People on both sides of the fence on this one. I do fatback down towards the heat source.
I do fat side down for first 3-4 hours, then flip it fat up for the rest of the cook.
RG
Turned out with nice smoke flavour but was drier than hell - even with broth injected.
The main cause of dry brisket is over cooking. Did you pull it by internal temp, or by tenderness?
Fat side towards the heat source is a good way to protect the meat surface from burning, but doesn't prevent the brisket from drying out if overcooked. In my pellet grill I like to put fat side up as the fat will drip and baste the edges, keeping them from getting too dry. Pellet grills tend to dry out the surface. On my charcoal smoker, I cook fat side down. But either way is doesn't result in a big difference. I've also found that injecting is a good way to get flavor inside, but does little to keep it from drying out. $100 is a lot, how much are you paying for brisket up there?
I am no expert but from what I have read and learned to get a nice smoke ring and flavor plus juicy meat seems to always include wrapping the meat at some point during the cook either in foil or butchers paper and includes a long resting period. some people add beef broth to the foil as well.
Hopefully a legendary pit master will pipe in with the specifics .
Sometimes the perception of dry brisket can come from undercooked as well due to not completely rendering fat. I start checking around 190F until proven tender. Probe tender is the ultimate finish test even over temp. Should slide in and out like butter. I also like to put mine in cooler after for 30-60 minutes.
I agree with JCAM, probe tender and make sure you rest it 45-60 minimum. I inject with strong beef broth.
RG
Sometimes briskets can just be stubborn and vary in quality as well. I always inject brisket (and shoulder clods) with Butcher Blocks Prime Brisket injection. I swear by it.Indeed. If it wasn't so darn late when I pulled it off the smoker I would have done it. Wrapped the first one which turned out quite well.
Mark
I pay $5-6 per pound for brisket so dumping $25 in the garbage has me second guessing whether it is even worth doing.
not sure where you live, but if you have a Costco anywhere half way close, they sell prime packers for $3.79 and choice for $2.79 a pound almost all the time - at least in Utah.
I think the most I trimmed off was about 3-4 LBs of a 15 pound packer- but I posted up on here about how to select a brisket and learned a little about how to minimize excessive fat.
Just a couple thoughts.
I don't throw out fat anymore - I save it in the freezer and then render into tallow which I use for frying and soap making. That may not work for everyone but at least I feel better about putting it to good use and not trashing it.