Aloha from sunny Northern California!
1st, thanks to all who've shared their brisket experiences... super grateful I was able to take a piece of learnin' from each post and come to this process, which I think needs more tweaking, but is pretty on "point" <pun intended>.
The PrepThings started as a 14lb. Costco prime packer... I was bummed when I cut it open to trim, as the price sticker was strategically placed over a bald patch on the fat cap (covered w/ fat trimmings to smoke), about 2"x3"!! I will be buying a better filet knife, the 7" one I have is stiffer and serrated. Will aim for a 6" with a more flexible blade. I don't really trim much off, just the hard/excess fat and slightly round the corners. I even leave the hump/point meat to the left of the deckle on, I just leave a good amount of fat on (or slap some trimmings on) and they never burn. I just can't bring myself to waste much! VERY light dusting of curing salt for some smoke ring on the meat side, light mustard all over, 2-1-1 parts pepper, salt and garlic powder, rest for 2 hours on counter before "Smokin-it".
The SmokeI had to scrunch it a bit to fit #2 rack (FAT CAP DOWN) and it was touching just about all sides of the smoker initially, but flattened out and shrank to fit perfectly by the time I wrapped. 4 chunks of mesquite, 2 pans of apple juice on each side of the firebox. I wanted to try a hot and fast smoke this time, but my ol'#2 only goes to 250, so went with that. 1 probe each in the flat and point, stalled mid 160 for 2hrs. and got to 180 in 8hrs. Wrapped in butcher paper with a seam to let juices flow out, smoked 3 hrs. more until I got to 193 flat/198 point. I wrapped it wrong last time and too much moisture puddled and "steamed" the brisket, tasted good but was mushy.
The Hold/RestIt was almost 11am so I had to keep it "ready" until 5pm. I've done cooler method before, but decided to try hold it in the smoker until ready to slice. I pulled it, flipped it FAT CAP UP, set it in a 2 layer bed of foil, and removed the top of the paper; hoping the bark to crisp up a little. Took the juice pans out too. Opened the doors for a minute to bring the temp down, set to 160, poked the probes back in and let it sit. Temp dropped to 165 by 5pm, pulled it and let it set on the board for 10 minutes and started slicing...
The RevealOverall it was a great smoke... one of my better brisket results. Some tweaks I would try next time: 1) Will try 235 as a starting point, I'd like to have a bit more fat rendering, although the wife loves more than 1/4" fat cap. Maybe turning down the temp a bit with be the sweet spot. 2) Maybe some paprika or chili powder to get a bit more color on the bark, flavor wise, loved the garlicy outcome. Flat was a bit done according to the traditional "pull test"... but the Point was just about perfect, a lil'more fat rendering maybe, but they were darned good eating.
Thanks again, as you can see, there was a lot of pointers from several posters that I borrowed from - ya'll make my smokes better and better!
Vids of the slicing:
The Reveal
https://photos.app.goo.gl/SkHutcDkqh2zSCnFAFlat slices
https://photos.app.goo.gl/9tD7LPPs79GAvMJZ6Point slices
https://photos.app.goo.gl/UkvZjkPcUPBSi94C6Point ends
https://photos.app.goo.gl/3tKSchJ5rSBPB7b76