Fat Cap Down?
- Thread starter Damon
- Start date
Craig Castille
TVWBB Wizard
If you are using a smoker, I cook fat cap down. It insulates the meat from the heat rising from the bottom.
Damon
I really had thought the same as you, and, in fact, the view of fat cap down is not universally held. Those who compete, however, say the clear trend now is down.
The basting issue can be handled well by cooking a butt over the brisket. That does a great job of basting and adds a wonderful addition to your meal.
Paul
I really had thought the same as you, and, in fact, the view of fat cap down is not universally held. Those who compete, however, say the clear trend now is down.
The basting issue can be handled well by cooking a butt over the brisket. That does a great job of basting and adds a wonderful addition to your meal.
Paul
K Kruger
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
The fat of a fatcap doesn't really render, it is too firm. There might be small areas of soft fat that might render and baste the sides of the roast while it drips away but any actual basting effect would be negligible.
I assume that the history of fatcap up in barbecue owes much more to conventional cooking than anything else. In conventional roasting in an oven the fatcap is up--but this is not because the fat renders and bastes the meat (although in some roasts where the primary fat is soft and renderable this might occur it is not the reason for placing the meat in the pan fat up). Fatcap up in an oven protects the meat somewhat from the heat being reflected off the roof of the oven (which is why foil is used during some roasting processes--the meat itself is protected by the roasting pan), and, importantly, fond development would be impaired were the fatcap to be against the roasting pan's bottom instead of the muscle. In oven braising (where the meat is in some liquid but not immersed in it) having the fatcap down makes little sense as it takes up space better occupied by the muscle which cooks in the liquid, flavoring it with its renderings and being gently cooked by the immersion.
When I used to cook open pit barbecue I flipped meats frequently (you don't have much choice) but when I started cooking in closed pits I too cooked fatcap up because that is what I was used to doing in an oven and never really thought about it. Jim Minion made the point in a post that fatcap down offers some protection from direct heat--especially in vertical cookers; till then I'd never thought about it. It made perfect sense to me and I switched to fat down.
Though some heat is certainly reflected off the top of the cooker the greater intensity seems to me to come from below, especially since the cooker is rather narrow in diameter. At low cook temps (~200) it might be immaterial which way the meat is postioned. At higher temps it would seem to me to be more important. Further, in conventional cooking rendered fats and juices drip into the roasting pan and are captured. This obviously doesn't occur with a roast on a grate. The fat on the bottom seems to provide a vessel of sorts that, while not exactly capturing juices, does allow more to collect in the interior of the roast and stay there. This would be hard to actually test but it seems to happen this way to me.
I assume that the history of fatcap up in barbecue owes much more to conventional cooking than anything else. In conventional roasting in an oven the fatcap is up--but this is not because the fat renders and bastes the meat (although in some roasts where the primary fat is soft and renderable this might occur it is not the reason for placing the meat in the pan fat up). Fatcap up in an oven protects the meat somewhat from the heat being reflected off the roof of the oven (which is why foil is used during some roasting processes--the meat itself is protected by the roasting pan), and, importantly, fond development would be impaired were the fatcap to be against the roasting pan's bottom instead of the muscle. In oven braising (where the meat is in some liquid but not immersed in it) having the fatcap down makes little sense as it takes up space better occupied by the muscle which cooks in the liquid, flavoring it with its renderings and being gently cooked by the immersion.
When I used to cook open pit barbecue I flipped meats frequently (you don't have much choice) but when I started cooking in closed pits I too cooked fatcap up because that is what I was used to doing in an oven and never really thought about it. Jim Minion made the point in a post that fatcap down offers some protection from direct heat--especially in vertical cookers; till then I'd never thought about it. It made perfect sense to me and I switched to fat down.
Though some heat is certainly reflected off the top of the cooker the greater intensity seems to me to come from below, especially since the cooker is rather narrow in diameter. At low cook temps (~200) it might be immaterial which way the meat is postioned. At higher temps it would seem to me to be more important. Further, in conventional cooking rendered fats and juices drip into the roasting pan and are captured. This obviously doesn't occur with a roast on a grate. The fat on the bottom seems to provide a vessel of sorts that, while not exactly capturing juices, does allow more to collect in the interior of the roast and stay there. This would be hard to actually test but it seems to happen this way to me.
Rick Soliman
TVWBB Pro
Cook your brisket fat cap down for the first hour then flip with fat cap up for remainder of the cook. This will prevent the meat from drying out.
Thanks
Rick
Thanks
Rick
John Richardson
New member
I always smoke fat side down, my thinking being that fat is lighter than water, so it'll "float" up into the meat. May or may not happen, but it seems to make sense to me. Plus, if nothing else, the fat cap will help retain some moisture by virtue of being waterproof. And the direct heat protection in a bullet smoker... Seems like enough reasons to me
Jared Moore
TVWBB Member
I've always cooked with the fat cap down, and have never had a problem with the brisket being too dry. Maybe I just have good luck with brisket, since my pork butts usually don't turn out so well.
Scott Greenia
TVWBB Pro
As you can see... This is one of the topics that you'll never get a consensus. Kinda of like the foil topic (gasp)!
The best advice is to try it both ways, and which ever way YOU like it... the that's the best way.
The best advice is to try it both ways, and which ever way YOU like it... the that's the best way.
One more voice for fatcap down - note that he cooks butts that way too:
Ray Lampe - Dr. BBQ, June 30, 2005 – I cook all my briskets and butts fat side down. I trim almost nothing off of them. If I was cooking on an offset where the heat was primarily from the top, I'd re-evaluate this, but on a WSM I'd always cook fat down.
Ray Lampe - Dr. BBQ, June 30, 2005 – I cook all my briskets and butts fat side down. I trim almost nothing off of them. If I was cooking on an offset where the heat was primarily from the top, I'd re-evaluate this, but on a WSM I'd always cook fat down.