Fat side up vs fat side down

[JPSBBQ]

WOW! OK then - Happy Smokin' Dude!

WELL THANKS! Same
To you!

 

[FireTechMike]

I’ve done it both ways, I can’t really decide. On a smaller cut, maybe fat down and fat up on a larger cut. Thinking on a larger cut the cook time will be longer, giving the fat more time to render. Because you can find very admit arguments for both, it probably doesn’t matter.

 

[JPSBBQ]

Maybe I’m missing something so can someone explain how the fat renders better if it’s facing up? I'm struggling with how a 1/4” fat cap won’t render if facing downward. Somehow we are gonna render in muscular fat over a long cook including a stall and possibly a wrap but the fat on the surface is gonna stay there? I‘ll admit I don’t understand the issue I guess.

 

[Slimpicker]

Maybe I’m missing something so can someone explain how the fat renders better if it’s facing up? I'm struggling with how a 1/4” fat cap won’t render if facing downward. Somehow we are gonna render in muscular fat over a long cook including a stall and possibly a wrap but the fat on the surface is gonna stay there? I‘ll admit I don’t understand the issue I guess.

I don't get to anal about it, the fat doesn't have to disintegrate to release helpful juices, that's why guys use Tallow in the wrap. Another reason guys put bacon over venison roasts. Since it hasn't been proven one way or the other by 'Dr. Fauci', then I go with what you said earlier,

Good thing is it doesn’t matter much, just pick one that fits your personality and roll with it. It’s all good!

 

[Schumie_Toronto]

Hi Guys - first time brisket on my new Timberline 885. I cut the flat from the tip and I'm trying fat side up, each with it's own drip pan with about 1" of water in them. I'm going to put the probe in the tip and my meat therm. probe in the flat and remove each, as hey hit 160F. I did cover in rub a day ago and wondered if I should have dried them off before putting them in the smoker, but didn't. Here goes nothing!View attachment 9452

Fat Side Update! Well sure enough my brisket turned-out beautifully (haven't tried the flat yet)! My son actually called it "BEEF BUTTER"! LOL! It went 12.5 hrs on the Traeger and then I double wrapped it in foil. I finished it off in the oven the next day for 3 hrs. Here's the result.

 

[RayClem]

Think the moral of the story is that it is your smoker and your meat which you will consume. You are the "little red hen" so you can choose to do it any way you like. If you are not satisfied with the results, try something different next time.

 

[midwest]

I was watching one of Myron Mixon's longer videos on youtube. I would assume he is considered an expert and cooked more meat than a lot of us combined. He specifically said he puts the fat toward the heat source. He said (paraphrasing) people are crazy if they think a layer of fat on top is going to somehow magically melt and get into the middle of a piece of meat.

 

[MidwestSmoker]

When I started smoking I always used to do it fat side up. I switched to fat side down because it worked better for my style of smoking. I don't use a water pan, so after several hours in a long cook I begin spritzing.

When you spritz you don't want to spritz the fat cap as you want it to continue rendering. So it is a lot easier to spritz if the fat side is down. When I wrap, I switch to fat side up so that the whole piece is covered in rendered fat.