uds cooking ?

[baldbill]

I am in the final stages of completing my UDS, I have burnt it out 3x and there is rust now on 98 percent of the inside of it. I am going to sand it tommorow and finsh the lid and season the beast. My primary question is this, when cooking butts on the UDS do you prefer fat cap up or down. In an offset I like up so theoretically the fats renders and bastes the meat, however with the UDS woul dit be better to have the fat cap down?? I may opt for a heat sheild, but my first cooks gonna be without one. Looking forward to getting this think going soon!! THe lid remains a pain in the ass but I am 80% done with it.:boxing:

[BuckSnort]

I do them down....Works like a heat barrier for the meat..

[Norcoredneck]

I start down and sometimes flip after @6 hours.

[Captain Dave]

Down on the uds. Same as brisket. Don't fret too muck about the lid. Sand it down and season it well, even if you left some liner. The black from seasoning acts as a barrier.

[Dave Russell]

If not using a heat diffuser, I like to turn 'em three times during a cook, starting fat cap down. They get done real fast like this, between 8 and 10 hours if cooking at 235 or so. The downside is a lot of "fat in the fire".

If you make an adequate heat diffuser, cook fat down. There's no need to turn, and you've minimized or eliminated "fat in the fire", but it's a longer cook since cooking indirect.

[expatpig]

Don't worry about the rust, fat down.

[FretBender]

I do fat down with a drip pan to catch the fat. If desired you can add a bit of liquid to the drip pan.