Bull Brisket Advice - Fat Side Up vs Meat Side Up

[Mikeshan88]

Advice requested. I’ve done 3 briskets, all of which have been meat up- it turns out fantastic with a profound smoke ring every time. Curious on what it’s like to smoke with fat side up.
I also wrap with foil vs butcher paper. Does it really make a difference? Attached is the most recent 16lb CAB packer I smoked.

 

[MikeyB]

Matt Pitman from Meat Church just did a 3 part series on brisket. Take a look at his you tube channel

 

[C. Keeper]

Advice requested. I’ve done 3 briskets, all of which have been meat up- it turns out fantastic with a profound smoke ring every time. Curious on what it’s like to smoke with fat side up.
I also wrap with foil vs butcher paper. Does it really make a difference? Attached is the most recent 16lb CAB packer I smoked.

It was my understanding if cooked "fat side up" the world will end as we know it. PLEASE, don't try it for the sake of mankind earth creatures.

 

[chadinsc]

i have always heard you want the fat facing the heat source. but with a pellet grills convection style heat it may not be as important vs a charcoal grill or an offset.

 

[Wslayer]

Search forum, full of info.

 

[Thor8594]

I do it either way, fat side down "protects the meat", maybe, better bark, yes, moist, up for debate. Fat side up to me allows the render of the fat to penetrate the meat to keep it more moist, bit of a loss in bark. The RecTeq due to its convection properties changes things up a bit and makes it hard to choose one or the other. It seems to be owner preference. Just my $0.02.

 

[kstone113]

I used to do fat side up but I have changed and with pellet grills, i think it is better to do meat side up with pellet grills. Before I had a pellet grill, I had a vertical smoker and did fat side up b/c there was so much distance between the heat source and top rack.

 

[JGW]

I always do my briskets fat side up, because....well, that's the way I do it.

 

[Bullzye]

Advice requested. I’ve done 3 briskets, all of which have been meat up- it turns out fantastic with a profound smoke ring every time. Curious on what it’s like to smoke with fat side up.
I also wrap with foil vs butcher paper. Does it really make a difference? Attached is the most recent 16lb CAB packer I smoked.

I've done them both ways and the only difference I noticed is I seem to get a slightly better smoke ring with meat side up.

 

[agaffer]

Doesn't matter much but, it does make sense that you would have a better bark with the meat side up rather than the meat sitting on the grates. The idea that fat side up penetrates the meat is a myth. The moisture in the meat is continually pushing out during the cook. However, I guess you could make the arguement that it bastes the meat.

 

[Gotcha]

The eternal debate goes on still today
I always smoke with the fat side up.

Greg

 

[C. Keeper]

So much for world peace

 

[SweaT-rex]

Fat side up...self basting...fat is flavor...even oven cooked brisket has a "smoke ring". Sacred cows make tasty burgers/brisket

 

[Buckeye smoker]

So outside fat melting and rendering in is a Wives-Tale.
Its well documented if you search for it.It just runs off the sides. If anything, melting fat off the top can technically cool your cook and possibly wash off some of your rub.
Fat side down protects the meat from heat. But in a RecTeq that can be a debate also, since it's alot like a convection oven.
There's many Wives-tales in BBQ that people still do, like soaking wood chips.

 

[KRedman]

The answer is yes, no, and both.

 

[KRedman]

There's many Wives-tales in BBQ that people still do, like soaking wood chips.

My best friend insists on soaking his chips for his Weber kettle. I gave up years ago trying to convince him. As long as he gets the cook he wants, I’ll never try to persuade him

 

[Rectechie]

The fat will not render into the meat. The meat is too dense to absorb the fat. I have a BGE and the 590. The first time I smoked a brisket on the 590 it was fat side down, One of the best briskets I have cooked.

 

[SmokeOCD]

Ah - I've been searching "fat side up vs fat side down"

I used to do fat down for an exposed fire (like a WSM), fat up for a shielded fire (water pan, drip pan).
It's fat down on the recteq, but mostly because if anything is gonna stick - I don't want to lose the good stuff.

 

[cooleybird]

Fat side up, trimmed to within an inch of it's life.

 

[Pacman]

The eternal debate goes on still today

Yup, that's the answer. What we have here are convection smokers/ovens. Much like the top rack vs bottom rack (for those that try it). In a 14 to 18+ hour cook where most of us wrap after the stall, I really don't know if it matters.