Question for those who use pans for meat in smoker

I tried pans. The clean up was easy, but the smoke flavor and bark suffered. Your tastes could be different from mine, so try things and be happy

I've started cooking everything in pans for two reasons, keep the cooker clean and to catch the drippings. A couple hours into the cook I I'll add about an inch of chicken broth to the pan. When the meat is done I'll let it stand on the counter for a few minutes then pull the meat out and put it in a cooler to hold. Pour all of the liquid into a glass container and put it in the freezer to allow the fat to solidify. Once solidified I'll remove the fat, heat the the rest of the drippings and add them back to the meat. Like last night, I cooked pulled pork for 12 doing the above, I cook 12 pounds finished and there MIGHT have been a pound left. No one could believe the flavor and moisture of the meat.

I did a full packer brisket today on a cookie sheet just to see how it would work. Lined it with foil, put a mesh elevator rack on it. Wrapped it after 3 hours and put it in a disposable hotel pan to finish. Bark was unchanged. Cleanup was crazy easy. There was about half a cup of rendering in the foil and the cookie sheet had no signs it was in a smoker thankfully.

Nice not to have to clean grates and wash out the bottom of the cooker. I'm a convert to pans. I'm going to try butts next week to see if they work out the same.

Ribs I'm not as confident......

I did ribs today in a full size pan. I gotta try the cookie sheet.

Looks great Paul, keep us posted when you use the cookie sheet.

http://www.mrbarbq.com/Products/Toppers/06011X.aspx

Flip it so handles are down (opposite picture) - fits a full size steam pan perfectly and keeps the meat out of the liquid at the bottom of the pan

You might want to try sheet pans, you can get around 6 butts on them, they around 10 bucks at Gordon' Food, line with parchment paper easier to clean

Well, I'm never one to worry about cleanup myself, but if I were to cook in pans I'd just go with the full depth 1/2 pans for most things, and full depth full size pans for bigger cuts like brisket.

Use the wire cooling racks to lift up the meat from the bottom of the pan, though with as much juice as you're going to have, the bottom of the meat will still likely end up wet.

I know a guy on the competition circuit that cooked for a couple seasons on a gravity feed smoker and from day one always used pans. His cooker looked extremely clean when he finally sold it, so it works.

A couple of other things, after seeing folks mention pan liners (I assume the plastic ones?)....

Not sure plastic will hold up with the heat? Though, I admit I've never tried it.

As far as the cost of the aluminum pans, especially if doubling up, this is why I by cases of them at RD. Lots of savings that way. Granted, I do some catering and large cooks and all, but for the money I spend for 100 1/2 pans, it's way worth the initial cost in the long run.

Wampus said:

A couple of other things, after seeing folks mention pan liners (I assume the plastic ones?)....

Not sure plastic will hold up with the heat? Though, I admit I've never tried it.

Click to expand...

Yes, there are two types of liners. ones for cooking and ones to only hold food at a lower temperature.

The ones I referenced are made from food grade nylon which are like the Reynolds roast-in bags. The manufacturer has rated them safe for cooking up to 400° F according to USDA/FSA standards.

http://www.webstaurantstore.com/ful...le-nylon-pan-liner-50-box/5723418 50.html