Offset Convection plate and brisket fat side

[harrybbq]

I'm not trying to start a debate of fat side up vs down for brisket. However, having said that, I do believe there is a correct side depending on the cooker.

In my opinion, the fat side should always point towards the heat source (just my opinion, for a bunch of reasons).

In my BGE XL, fat side down for sure.
I am new to offsets., I just purchased a 20 inch Horizon Classic a couple of weeks ago. As far as I understand, on a typical offset with smoke stack up on top (as opposed to near the grate level), the heat rises as it exits the fire box, then travels mostly horizontally towards the other end, and exits through the smoke stack. With this in mind, it makes complete sense to me that fat side should be up, since that's the surface along which heat will travel the most.

Now this is my question. Its a small smoker with 36 inch long cooking chamber (20 inch wide). The hot spot near the fire box takes up too much real state, so I purchased a heat convection plate from Horizon, which has small holes near the fire box and gradually increasing diameter holes towards the center of the chamber.
With the plate installed, would I be right to assume that heat now will no longer rise immediately after it exits the fire box,so it will heat the brisket mostly from below as it rises more evenly through the convection plate ?
If that is correct, that would mean, to me, that fat side now should be down, like in the kamado.

Thoughts?

 

[ferdelious]

I have an Old Country Brazos that has exhaust at grate level and use the charcoal grate as a convection plate, the heat definitely comes from the bottom. Therefore I always cook fat side down.

 

[Jason TQ]

I think intensity of heat matters for this equation. For example in the backwoods I had the heat actually enters then chamber from the top of the cooker, but I would always cook fat down and it worked awesome.

But on my Hunsaker drum the heat is pretty direct/intesnse and flowing from the bottom so fat towards heat.

On my egg I have no issues fat up or down because of the baffle of the plate setter.

Offsets heat can be more to the bottom, but on my reverse flow doesn't matter up or down as heat is coming from the side mostly.

On a gravity fed cooker the heat came in from the bottom and was relatively hot/intense so fat down.

My vertical pellet Pitboss has a decent baffle above the fire pot so temp is relatively even and no intense heat that is hammering the bottom of meat so you can do up or down again.

WSM was also up or down even thought heat is definitely at the bottom.

 

[m-fine]

In an offset you are not talking about IR heat from a hot coal bed. Neither side of the meat needs protection of a fat cap, so when you have one, always put it up so the melting fat drips down and bastes the meat instead of just dripping down on to metal.

 

[creek bottom]

In an offset you are not talking about IR heat from a hot coal bed. Neither side of the meat needs protection of a fat cap, so when you have one, always put it up so the melting fat drips down and bastes the meat instead of just dripping down on to metal.

I agree with this... In my reverse flow offset, I always put fat side up. This allows it to render into the meat as it cooks.

 

[TheHojo]

I have a reverse flow offset - where the smoke/heat from the fire box travels thru a 6 x 6 tube to the other side of the smoker

That tube generates radiant heat - so i have found i get better results fat side down on a brisket

 

[harrybbq]

In an offset you are not talking about IR heat from a hot coal bed. Neither side of the meat needs protection of a fat cap, so when you have one, always put it up so the melting fat drips down and bastes the meat instead of just dripping down on to metal.

So, I agree with you as far as IR heat goes. However, in an offset, due to draft air flow, convection heat is what I'm worried about much more than IR.

Taking into account the direction of air flow and how it heats the meat, I do believe it the fat side indeed matters, and without a convection plate in place, if air travels mostly above the meat, fat side should be up. If the convection plate is in, fat side could possibly be down, if my assumptions of how air would flow then are correct.

 

[m-fine]

So, I agree with you as far as IR heat goes. However, in an offset, due to draft air flow, convection heat is what I'm worried about much more than IR.

Taking into account the direction of air flow and how it heats the meat, I do believe it the fat side indeed matters, and without a convection plate in place, if air travels mostly above the meat, fat side should be up. If the convection plate is in, fat side could possibly be down, if my assumptions of how air would flow then are correct.

You are way over thinking it. Neither the radiant heat off an RF plate or tuning plate nor the convection heat from the way the air flows is going to be enough to over brown a piece of meat not protected by a fat cap.

The heat difference in any decent offset, RF or traditional, is not enough that you need to put the fat cap toward the heat. Therefore, put the fat cap where you want it, which is above the meat so it bastes as it renders.

Also, airflow inside a smoker full of meat is neither linear nor laminar. It is actually quite chaotic.

 

[Smokie185]

I also have the plate in mine and I usually fill an aluminum loaf pan with water and place it on the cooking grate on the firebox side. that seems to help deflect and regulate the heat with the moisture.

As far as the fat cap, I have cooked with it up and down and I couldn't tell that much difference.

 

[harrybbq]

Thanks M-Fine and Smokey. I will try a brisket for the first time on my new offset this weekend, and will give the fat side up a go. Always cooked fat side down on the Egg, so excited to try something different and new.
Have a 14lbs SRF black grade in the freezer, but will use a costco prime this time to start.