Well, I did it. I finally cooked a brisket (actually 2 - 8 # & 11#).
Thanks to all the advise on the forum and especially Smokin's Brisket 101 - It was a screaming success. I cannot tell you why I was intimidated, maybe it was the shear quanity of meat at one time - so what do I do ... go and cook 2 at once for my first time!! Go figure. Actually cooked'em for the 4th and about 12 people.
I did some unconventional things. Not knowing how long it would actually take, I cooked it at 200 F overnight. I was going to crank it up to 225 in the morning, but found out that I was going out of town for the day, so I left it at 200. I got back after 20 hours of cooking time and set the thermostat to 250. After 21 hours, both briskets were at 197. I pulled them off. They were VERY tastey. The flats were a little dry, but not too bad. The deckles (points) were very good and tender and pretty moist.
I also cooked a pan of beans on the bottom shelf (just overnight) .... man were they good.
A few comments to other newbies.
1. Yield. Expect about 50-60% yield by weight. My 11# brisket was VERY fatty and may have yielded even less.
2. Make sure that your drip pan is big enough. Holy cow was I close to overflowing.
3. Read through Smokin's Brisket 101. It helped me tons (Thanks again, Smokin')
Overall, I am extremely pleased. Good luck to all you other newbies. I'll be doing another here pretty soon.
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