Brisket question??

jhl192

I just bought a brisket flat at BJ's.  One end is about an inch thinner than the other end. There is no point.   I understand that the back of the egg burns hotter than the other.  Do you position the thick end towards the back or am I over thinking this?  I would like it to come out as uniform as possible.  Thanks for the help!

lousubcap

Not over-thinking at all.  You have a flat and I always put the thickest part to the back.  I also cook fat side down but I don't think it makes any difference in the long-haul.

Ladeback69

That is correct, but if you can find a full packer next time that would be better. Then you get burnt ends and moister brisket. Don't cut tell you are ready to serve.

hunterheath

lousubacp-

just  wondering why you would cook fat side down? Wouldn't you want to cook with fat side up so that it flavors your brisket while cooking?

just curious-

SGH

hunterheath said:

lousubacp-

just  wondering why you would cook fat side down? Wouldn't you want to cook with fat side up so that it flavors your brisket while cooking?

just curious-

Let me demystify this for you. First let me say i have cooked every conceivable cut of meat there is in any position you can think of. There is no right or wrong way when it comes to the fat cap. There are only two instances that i can think off when fat from the cut being cooked will affect any thing. One if you burn it. Two if you have another cut of meat under the one rendering. As to the one cooking i have tried fat up, down, on its side, vertical, elevated and tucked. There is absolutely no difference what so ever. Opinions will vary on this but trust me when i say there is no difference that you and i can taste. Its just a matter to how one prefers to do it. Rendering fat is just that. It does not reabsorb while in the cooking chamber and up to temp. Again if you are cooking pork and beef one over the other i would always go beef over pork as the rendering from the pork can and will impart a off taste to beef. This is especially true when cooking the primals and big subprimals as there is a long dwell time in the smoker. When you go smaller than the subprimals this ceases to matter as much as the dwell time is much shorter. Try it each way and be honest with yourself and see if you can tell a difference. I willing to bet that you cant. I hope this helps my friend.

SGH

I forgot to say this only matters when cooking comps. For home cooking and enjoyment the look of the head is meaningless. Hope this helps my friend.

SGH

jhl192 said:

I just bought a brisket flat at BJ's.  One end is about an inch thinner than the other end. There is no point.   I understand that the back of the egg burns hotter than the other.  Do you position the thick end towards the back or am I over thinking this?  I would like it to come out as uniform as possible.  Thanks for the help!

You are not over thinking this at all. You are right on track. No matter what type cooker you use always try to turn the thicker portion toward the heat source. There are just a couuple of exceptions to this rule but they do not apply to the egg. They involve cooking whole carcasses and trying to hit a certain "look" on the head meat using indirect reverse flow off sets. For any other situation the rule applies. Keep cooking my friend. Hope this helps.

SGH

The above messed up for some reason. Hope you can make sense of it.