Turning meat?

I dont know if what i do helps but i trim up most of the fat on my brisket and leave a layer on the fat cap side then i place the remaining pieces of fat over the top of the brisket, thus i have pretrimmed the fat which makes slicing easier and i have added fat to both sides of my brisket. now in my pit i normally cook at about 230 240 with fluctuations of 15+/- degrees.

my question after reading that article, is what would be considered a good rub to help lock in moisture? or what would be considered the main ingredient to form that barrier.
 
I always cook fat side up.
But on the same note our smoker is a caurosel (sic) type and the heat is indirect, so all sides of the meat are heated equally.
 
Again, great info. I'm doing two briskets this weekend and I've decided fat side down. I am going to marinade one and not marinade the other. The one that I don't marinade I'll wrap about 2/3 of the way through. I better start my journal
 
whatever way you do it is the right way. it's your meat so cook it your way ( be the king) have it your way! who's to say what is right and who is wrong. Dam this is BBQ It's all good!
 
I cook mine fat side down.

Here's why: I cook on a Stumps Smoker and the heat source is at the bottom of the pit. And yes, the fat does help keep the bottom from drying out (I've tried fat up vs. fat down several times). If using a stick burner, I don't think it would make that much of a difference. The air flow in an off-set (a good one) pit allows the air to flow above and below the meat. The cooker I cook on works in a different way which can dry out the bottom of the meat.

I think what you're cooking on makes a huge difference.:icon_smil
 
Being from Ga, I have always associated BBQ as being pork, but I have always wanted to try brisket and just purchsed my 1st last night. I plan on cooking it within the next few days. This thread has been a great info source, and all my questions have been answered. Thanks guys!
 
I by no means have nailed a brisket but I can tell you I have had the best success fat side down . I have a chargriller with side fire box. I think I did my best brisket this past weekend. Was not store bought, brother-inlaw gave me some meat he said he would not cook and was needingt freezer space for he was ready to butcher again. Long story short fat side down about 8 hrs between 225 and 250 bout 10 lb. brisket just rotated it every couple hrs and sprayed with apple juice.
 
Ok if you are cooking over a high direct heat, it makes sense to go fat down to protect the meat from the chance of charring.

That said, I doubt that the fat can render itself upon the rest of the meat when cooking fat up.

I say cook it the way that works for you and be happy with it. It you are cooking your meat and it dries out, then you need to take it out of the smoker sooner. If it isn't getting cooked thoroughly leave it in the smoker longer. Neither of these two methods will be dependant upon whether you cook fat up or fat down.

Just my 2 cents!
 
kcquer...........................................; }-

I always leave my fat up on anything, especially if it is all the same meat. Gather like sizes,compute time with the largest,cook at 200*F to 225*F and leave the lid shut until time is up or a probe shows IMT of the average one is 200*F.:clap2:
I feel if it is cooking, why lose heat and time:thumb:
Just MHO,hope it helps and rememberto>
 
The few briskets I have attempted have been cooked fat-side up, but that article is making me re-consider.

On a side note, when cooking fat side up, doesn't scoring the fat cap just create a pathway for the juices to run off the sides of the meat? I wonder if it would make a difference if you made little pot-holes in the fat cap, perhaps with a spoon or something? Or penetrated the fat cap and down into the meat with a big fork or something and spread the holes open for the rendered fat to run into? I dunno, just spit-ballin...
 
I just did my third brisket. I trimmed all of the fat down to 1/4" thickness. I cooked it with the fat side up 10 hours at 225 to 250 then 2 hours in foil, and I opened up the vents to stay above 250. When I foiled it I put in 1 cup of water with 1 teaspoon of beef bouillion. It came out very tasty.
 
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I've only done a few briskets, so I'm no expert, but here's my take on this: In a WSM (or any other vertical water smoker), the water pan is supposed to act as a barrier between the coals and the meat, and the dome temperature is often higher than the grill temperature. Given those two factors, isn't it likely that the higher temp is actually ABOVE the brisket? And if so, shouldn't the fat cap be up both to baste the brisket and to protect it from the higher temp?
 
there are a lot of contestants only one winner. what do the winners do?
Aaron Franklin (Franklin's BBQ Austin Tx) Fat side up. Me? Fat side up.
 
This is an emotional issue for many people but I don't know why. Cookers are all different. I have had my best briskets (WSM and BGE) by cooking fat side down until the bark gets nicely developed and pretty. Then into foil until done.
 
Yeah, I stumbled onto the roadmap again yesterday, and both enjoyed some of these old threads, and seeing a bunch of posts from the old timers.

Anyway, fat side down is the way to go! :)
 
Hankster said:
I'll try it fat side down next time, but I tell ya, if you've got a side fire box, it really shouldn't matter!!!
Click to expand...

I would agree with you. If your heat comes from the side, it shouldn't matter. For me, when I cook on the UDS it always goes fat cap down to protect from the direct heat.
 
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