New Smokette, few questions.

While I use foil to cover my drip pan and the floor of the smoker and such, I'm not a big fan of using sheet pans or foil on the racks in the cooker. It will only disrupt the normal air/heat flow of the cooker and the ability of the smoke and the heat to surround the food evenly.

Can you cook good tasting food on sheet pans? Probably. Will you get your best Q doing that? Probably not, IMO. It reminds me of "baked" potatoes served in restaurants which have been wrapped and cooked in foil. The potato comes out nice and tender, but it ain't baked. It's steamed. If you start messing with the basics of BBQ (application of heat and smoke) you'll be messing with the ultimate results, in my view.

Hey I just noticed this is my 100th post! If I'da known that I woulda tried to be more articulate.

Like a lot of folks here, I used to use a water smoker. They tend to dry foods out (especially if you don't watch the water pan carefully). Your CS will cook much moister, so you shouldn't need to use pans. In fact, if anything you might wind up finishing chicken and such on a grill to crisp it up a little.

put foil on top of the wood "house", on the floor, and put something underneath the smokette to catch the "drippings". spray pam on the racks. the only cleaning is the racks and fat that sometimes gets under the floor covering. i scrape that grease out with a small trowel. jan