Cook Brisket On This Side For Superior Results Every Time

Ever wonder which side to cook and smoke brisket on for superior results every time? Well, we consulted an expert — a celebrity chef, in fact — for the answer. We spoke to none other than Robbie Shoults, the third-generation owner of Bear Creek Smokehouse and the owner of Marshall Mercantile and High Horse 1898 in Marshall, Texas, who shares his recommendation. "There are a number of opinions on this, but brisket should be smoked with, drumroll please ... fat side down," the chef reveals. "Cooking brisket with the fat side down actually helps insulate the brisket from the hot grates and prevents it from drying out."

Additionally, thanks to the Maillard reaction, cooking brisket fat side down ensures perfect browning and a rich, smoky, caramelized crust or bark. That crust helps lock in all the meat's juice and flavor. Of course, there's another reason why you want to handle brisket fat side down. "Cooking with the fat side down allows the fat to render out," Shoults adds, "and the grease drips directly into your drip pan, preventing it from taking all the flavor away with it." With the grease dripping away from the brisket, it doesn't have a chance to wash or drag away the flavor along with it, which would be the case if the fat layer was topside.

So, the next time you cook brisket, be sure to keep the fat side down for the most flavorful and moist meat with a beautiful bark. However, that's not everything you need to know about brisket. For example, you may want to buy from your local butcher. Additionally, if you're savvy with trimming brisket yourself, you can save money by opting for untrimmed cuts of meat.

After doing the trimming yourself at home, be sure to never throw away our beef brisket fat. Instead, transform that fat by cooking it down into beef tallow. Then, you can store the tallow and use it as a flavorful cooking oil. Some even turn the tallow into body lotion. In any case, selecting the wrong cut of beef and throwing away the extra fat are some of the biggest mistakes to avoid with brisket.

If all this talk about beef brisket has got you craving some this week, be sure to check out our recipes. You can't go wrong with trying our delicious and unique five-spice braised seder brisket recipe.