Yoder Smokers Community Forum

On my YS640, if only cooking a brisket and only using the bottom rack, what should I do to prevent the very bottom of the brisket from getting over cooked and tough? Bottom rack seems a little too close to the heat deflector, and ambient heat is causing the bottom to overcook.

I usually cook at 250 the whole cook, fat side up. I don't flip or move the brisket at all during the cook, it stays centered on the bottom rack with the point facing the smoke stack side. Thanks.

Always fat side down on any Yoder cooker. Fat towards the heat source.

Ok, but the central question remains: top shelf or bottom?

This is your choice. I cook on both, and normally fill the cooker up, top and bottom.

The Yoder cookers cook from the bottom up, so the lower grate will have more radiant heat than the upper grate. The upper grate can be 20+ degrees cooker than the lower grate.

I can verify that! My cooker temp probe is attached to the top shelf (right side) and consistently runs 20F cooler than the set temp!
Is the radiant heat the reason you recommend fat side down on the brisket cook? (is that the case for both shelves?)

I prefer the top rack for brisket. Don't ask me why but they always come out perfect on the top rack.