Fat Cap on Boston Butt

[Ron D]

How about it. Fat Cap up or down.

[teesquare]

What are you cookin' in Ron?

[Ron D]

Electric smoker

[squirtthecat]

I always go fat side down.   Heat shield/more bark/I'm too lazy to trim.   

[TentHunteR]

I used to cook them always fat cap up, but anymore I've gotten to to where I trim most of the fat cap off and cut the butts in half.  That seems to give me more surface area for bark and smoke penetration.

There's still plenty of fat marbling inside to keep the butts moist.

[teesquare]

Electric smoker

I an electric - I don't think it will matter. You will not be developing any real bark.....

[muebe]

I always go fat cap down. My reason is when you pull the butt off the grill, frog mat, ect. The fat cap will stick to the grill, frog mat ect. and not the meat. Also the fat cap offers heat insulation on more direct heat from below.

[Barry CB Martin]

Ron - at Memphis in May a couple years back a friend reported seeing a famous BBQ champ render the pork fat and inject it into a beef brisket - pretty sure you could do the same with the pork meat...just saying. 

[Ron D]

Electric smoker

I an electric - I don't think it will matter. You will not be developing any real bark.....

Tee, I will have a very good bark. Just wait and see.

Here is one I have done before with a nice dark bark

[smokeasaurus]

With an electric smoker I don't wrap in foil and I have also gotten a bark.

I have started taking the fat cap off and I have seen no difference in the internal moisture of the butt......and......more rub and smoke coverage!! 

[Keymaster]

I always go fat cap up, Gravity, Newtons law and all that stuff

[teesquare]

I may be confusing the issue via flawed terminology kids....
When I think of bark - I am not considering the merely smoke darkened exterior.

When I think of "bark" - I am talking about the  slightly hardened, drier exterior that a lot of folks will cut off to make burnt ends with. I have not found electrics to perform making that kind of bark. I do get a nice color and flavor...but not bark like one can expect from a 'coal or stick burner.

Did I make a bit more sense this time?

[Ron D]

I can still get that on mine Tee as I do not wrap it in foil anytime and it gets a nice crisp.

[smokeasaurus]

The last Butt I did in the Tex for -18- hours had a crispy bark...my unit tends to run drier than my neighbors Smokin-It.......

[mikecorn.1]

I've also gotten good bark in my electric smoker. I do fat side up. Just out of habbit.