Spinoff - First Time Smoking a Brisket

So after checking out highcotton's pork belly I decided to share a brisket I smoked last week. My smoking has always consisted of chicken, pork butts, ribs and turkey but I've always wanted to try a brisket so I figured it was time.

Did my homework first and watched several Aaron Franklin videos. The words that stuck with me were "you're gonna mess up a few of these before figuring it out". So I bought a choice grade 9.5lb flat instead of messing up an 90 dollar full sized packer.

Trimmed it up pretty good and left about 1/4" to 1/2" fat cap, as per Aaron's instructions. I bought a commercial brisket marinade to inject with and pumped up the flat pretty good, injecting with the grain. Let it rest overnight in the fridge.



Had to start early because the plan was to smoke it at 250*. Got the pit ready and started with a chimney full of Kingsford.



The wood of choice was post oak because...that's what Aaron uses. I figured if it was good enough for him it was good enough for me. Threw about 4 chunks on and let the temp settle in. After about 20 minutes I realized post oak burns hot. The pit was at ~350 according to the Maverick grate thermometer.

So while the pit stabilized I took the brisket out and seasoned it with coarse Kosher salt and a restaurant-grade dustless black pepper. Put the brisket on and away she went. Took about 5 hours for it to reach 155* internal.



Wrapped it in paper and put it back on the pit.



Took roughly another 7 hours to hit an internal of 205*. Pulled it and wrapped in a couple of towels and let it rest for an hour. The finished product:



Came out awesome but there is a little room for improvement, which I have planned for the next time we're craving brisket. And since I had the big smoker lit I also threw on a slab of St. Louis cut spares. The rub is Lambert's Sweet Rub O' Mine...spritzed with apple juice/rub every 20 minutes or so.



I wanna say the ribs took 5-6 hours but I was deep in the vodka at that point. I believe they went for 3.5 hours before I pulled them and wrapped in foil then back on for another 1.5 - 2 hours. I also had some Don's boudin in the freezer so I thawed a link and smoked it until I couldn't stand it anymore...I had to snack on it.