No, I left it there, and judging from my results, I'm definitely going to keep it there next time. I've heard that leaving the fat on it, with the fat side up will help keep it from drying out. The bottom side was nice and juicy, and I saw lots of juices under the fat that was on top. I'm pretty sure I did things right, just with my setup I needed the heat to be higher than I though. The bad thing about the heat being higher, the water pan needs filled much more often, due to placement. I have an idea to help with that, though!