Is fat side up better

[BriGreentea]

Did an overnight 12 hour + cook on a brisket and turned out great but the fat stuck the grill (again). I was able to get it off with a spatula without not too much fat stuck to the grill.

I then realized I used to do pork shoulders and briskets always fat up. I guess from message boards, word of mouth and videos saying fat side down protects from radiant heat and you will mess up your bark?

Ok..I don't know if that is true or not! I've heard fat side up helps render down the fat a little more. If it gets some grill marks on it..so what? Then some say it depends on the cooker. Well I'm not sure why that matters either.

What is your take on it?

 

[KevinJ]

I cook on a Drum hot and fast, fat side down wrap 3.5hrs in for Butts, 4hrs in for Brisket, no problem with anything sticking to the grates.

 

[Ag76]

If you are cooking on a WSM or a drum, I think fat side down is better. The fat cap being between the rest of the meat and the heat source will help protect it from the heat. I can't tell that it really matters on an offset stick burner.

 

[SmittyJonz]

Do what ever works for you.......I put fat side down towards the Heat as I cook in Verticals. It sticks sometimes.....

 

[Nuco59]

I'm cooking a chunk of meat on my direct heat vertical. Fat layer down. If it sticks (stuff happens) then I use the spatula to free it. If it doesn't stick, that's good too.

Either way, I'm not eating the fat. I'm told that the bark on a brisket fat cap is a delicacy- but I'm taking a pass.

 

[mchar69]

UDS fat down - I suspect your grates are too clean 'cause it sure doesn't stick on my grate.

 

[Notorious Q.U.E.]

Aaron Franklin makes a joke out of it when he says "there are 2 types of people in this world, fat side up and fat side down." His joke really means either or based on preference.

With my RF cooker, I've become a fat side down guy since there's quite a bit of radiant heat coming off the baffle plate. I've had brisket turn out great both ways. To me, fat side down lets the fat render and flash off on the baffle so I get a great flavor profile.

 

[PnkPanther]

On pork I remove fat cap

 

[WareZdaBeef]

My probe is at grate level and i use ceramic briquettes in the water pan so even heat at great level. That said, I want more bark so fat cap gets cut off, but i still use that fat cap.

 

[Springram]

Fat side down here. The heat in my offset vertical comes from below. I get some crispy fat on the bottom of some of my briskets at times. Was going to cut that fat off anyway before slicing. In the mean time, the actual meat is cooked to perfection! ha ha :-D

Just learn you cooker and do what is best for you.

 

[saseekutz]

Fat side down here.

 

[frognot]

I like the fat layer between the meat and the heat so it's fat side down in my BGE.

 

[McSpazatron]

Probably depends most on where the heat is coming from. I get topheat on my meat, and I love the additional flavor the thin fat cap works on the bark. Mind you, you need to trim the cap down to 1/8 to 1/4in so its not too fatty. I avoid doing anything that will tear up a nicely trimmed fat cap.

 

[food4thot]

I prefer the fat side up render.

 

[pjtexas1]

I'm fat cap down even is my rf insulated cabinet. I leave very little fat cap as I prefer bark over fat. I've tried both ways in offsets and prefer the fat dripping off vs dripping around the flat and then dripping off. If that makes any sense.

 

[ncmoose]

On the egg, I've been happier fat side down. When I get my stick burner I'm going to try to go back to fat side up

 

[morgan-que]

I stand mine up on it's side so as to have the best of both worlds.:laugh::laugh::laugh:

 

[Q_Done_Right]

Sounds like I'm in the minority here, but I now prefer to smoke my briskets fat side up in the vertical WSM I own. I've done the last three this way after doing many fat side down and they have each been much more tender and juicier. I will say I do wrap them in butcher paper fat side down around 175-180 until the meat probes like buttah.

 

[MisplacedTexan]

I've always done fat side up on HOS.