Brisket - Fat Side Down or Up?

primeone

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How do you guys smoke Brisket? Fat side up or down?

brisket-fat-down.jpeg
 
Haven't been brave enough yet to do a brisket. I hear they either turn out great or turn out terrible and are kind of hard to do. But if I did one I would do fat cap down like I do everything else.
 
I see a cup of water on the grill. I never did that before and was wondering why. Does it just add moisture?
With older, Non PID Controller Pellet Grills, using a water pan helps to eliminate wild temp swings and also add some moisture to the bbq. The down side is if you accidentally spill the water in your grill... Not something you want to happen. .02

Pellet Pro Austin XL and a few more mods... In SoCal and Always... Semper Fi
 
Thanks, I figured it was something like that. I use to spray a mist of water in my greenhouse to cool it down. It is surprising what a little bit of moisture will do.
 
Fat side down....well what very little is left.

I trim my brisket very lean, but I take all that fat, render it down into beef tallow while smoking the brisket. When it comes time to wrap, I apply some of the beef tallow on the butcher paper, back on the smoker. When to temp 203°F - 208°F, I unwrap the paper and get a new sheet with again, some beef tallow on the paper and let it rest for 4 hours.
 
Fat down for sure. Protects the rest of the meat. Like Myron Mixon says, theres no magic fat that bleeds in to the meat. Also do not be in a rush for brisket. Dont make the mistake I made and turn it up to feed the family. Also, I recommend doing the last couple hours in a pan with some beef broth. Makes and amazing Au'Ju. Family loved that when I made the brisket right the last time. Also make sure to let it rest. I put mine in a cooler, drove 45 mins to a family gathering. Noone was ready to eat and I thought my meat was gonna be bad. Sat for 2.5hrs and it was amazing. Hope this helps
 

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