Brisket

Unknown

I know that I am taking a risk, but I am doing a Super Bowl brisket for my first one. It is marinated/rubbed and ready to go. I have one question. Fat side up, or down?

Cat

Beefeater,[p]Up.[p]Cathy

The Naked Whiz

Beefeater,
Fat side up!!! And you better get going if you want to do it low and slow. I put mine on at 9 this morning, trying to keep it at 200 degrees until we hit the plateau. Then I'll heat it up to 300 or so until the meat hits 200 degrees. Good Luck![p]TNW

Charly

Beefeater,
I'd go with an indirect setup,fat side up at 250 degrees.Pull when fork tender.

Unknown

Charly,
Thanks for the help. It is on the egg (fat side up) and now the fun begins!

Marv

Beefeater,
I see no one bothered to explain WHY you should cook brisket & butts with the fat side up.
As the meat cooks the fat will melt (render) and run through the meat into the drip pan.This helps to keep the meat moist and also flavors the meat. When the meat is done to prefection, the remaining fat will be like jelly and be able to be removed just by scraping if off with a knife. You will not have to CUT it off.[p]Good luck, I can't wait to read all the posts tommorow.[p]Marv

sdbelt

Marv,[p]Good info on why. I've cooked all my butts fat side up, until last night. For last night's cook, I started the butt with the fat side up, and then mid cook I flipped it over. I wanted to avoid the really, really hard crust I always get on the bottom. Since the bottom has so much of that great "pink" meat exposed, it's always seemed to me a shame to char it too much.[p]Flipping it mid-cook did require me to open the lid, but that's the only con I can think of. Anyway, I achieved what I wanted. The meaty top, was crusted, but not chewy, and overall the butt had a similar texture all the way around. I don't think I'd do this with brisket, but for butts, I think this is my new perferred method.[p]Comments?[p]--sdb