Water vs sand in a smoker

[TMB]

Hey all, I have been reading a lot about smoking lately and have seen where some folks are using sand in the water tray instead of water. I'm talking charcoal and wood smokers not electric Bradley smokers. I am new to smoking low and slow and really would like input from y'all on this one.

Myron Mixon of Jack's Old South BBQ team really seems to believe in water and apple juice in his smoker.

Any thoughts on this would be great.  Sorry if this is an old subject but I have not seen it on this forum.

I did a shoulder last summer with sand and it worked pretty good, but really need input.

Thanks all,

[Habanero Smoker]

I've never tried it when I had my water smoker. But if you go to the Virtual Weber Bullet and type "sand" into the search box you will get several hits. Members haven't tried it they can read the information and then vote.

[TMB]

I've never tried it when I had my water smoker. But if you go to the Virtual Weber Bullet and type "sand" into the search box you will get several hits. Members haven't tried it they can read the information and then vote.

Thanks for the info, I have read a lot on the subject of smoking and thought this might be a good way to get info. I think your right about the poll and I'll just remove it. The main reason for the poll was to get a feel to see how many folks use one or the other as there primary way of smoking (in a charcoal or wood smoker)

Thanks HS for the info, it's just hard to understand something when you get to cook only a few times a year. Unlike my Big Easy where I hit it once a week or more and a lot more in the spring and summer.       

[ArnieM]

It is my understanding that the water bowl in the Bradley is used to catch and extinguish the pucks.  That being true, sand alone doesn't sound like a good idea.

I've switched to using a large aluminum foil tray rather than the stock bowl.  It holds a lot of water and seems to work well.  I'll have to check the water temp on my next smoke mainly out of curiosity.

Maybe your 'ideal' solution is to add a few pounds of sand to a foil tray and then pour a gallon of apple juice over it.  ;)

[TMB]

Well that's an idea, but being new to smoking I just had to ask.  Next smoke I will try water instead of sand just to see if the results are close to my last shoulder. 

Thanks

[FLBentRider]

Sand sounds kind of... crunchy to me.

If the inevitable happens I would much rather have water on my food than sand.

The water also makes it a moist cook versus a dry cook like an oven.

just my $0.02US

[KevinG]

I like the idea of flavored liquid in the pan. Helps put a twist to the cooking. I guess with charcoal or wood, this could take on issues with quick evaporation, which would mean checking on it more often, but at that cook rate it wouldn't be too many more times.