re: First brisket on Kamado Joe.....need some “hep”

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11lb whole brisket... temp 225?

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I do around 225-230.

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How many hours (I have read anywhere from 30 min to 1 1/2 hour per pound) ?

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Don't go by time. Go by internal temp. Thickness, fat content, how well you trim, grade of meat all affect cooking times. Get yourself a good instant read or something like the igrill where you can monitor it as it cooks. But if you want to know time, to decide when to serve, then assume for 11 lbs, about 1/2 hr to 1 hour/lb. All of my briskets cook quickly on the KJ, and i think that has to do with the Joe itself. It's ceramic insulated and you get a bit of a convection affect going on inside the dome due to its shape, and the deflector plates.

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Water pan?

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Not needed on a Joe. Do it if it makes you feel good, but i never use one.

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Fat up or down?

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I do fat side up. The idea being, the fat will render and self baste the brisket.

ETA: Based on other comments about fat side down helps keep it from drying out, makes sense. I also recall reading somewhere that the idea of the fat rendering and "soaking back into the brisket" doesn't really happen.

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Flip or rotate?

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No.

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I will wrap in butcher paper at 160ish..and pull at 205 degrees.

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You can do that. I wait until about 170 or so. Just don't forget the rest. Once you hit internal temp of 205, remove and place inside a cooler and let rest. It will stay hot for hours. I've let it rest for 3 hours before, due to it being finished quicker than expected.

A side note, all of my briskets now, will come with burnt ends. I used to just slice the entire brisket, and would end up tossing some of it by the end of hte week because i had too much leftover. The last brisket i made, i made burnt ends out of the entire point (fattier side) of the brisket. I cooked the entire packer together, and then once the flat got up to 180, i separated and removed the point, wrapped the flat and point in butcher paper, and continued cooking. Once the flat got to 205, i removed and placed into a cooler. When the point got to 205, i took it off the joe, cubed it, tossed it in a sauce, and raised the heat in the joe to about 300 and added a few wood chunks and continued cooking for another 1-2 hours until they were a nice dark color. It is meat candy.