dakota2112 wrote:
Do you happen to know how it impacts the temperature differential
between the upper and lower cooking racks, when you don't use the
pan?

I've found the upper rack is about 10 degrees hotter than the lower
rack, which makes sense because heat rises, but I also wonder if the
pan acts as too much of a heat shield in this case. Maybe without
the
pan, are the upper and lower racks closer in temperature?

As ya say, there's a temp delta between the 2 racks but not enough to
worry over IMO since both levels are directly over the fire. Now, if
I was cookin offset on my barrel cooker, I might worry a tad over the
temp delta but since I know where the "hot spots" in it are, it's
basically a no brainer.

The key to the WSM is vent control; pan or no pan. It's one of the
best "set it & forget it" cookers there is. Get your vents set so
you're in the 225-250°F range and let it do its thing. In the
meantime, sip some suds. Or better yet, down a couple margaritas
while ya tap ya toes to some blues on ya MP3 player. g
--
-frohe
Life is too short to be in a hurry