Brisket Fat side

[DennisM]

I have always cooked my briskets fat side up, and I notice many people here cook them fat side down. Can someone compare/contrast the differences? I am just curious about the difference and why some people go fs down.

 

[Keri C]

Consider the direction from which the heat hits the brisket. In the WSM, heat is rising from the bottom. If the fat is on the bottom, it helps to protect the leaner flat from the more direct heat. Common sense tried to convince me that keeping the fat on top would allow the melting fat to flow through the lean meat and keep it juicy, but studies have shown that the melting fat doesn't actually soak down into the meat. Protecting the meat from the more direct heat does more to keep the flat moist.

You didn't ask this, but by the same token, when I do a brisket on the WSM, I use the hard fat that I trim off to the protect the ends of the brisket. I lay those large chunks of fat on either side of the rack, and lay the ends of the brisket on those chunks so that they can buffer the more direct and intense heat coming around the edges of the waterpan. By the time the cook is finished, those protective pieces of fat look like jerky, and crunch like pork rinds (sometimes).

Keri C

 

[DennisM]

thanks for the reply Keri..I am doing an overnight cook tonight with a couple 7# pork butts, and a 12# brisket, and I am going to try fat side down tonight.