Brisket - Fat Cap Side - Up or Down? What's your take?

[Fire_Mgmt]

I was on the brethren site recently and saw a user post some pics from their most recent brisket endeavour. One thing that popped out at me was the user's choice of keeping the fat cap side down. This surprised me and struck me as counter-intuitive as I thought the best way to cook a brisket is to lay it on the grates with the fat cap on top as the fat would render into the meat throughout the cook. Anyhow, as the user posted pics of the finished product, the brisket had a wonderful smoke ring and the flat appeared to be moist and juicy as well. The user even posted a bend-test pic of a piece of sliced flat draping over a spoon, which, to me, indicates a very moist piece of brisket.

Being a rookie at cooking brisket, I'd like to know your thoughts and maybe even your secrets on how to achieve a moist brisket.

P.S. I was in Buffalo today and visited Famous Dave's BBQ restaurant (BBQ Pitmasters fame) on Walden/I-90 and tried their brisket. It was sliced from the flat and was simply outstanding. The texture was very soft but still stayed together when gently tugging a slice at both ends. Super moist and juicy. I asked if they also serve burnt ends as I didn't see it on their menu but no luck there.

[reg]

FM, I like to keep the fat side down keeping the lean side away/protected from the heat. Rendered fat will never travel through the meat as most people think, it just runs off. It is also very difficult to get a moist piece of flat meat because in MOST cases the flats just don't have enough fat to keep them moist unlike the point.

Injecting will help keep the flat somewhat more moist but it is not the only/final solution. A bath is usually required before plating/service. I would bet a lot of money that the brisket you had at Famous Daves was not cooked that day. Pre cooking and leaving whole to cool then slicing and reheating is the wat to go for restaurant service

Reg

[BBQBeaver]

FM, I like to keep the fat side down keeping the lean side away/protected from the heat. Rendered fat will never travel through the meat as most people think, it just runs off. It is also very difficult to get a moist piece of flat meat because in MOST cases the flats just don't have enough fat to keep them moist unlike the point.

Injecting will help keep the flat somewhat more moist but it is not the only/final solution. A bath is usually required before plating/service. I would bet a lot of money that the brisket you had at Famous Daves was not cooked that day. Pre cooking and leaving whole to cool then slicing and reheating is the wat to go for restaurant service

Reg

X2

[PulpFishin]

IA pro I talked to toled me once that what type of smoker you use will depend on fatcap up or fatcap down. If your using a WSM where the heat is below the cooking grate they put fat down to protect it from the heat. Then they also said that when they cooked on their Big Green Egg(what I use as well) they said since the direct heat is already deflected they did go fat side up. The pro who showed me this also said that YES that fat will not go THOUGH the meat but it will still do a good job keeping the outside from getting way too dry.

[roastntoast]

Fat side down .

Jules

[Rob R]

Yes, use the fat as insulation against the radiant heat, wherever it's coming from. Even on a BGE (Primo in my case) there is radiant heat coming off the deflector plate so I would always cook it fat side down.

[Fire_Mgmt]

Thanks everyone. Looks like fat side down is unanimous. Does this also apply when smoking pork butt?

[reg]

I don't think it is as critical but I still cook pork butt fat side down even when untrimmed. Speaking of which it has been a while since I cooked a butt so I should head out soon and pick a couple up and do a long cook for a change.

Reg

[expatbill]

I trim most of the fat cap off my briskets and butts, but I do put that side down when smoking because the meat nearest the fat cap has the most fat throughout it, and I want that to render during the cook, keeping the leaner side away from the heat source.

[Rib-o-lator]

I've done it both ways and it turned out great each way. you just have to experiment to find the way you like, because the only opinion that counts is your belly...wife then belly.

[thebarbecuemaster]

same here i did both sides and it was wonderful each way