How do YOU... BBQ??

[Czarbecue]

A trimmed fat cap will still achieve a bark. Just not a crusty one like a French baguette.

 

[TonyT]

I experimented with my first prime brisket the other week. Did what I usually do and put it fat side towards the heat. In my WSM, it was down. The brisket was a huge hit, so I did another one for the fight yesterday. Same size/manufacturer/rub/trimming.

As I was waiting for my fire to get clean a new neighbor dropped by and we started talking next to the pit. When the smoke was clean I tossed it on and wasn't paying attention, it was fat cap up until about 3 hours and I flipped it (the cook was only 6 hours total). I wrapped and rested the same way and the brisket was exactly the same as the one before.

Still going to do fat side down though :wink:

 

[quamdar]

I'm of the opinion that trimming the fat cap so it isn't too thick is more important than it being up or down. Maybe in a smoker without any kind of deflector or water pan between the heat and the meat it would make more of a difference. I don't see much difference at all though.

 

[Swine Spectator]

Fat cap always goes towards the heat, so it depends which smoker I'm using whether it goes up or down

So on an offiset, the fat cap should be sideways, correct?

:crazy:

Kidding - I trim pretty aggressively and cook fat cap down. I think I get better bark and that the fat renders better when in contact with the grates.

Just my $0.02,

David

 

[CeramicChef]

And the debate rages on, never to have a definitive answer ...

Fat cap up, fat cap down, who cares? There's never any leftovers anyway, right?

 

[cheez59]

What is a fat cap? Are you talking about that white stuff that prevents bark formation? Yeah i like bark and smoke ring so that white stuff get removed before it even touches the grates.

^^^This^^^ Since there is no longer a big blob of bark robbing waste then it matters not how it goes onto the pit.

 

[Czarbecue]

Man, you guys are missing out on some of the fatty goodness.

 

[WareZdaBeef]

^^^This^^^ Since there is no longer a big blob of bark robbing waste then it matters not how it goes onto the pit.

Well i usually separate the point from the flat so i get more bark and can pull the flat sooner so it doesn't get dry. But if i was to leave the packer whole, i would trim aggressively and lay it point side down since the heat rises up in my smoker, so the flat has less chance of drying out too much.

 

[SwineGuy]

I go fat cap down. Better bark and the heat is coming from below so it protects the meat.

 

[EdF]

I'm a kamado cooker. The Komodo Kamado I used for smoking I call TheBeast because it is. Almost 1,000 pounds of refractory and I heat soak it at temp for at least an hour prior to putting the meat on the grate to cook.

Because of the fact that the kamado has been heat soaked and the fact that I use heat deflectors, fat cap up or fat cap down makes no difference whatsoever. That butt gets heat from all directions. It simply makes no difference whatsoever in my kamado; it's a moot question.

Guess that's what happens when you have the Bentley of kamadoes! ;-)

 

[dadsr4]

On butts, I trim off as much fat as I can. I'm not going to eat it, so why put it in the cooker and have to deal with the mess afterwards?
Ribs, bones down. I want any juices to stick around as long as possible.

 

[rikun]

I've cooked briskets even sideways... That's not a good idea, btw.

But fat cap up/down does't really make a whole lot of difference.

In my RF I cook fat cap up on bottom grate, I get good bark on the flat side that way since most heat comes from the baffle plate. But I also flip sometimes...

On the upper grate I definitely want to cook fat cap down, since I'm not going to get good bark the other way around. It's so much higher up, so most heat comes from top hence less bark on the bottom.

On my BGE I usually cook fat cap down, but if I cook HnF I definitely want to flip and/or monitor the bottom so it doesn't burn.. Sometimes I start fat cap up and turn after about an hour.

 

[pmsmoking]

Fat cap up for the first 4 hours then down for the next 4 hours or so.

 

[Smoke Daddy]

what about rib racks?

If you use rib racks, how do you place your meat with regards to the flow of smoke and heat in your pit?

 

[Garrett]

Cut the fat cap off, unless you eat it, you're going to have to deal with it before or after the cook because it ain't going anywhere. Keep your beer cold and your smoke thin and blue and don't worry about it and enjoy your day. There's other areas in life to deal with stress, BBQ shouldn't be one of them!

 

[Nuco59]

Seems we overthink stuff sometimes- for a variety of reasons: being new and "everything is iffy - omg- what do I do?" OR you are one of the ones who take it too seriously and "every single facet of your cook is life or death"

Me? I'm just cooking bbq- it's pretty simple and relaxing- if you let it be that way.
If you are stressing over a cook- why?

 

[sniperfx]

Humphrey Pint! Fat cap down the whole time. I get great bark, and have never had an issue with juicy meat not being juicy meat!

 

[upStomp]

On my WSM, ribs are always either hung or in racks. Shoulder or brisket fat side up. Admittedly, though, I have very little experience with brisket (hard to get whole packers around me) and have yet to achieve even moderate success.

 

[tcaselli]

on a vertical offset I wonder if hanging the meat would be ok...any thoughts ?

 

[DubfromGA]

Fat cap always goes towards the heat, so it depends which smoker I'm using whether it goes up or down

Well said.:clap2: