# Fat Cap Up or Fat Cap Down.



## Savannahsmoker

As most everyone knows every cooker is different so a  little comparison between Boston Butts fat cap up or fat cap down on the Blaz'n Grid Iron.





At the 12 hour mark sitting at 160 internal degrees.
[URL=http://s547.photobucket.com/user/Savannahsmoker/media/Smoking%20BBQ/Butts/20160409_120954_zpspaidaotp.jpg.html]
	


My personal preference has been Fat Cap down because it seems easier to me to pull the pork off and leave the fat in the foil.  
When I do fat cap up I make Cracklings off the remainder of the cap in the grill at 500 degrees.


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## Roll_Bones

Personal preference for me would be cap up.
It just seems having the fat side up would help to keep the roast nice a juicy?


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## LizStreithorst

With fat side up you get automatic basting.  Remember, fat lends flavor and tenderness.  Why waste it?


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## GotGarlic

Roll_Bones said:


> Personal preference for me would be cap up.
> It just seems having the fat side up would help to keep the roast nice a juicy?



It might help keep the surface from drying out, but it won't affect the inside of the roast. Fat doesn't move from the surface through the meat; it just rolls down the side.


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## Roll_Bones

GotGarlic said:


> It might help keep the surface from drying out, but it won't affect the inside of the roast. Fat doesn't move from the surface through the meat; it just rolls down the side.



Seems very similar to basting.
And how did I know you would correct me on this?


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## CraigC

Although I go cap up, it probably doesn't matter as I "mop" during the cook. Takes a little longer, but I like the results. I try to time the mopping to coincide with putting a fresh split in the fire box.


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## GotGarlic

Roll_Bones said:


> Seems very similar to basting.
> And how did I know you would correct me on this?



I've stopped basting. I find that continually wetting the surface prevents it from drying out sufficiently to get crusty.

Correct you? You asked a question. I assumed you wanted an answer 



Roll_Bones said:


> Personal preference for me would be cap up.
> It just seems having the fat side up would help to keep the roast nice a juicy?


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## Roll_Bones

GotGarlic said:


> I've stopped basting. I find that continually wetting the surface prevents it from drying out sufficiently to get crusty.
> 
> Correct you? You asked a question. I assumed you wanted an answer



  You know that was a wink right? I quit basting too. However, for whatever reason, I always roast skin/fat side up.


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## CraigC

I mop/baste to keep the dry rub from turning too dark. It is plenty crusty when I pull off to rest. Brisket is a different matter, no mopping.


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## LizStreithorst

Gentlemen, in order to avoid a fight you should try it both ways and let us know your results.


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## CraigC

Just like the old wine commercials for Paul Masson by Orson Welles, "We will pull no swine before its time."


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## Andy M.

I cook fat side up and mop regularly but not too often.  My finished product has a nice crust.


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## Addie

Fat Cap up. I make a diamond cut on it and put very thin slices on garlic in the slits. A foil tent over it until the last twenty minutes or so. Most of the fat does melt off and will be drained off and some of it will go towards the gravy along with other juices in the bottom along with the flavor of the garlic. 

I too hate to baste constantly. I take the lazy way any time I can.


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## LizStreithorst

Addie said:


> Fat Cap up. I make a diamond cut on it and put very thin slices on garlic in the slits. A foil tent over it until the last twenty minutes or so. Most of the fat does melt off and will be drained off and some of it will go towards the gravy along with other juices in the bottom along with the flavor of the garlic.
> 
> I too hate to baste constantly. I take the lazy way any time I can.



That sounds good.


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## Addie

LizStreithorst said:


> That sounds good.



Once I remove the foil, I just turn the heat up (or use the broiler) and the fat gets nice and crispy.


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## outRIAAge

Good grief: True enough that the fat running down the sides doesn't penetrate the meat, but it it's a lump of meaty fat auto-basting the sides, just the thing for the crust you want. 

I've read a bunch of these, and don't understand the other side, but that's why I'm here, so please explain.


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## outRIAAge

And, five minutes after I ask, I suspect the reason: you want maximum exposed crusty-bronze meat? So do I! Duh...

Has anybody tried doing it fat-cap up and suspended in a V-shaped roasting cage? So you get a free baste on three sides? That, and a six-pack, sounds like my next free afternoon. I'll report back.


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## Roll_Bones

outRIAAge said:


> And, five minutes after I ask, I suspect the reason: you want maximum exposed crusty-bronze meat? So do I! Duh...
> 
> Has anybody tried doing it fat-cap up and suspended in a V-shaped roasting cage? So you get a free baste on three sides? That, and a six-pack, sounds like my next free afternoon. I'll report back.



Take it easy Rage.  I'm with you 100%!


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## Paymaster

I do mine fat side down in the Kamado and up in the offsets. I never foil Boston Butts. I don't mop/baste but I do spray with 4 to 1 mix of apple juice and cider vinegar.


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## Addie

Paymaster said:


> I do mine fat side down in the Kamado and up in the offsets. I never foil Boston Butts. I don't mop/baste but I do spray with 4 to 1 mix of apple juice and cider vinegar.



That apple juice/cider vinegar sounds interesting. By scoring the fat, the spray can get down to the meat. I wonder what other combinations can be used.


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## CraigC

Paymaster said:


> I do mine fat side down in the Kamado and up in the offsets. *I never foil Boston Butts. *I don't mop/baste but I do spray with 4 to 1 mix of apple juice and cider vinegar.



I found, by accident, that wrapping a butt after it comes off can keep it hot for hours. I took one to my brothers once, 2-1/2 hours away, close to 4 hours before I went to pull it. Figured by that time it could be handled with out gloves. Big mistake! it was still scorching hot! It was wrapped in one layer of HD foil and a kitchen towel, no cooler.


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## Paymaster

CraigC said:


> I found, by accident, that wrapping a butt after it comes off can keep it hot for hours. I took one to my brothers once, 2-1/2 hours away, close to 4 hours before I went to pull it. Figured by that time it could be handled with out gloves. Big mistake! it was still scorching hot! It was wrapped in one layer of HD foil and a kitchen towel, no cooler.



Oh yes. I do that too. I was referring to wrapping during the cook. I wrap ribs after two or three hours in smoke and then unwrap for half hour or so at the end. But ribs are the only meat I wrap during a cook.
Save​


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## hikerman

There are plusses on both sides of this discussion,  but I always cook fat-cap down so as not to wash away the rubs that I use. If the meat appears too dry, I mist but typically I just let the cooker cook and monitor IT temp. I love the bark, and too much moisture destroys that.


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## caseydog

Resurrected old thread. I'm still awake, so why not comment.

I cut most of the fat cap off of a pork butt. I leave just a thin layer. Too much fat just keeps rub and smoke from penetrating the meat, and smoke has a hard time getting deep into a butt even with a 12-hour cook. 

I go fat cap up, for some "self-basting," but honestly can't say with certainty that it matters. It is just how I do it. 

I never foil a pork butt during cooking. IMO, pork butt is the easiest, most forgiving chunk of meat to BBQ. Why make it harder than it needs to be?

Pork butt is also a great item to pre-cook for a party across town. I wrap the finished butt in foil and a towel, and stuff it in a cheap cooler, and like Craig said, it is still too hot to handle after a few hours. 

CD


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