I’ve smoked brisket several times now. And every single time that I have smoked it, I have put the fat side up. I’ve done this for the sole reason that thinking the fat will drip off making for a juicier meat. Everyone has told me my brisket is delicious so I’m a little nervous to try fat side down. Your thoughts?
by MtbGoat29
16 Comments
If it’s not broke don’t fix it.
I always do mine fat side down because that’s how I learned it and it works great for me everytime (except the first, long story). But buddy if you’re turning out good brisket fat side up, keep doing it!
Ultimately, if depends on the size of your smoker and where the heat is coming from.
Some bbq places that have huge smokers where they do a bunch of brisket at once do fat side up, but most of us home style bbq does fat side down- because our smokers are small and the meat is closer to the heat source so the the fat is used to protect the brisket from drying out. Particularly with pellet grills because the fire box is usually directly underneath the rack.
You can offset the fat loss that drips down by doing tallow injections or a tallow butcher paper wrap…
Yes – fat side up or down. It’s a religious issue with no actual right answer
Fat side facing the heat source.
The best brisket I have ever made I flipped it halfway through, and then again when I wrapped it.
In all honesty, that was probably not WHY it turned out so good… probably more of a coincidence than anything… and it was a pain in the butt to do. But I remember that brisket very fondly.
I do mine fat side up, but in order to do it fat side up on a pellet smoker. You need a heat sink of some kind. I put the brisket on the top shelf and put an Extra large sheet pan under the brisket and put an inch of water in the sheet pan. Works like a dream
I do fat side down.
I go fat side up. No rhyme or reason. Just do
Highly depends on where your heat source is. I have a cabinet charcoal smoker so the heat is directly underneath – blocked by the water pan – so fat side down provides a bit more protection from direct heat.
Up, always up.
I keep mine fat side down and on the second rack if possible to avoid it getting too crispy or burnt.
I have found that on a pellet grill, fat side down allows the fat to protect the meat a bit better from the direct heat of the fire pot below. After the wrap, I tend to flip fat side up. It has made for a better all around cook in my experience. This all depends on your specific pellet grill though.
I’m a home cook and I have a Traeger and I cook my brisket fat side up.
i go fat cap down. all the smoke hits the top of the brisket. you want a nice bark on that side. let the fat cap sit on the grates and act as a buffer. it’s about the bark and hiding the meat side is criminal. fat dripping down through the brisket is a myth. there’s tons of fat inside the brisket already doing its thing. fat cap down and you’ll see a huge difference in the bark
Towards the heat.