thermometer!
Great Flavoring Ideas
The Water Smoker has one unique function not provided by the Wood Smokers. The addition of various types of juices, herbs and spices including wine may be added to the water to create different flavoring of meat! Use a little ingenuity and discover wonderful and flavorful meats!
Water Smoker Manufacturers
Backwoods Smoker
7095 Sentell Road
Shreveport, LA 71107
Phone: 318/ 220-0380
Fax: 318/ 469-6872
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