Fat up or Fat down?

Just got done smoking two that weighed 17.5lbs total. I cut the fat cap off this time to get more bark. Liked how it turned out! Now if it wasn't a CS that your smoking in, I'd be more worried about that fat cap. You'll be fine doing it your way.

You could try the side by side with one up and one down for a personal test to see which you prefer. I've done them both ways and like fat up cause the fat melts into the rack making it a bit messy removing with fat down. Personally I don't see perceptable difference otherwise.

db

I like the fat up under normal circumstances, but was thinking (maybe that is the problem), that with the longer cook time due to the bigger pieces, that the bare meat sitting right above the wood box might burn it too much. The upper one will have the fat up, as that is my normal preference. Thanks.

Many cooks like to have fat on big meats,between the direct heat source and the meat.

Cooking on a full, smaller CS,I sometimes rotate the butts,because the one directly by the woodbox will get some direct heat.Fat side down, by it, is also good.

Basically, they are pretty forgiving,although if you are doing long cooks/huge butts,flipping them over half way thru the cook helps prevent sticking,as mentioned above.