Brisket: When to do Fat Side Up/Down?

cayenne

cayenne

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At the risk of starting a brisket religious war......I'm asking as that I have an offset smoker coming in next month and I'm new to cooking on one.

In my previous smoking life I used a Bandera style vertical smoker...and I used to always do fat side down to protect from that heat coming into the chamber.

I was of the mind that you use the fat cap as a protection from the heat and generally orient it where the heat is coming from.

So, I've been watching Franklin and a host of other YT video channels and with the newer, good offset smokers, they are depending on constant, good draw and from their descriptions it would see in a higher end offset, the heat comes out of the fire box and without a baffle there (or plates) the heat goes up into the top of the cook chamber pretty quickly and keeps the hot temps (more or less) constant across the top of the cook chamber till it comes down to the collector the is about at grate level and into the stack to go out.

From that I gather that the heat in an offset for most of the cook chambers is at the top...so, I'm guessing from what I see if this is the case, one puts the fat cap UP on the brisket, and orients the point towards the firebox end.

Does this sound about right and is the reasoning ok.....or well, what's your thoughts?

Thank you in advance,
cayenne
 
Don’t want to start a battle - but on my Blue Collar/Smoke offset I go fat cap up - for the reasons you include in your post - I have always tried to cook fat cap up on a top down cooker

When I had a reverse flow - I would go fat cap down since I was getting a lot of radiant heat from the baffle tube - which made it more of a bottom up cooker

Just one man’s opinion 😀
 
Neither! I let it hang. :becky:

Well, sort of. Fat cap towards the firebox.

n4hbmTmh.jpg
 
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On my offset, I like cooking fat down for a few reasons:1 I have tuning plates that buffer the heat, 2 I like good smoke ring on a "clean", unmarred surface and grates leave indentions, 3 If it looks like it needs some moisture, I can mop. Not sure of all the reasons the "unwashed" among us have for cooking fat up. :-D
 
Im in the fat side up camp. Mainly for looks. I prefer reverse flow because i get even temps across the entire cook chamber, but i buffer radiant heat below with thick heat diffusers and a large water pan.
 
I'm solidly in the fat cap up camp, to the point that if you go fat side down, I'll tell you your brisket is upside down :laugh:

All jokes aside, it depends how the heat flows in your smoker, and I have the same smoker you bought, the Blue Smoke Smoker from Big Phil. It's a traditional Texas style "open pit" and it is a top down cooker, meaning the heat comes out of the fire box, rises to the top of the cook chamber, and flows down over the top of the food. That said, you will want to go fat cap up.
 
My LSG offset is hotter up top, so I do fat side up to protect from heat. I also think (though I've not tried fat side down), that I get the best bark on the fat cap, and I don't want that sticking to my grates and peeling off when I pull the brisket.
 
I do fat cap towards the heat, although when cooking on my drum, I'll usually flip the brisket at least once and for a period of time the fat cap will be away from the heat.
 
I start with the fat side down when cooking on the BGE then after wrapping in butcher paper place it back on fat side up.
 
I cook on an offset and always cook fat side up. Not saying it's the only way or the right way but it's the way that works for me.
 
The Baron

I think that pic is in one of his cookbooks. I took Paul’s class when I first started. Paul ended up coming to help at one of our Fort Riley bbqs for the troops. Great guy.



Juggy D Beerman said:
Wayne, That picture has got to be around 20 years old. You have a story on its origin?
Click to expand...
 
Introducing another variable. Offset Chamber temp. Low and slow 225F etc I don't think it really matters what you do.

Now at 300 plus or minus 25F it might make a difference depending on the air / smoke flow. I was always of the thought that the fat cap up will melt into the protein and it's not anything to do with protection.

I want to eat the fat. It's not sacrificial.
 
It's been a while, but the one time I did 2 briskets at the same time, I did one fat side up, the other fat side down. I don't recall there being much difference in the end product. I'm doing 2 on Saturday, maybe I'll try it again.
 
Can't eat fat...

SmokinAussie said:
Introducing another variable. Offset Chamber temp. Low and slow 225F etc I don't think it really matters what you do.

Now at 300 plus or minus 25F it might make a difference depending on the air / smoke flow. I was always of the thought that the fat cap up will melt into the protein and it's not anything to do with protection.

I want to eat the fat. It's not sacrificial.
Click to expand...

Hmm...interesting.

To me, it's largely the opposite. while I know fat == flavor while cooking, especially marbling, I can't eat big hunks of far [shudder].

When I cut the meat up, I cut off the fat cap and into the trash it goes....

Do others out there eat big blobs of fat like the fat cap?

Just curious,

C
 
sudsandswine said:
krvs.gif




Yes....yes I do. Of course I trim the brisket properly so that it renders and is delicious.
Click to expand...


Back when i didn't know any better, i use to aggressively trim my briskets. I think not being able to run in the 275F range and still produce smoke is to blame for people not wanting to leave a fat cap on as it doesn't render at lower temps like it does 275F+. That, and also leaving too much fat cap on. Ive seen some serious unrendered fat caps posted here. 1/4 inch maximum. Ive seen some close to 1/2 inch posted.
 
^^^^ That would be me with the (almost) untrimmed fat caps.

Yes, fat is flavour and also moistness. If you are in the ketogenic world, you'll want all the fat you can get and there is a few of us out there like that.

The best one I did was a deckle on brisket. That's fat cap AND the bones still on.

That was a long cook on the WSM.
 
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