Brisket fat side up or down when smoking?

fat up

I've seen it both ways - with fat cap up, it melts down into the meat, keeping is moist - with fat cap down, it acts as a heat shield to keep it from getting too burnt on the bottom.

I always do fat cap up and have never had the latter problem.

quote:

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I've seen it both ways - with fat cap up, it melts down into the meat, keeping is moist - with fat cap down, it acts as a heat shield to keep it from getting too burnt on the bottom.

I always do fat cap up and have never had the latter problem.

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Agreed

Sounds like a nice compromise. I've always cooked roasts fat cap up. Gotta let the juice come down and keep the meat moist

Up

Up

It doesn't matter, I could put a plate of each in front of you to eat and you wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

Up

Go low and slow and wrap it and you will be ok. I might go three hours to get a better smoke ring.

I was going to post what the guy said about Aaron Franklin. When a fat down guy has a restaurant that sells out of brisket every single day for multiple years with a line wrapped around the building, I'll change to that method.