Hi;

Friday, I'm going to bbq a pork shoulder and a small spatchcocked
turkey in my WSMC. I'm going to try using sand in the water tray,
after reading about the technique in this NG.

I have questions though:

How much sand? Fill the water tray?

How long does it take to heat up to and equilibrate at cooking
temperature?

Anything esle I need to know?

THanks a heap.
-Zz

"Zz Yzx" > wrote in message
...
> Hi;
>
> Friday, I'm going to bbq a pork shoulder and a small spatchcocked
> turkey in my WSMC. I'm going to try using sand in the water tray,
> after reading about the technique in this NG.
>
> I have questions though:
>
> How much sand? Fill the water tray?
>
> How long does it take to heat up to and equilibrate at cooking
> temperature?
>
> Anything esle I need to know?
>
when I 1st had a wsm did use sand--especially in the winter--seemed to hold
heat a bit better. Since just covered the mt pan with foil to catch the fat.
If you wnat to use sand would recomend about a 1/2 pan covered with
foil--fire may have a tendency to get hotter then you are used to with water

Buzz

"Zz Yzx" > wrote in message
...
> Hi;
>
> Friday, I'm going to bbq a pork shoulder and a small spatchcocked
> turkey in my WSMC. I'm going to try using sand in the water tray,
> after reading about the technique in this NG.
>
> I have questions though:
>
> How much sand? Fill the water tray?
>
> How long does it take to heat up to and equilibrate at cooking
> temperature?
>
> Anything esle I need to know?

Fill about 1/3 to 1/2 with sand and put foil over the top to keep the grease
out of it. It will take about the same time to heat up as water.

I fill mine to about 3/4, but with more rendering meat on the rack,
maybe a little less is in order. The foil is a must, and do yourself
a favor and use >heavy duty< foil to cover it, not just the regular
foil. If it is full of gunk, you can simply pull off the heavy duty
foil and pitch it as opposed to tearing off the regular thickness foil
and contaminating your sand.

A couple of comments on the sand. Try to get clean, dry sand from one
of the home stores. Don't use dirty sand from the kiddo's box (also
known as the neighborhood cat box) or from a wet source like the beach
or creek bank.
I have read some hilarious comments about those practices, but only
hilarious because I didn't do them.

If you haven't tried sand in the WSM before, you are gonna love it.
My experience has been much less fuel on long cooks, and much less
temp movement than with water. On my last brisket, I went 6 hours
without even looking in, and almost 10 hours without adding fuel. The
longer I can keep that thing covered and working without my attention
the better I like it.

Robert

Edwin Pawlowski wrote:

> Fill about 1/3 to 1/2 with sand and put foil over the top to keep the grease
> out of it. It will take about the same time to heat up as water.


That's been my experience as well. Be sure to used the
washed playground sand.


--
Steve
http://adirondackoutdoors.forumcircle.com

Steve Calvin wrote:
> Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
>
>> Fill about 1/3 to 1/2 with sand and put foil over the top to keep the
>> grease out of it. It will take about the same time to heat up as water.
>
>
> That's been my experience as well. Be sure to used the washed playground
> sand.
>
>

I like my natural bob cat sand down in the wash close to my home...
seems to be fine as long as you don't see any clumps.

Sonoran Dude wrote:
> Steve Calvin wrote:
>> Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
>>
>>> Fill about 1/3 to 1/2 with sand and put foil over the top to keep the
>>> grease out of it. It will take about the same time to heat up as water.
>>
>>
>> That's been my experience as well. Be sure to used the washed
>> playground sand.
>>
>>
>
> I like my natural bob cat sand down in the wash close to my home...
> seems to be fine as long as you don't see any clumps.

Whatever floats your boat but you have no idea what may be
in it. I'd recommend following the directions at the VWB site.

http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/wa...sage.html#sand

Fans of sand say it offers some of the temperature control
benefits of water, while eliminating the need to refill the
pan or deal with messy cleanup afterward.

Line the pan with a layer of wide, heavy-duty aluminum foil,
then fill 3/4 full with *clean, dry playground sand*
(Picture 1). Smooth the sand, then cover with two layers of
wide, heavy-duty aluminum foil (Picture 2).

Discard and replace the top layer of foil after each cook.
The sand can be used again and again, as long as the
drippings do not penetrate the second layer of foil.

Why line the pan with foil before adding the sand? Because
the sand turns as hard as concrete after several uses and is
almost impossible to remove without that layer of foil.

Be aware that sand has the same issue of radiated heat as
mentioned above for an empty pan. However, it takes a few
hours for the radiation effect to build-up as the sand heats.


--
Steve
http://adirondackoutdoors.forumcircle.com

Steve Calvin wrote:
> Sonoran Dude wrote:
>> Steve Calvin wrote:
>>> Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
>>>
>>>> Fill about 1/3 to 1/2 with sand and put foil over the top to keep
>>>> the grease out of it. It will take about the same time to heat up
>>>> as water.
>>>
>>>
>>> That's been my experience as well. Be sure to used the washed
>>> playground sand.
>>>
>>>
>>
>> I like my natural bob cat sand down in the wash close to my home...
>> seems to be fine as long as you don't see any clumps.
>
> Whatever floats your boat but you have no idea what may be in it. I'd
> recommend following the directions at the VWB site.
>
> http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/wa...sage.html#sand


I was getting bored with his video until he suggested the lining of the
empty pan an inch or two off the bottom to prevent burning turkey
drippings... great idea.

This got me to thinking about burning some herbs on the bottom of a
foiled pan (no water, no sand)A guy on the food network was showing how
you can use some old dried herbs to add a unique smoke to food on a
stove top... this maybe something I want to experiment with.. Anyone try
burning some herbs in the cooker? The only herbs i have smoked are
inhaled LOL

Zz Yzx wrote:
> Hi;
>
> Friday, I'm going to bbq a pork shoulder and a small spatchcocked
> turkey in my WSMC. I'm going to try using sand in the water tray,
> after reading about the technique in this NG.
>
> I have questions though:
>
> How much sand? Fill the water tray?
>
> How long does it take to heat up to and equilibrate at cooking
> temperature?
>
> Anything esle I need to know?
>
> THanks a heap.
> -Zz


If you use water in your pan you have rocks in your head... sand is the
bomb!