Fat Cap UP, or Fat Cap DOWN?


 
If I'm just throwing a butt into the cooker 'as is' then it really doesn't matter. If I'm doing a butterfly, then it's most definitely down.

Brisket is always down. IMO, up makes the bark mushy.

Russ
 
I'm a Fat Cap "UP" kinda guy. But --- I'd suggest a personal trail. Do your own test and like all other things BBQ - go with what you prefer.

PS... I'd love to see a "Like" button made available. (Does Facebook have that copyrighted?)
 
Not really a wrong answer in terms of how it cooks.

I prefer down the whole time so I don't have to remember which end is which. When I'm slicing brisket, I prefer the fat cap on the bottom. It just looks nicer while you're slicing. For butts I generally take the fat cap off so I don't have to do anything with it when I pull the pork.
 
I never expected such great answers.
I've always put the fat cap up with Pork Butts so the juice from the fat free bast the meat, but I never thought about the bark.
Thanks for all the great advice. I've written a bunch of notes, and now I have to do some thinking.
 
A little fat goes a long way on a brisket. A pencil thin cut of the flat with some rubbed fat left on top makes for a tasty sandwich. When it comes to a butt, unless you're slicing, that fat cap gets pulled along with the rest of the meat to flavor the mix.

I'd say, do what works for you. Try fat up and fat down. Write it all down. In the heat of a cook, you sometimes lose the details. It's like when you take 20 pics of your prep but none of your finished product because you're elbow deep in meat and starving from the cook. You might read that note 20 cooks from now and realize you had it right from the start.
 
The more important question is how to achieve a tastier, or juicier brisket. To me, that means leaving all the fat on the brisket, and I don't trim my brisket anymore. All I do is wash it first, then use a use regular cooking oil after is dried up, for holding the spice on the meat. I always set the meat fat side down, and I never check it unless the inside temp reaches 195 degrees. ( I use an ATC) Once the meat is ready (between 195-205 degrees) I separate the point, and smoke it another 2 hrs, while I let the flat set in the cooler for 2 hrs.

I never have any problems with having a dried up brisket. My brisket is juicy, and after I take off the point....there is hardly any fat left on the food. I often wonder how much fat is melted away form the long cook..? I usually cook around 225-230 degrees, and I love to do it overnight, for a next day lunch.
 
I agree my entirely family taught me about how fat makes for a better tasting meat and that has always been true in smoking I think the only reason for trimming fat is purely for aesthetics
 
An age old question, kind of like "boxers or briefs". Down for me. Boxers or briefs? No comment.
 
I pondered this question for quite some time and came up with the one answer that worked for me

I bought two Briskets nearly identical in weight & size and cooked one up and one down. I could not tell the difference
I bought two Butts nearly identical in weight & size and cooked one up and one down. I believe the butt up was the better of the two

Now to mess with you......

Which rack should you cook on :)
 
It's been two weeks and 32 posts now, and I've made up my mind.
Fat cap up or fat cap down, trim the fat or leave it on, it comes down to what we like, and what works for us.
The past four years I've always put the fat cap up.
I'm sure when I was doing my first pulled pork that either I read it or someone told me that's the way to do it and that's the way I've been doing it ever since.
I didn't give it much thought until I started looking at the pictures of peoples cooks and noticed both ways.
Since I've never done a fat cap down before I'm going to try it next. I'll see how the family likes it, and then I'll go from there.
 
Definitive answers to this question have always boggled my mind. To say always Fat up or always Fat down is to simple of a side in the debate to take unless you are all referring to using just the WSM. I believe that making BBQ requires decisions to be made that solely depend on the cooker you are using for that particular cook. If you only cook on a WSM or similar bullet cooker then you can say I always do this or I always do that but what if you are using a drum smoker or an off-set smoker? Will the same rules apply? I believe you need to determine why you cook fat side up or fat side down and then see how that logic compares to the cooker you are using. Do you cook fat side down to protect the meat from the direct heat source? if so, how will that work when using an off-set and the heat is coming from the side rather then under the meat? And if you cook fat side up and are using a drum smoker where the heat is directly under the meat should you change your plan and cook fat side down?
I can sum it all up with the following comment.

Fat side up or Fat side down? It all depends on the dynamics of the cooker I am using for that particular cook!
 
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