re: brisket on green egg

I have an aftermarket heat deflector in my egg and I've found its better to go fat side up, but do whats best for your set up. I usually start the cook at 225F and find that the temp rises slightly through out the day. The cook usually finishes around 275F and thats ok. I also haven't found the need to wrap in the egg unless I'm trying to speed things up.

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The only reason it is prevalent in Texas BBQ, is because those are the trees in Texas. Pecan gives a better flavor and my all time favorite, Peach, is incredible.

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To each his own. IMO, post oak imparts a fantastic flavor to brisket.

Many of the older joints still use mesquite. But post oak isn't used because there's no other wood to smoke with. We have a ton of pecan trees in TX. Most just prefer post oak.

I rock 225 degrees for sustained periods with no issue on my Kamado Joe. I suggest filling with as much lump charcoal as it will hold, mixing an occasional chunk of smoking wood in various spots, and lighting in ONLY one spot. Let it get to about 180 with both vents open wide and then close the bottom to 1 finger and top to a sliver of air. Watch the temp closely and ensure you get to 225. As long as you don't go far above the desired temp, its not too difficult to keep the low (desired) range. Also, there isn't a heck of alot of diff in finished product on a large slab of meat that has been smoked at 225 vs 250.

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Seems 225 doesn't really work on kamados

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Mine stays at 230 consistently, on the low end.

I’ve done several briskets on my egg with varying degrees of success (IMO) but my guests seems to like them. I live in NC where brisket isn’t as widespread as Texas so they don’t know what great brisket really is.

I inject the night before cooking with a beef broth mixture. I also add a little cayenne to my salt and pepper rub.

I do the drip pan underneath and I’m sure it doesn’t do anything but I add a light beer to the water in the pan. 225-250 with mesquite. No problem getting a nice smoke ring.

My wife makes baked beans so I’ll give her the driest pieces of the flat to her to put in the beans.

Interestingly enough, the worst one I’ve done was a prime packer from Costco. One of the best was a select from Wal Mart.

An electric knife is helpful especially when it comes to presentation. If I haven’t had too many beers I can get the slices all the same thickness and it looks real nice on the platter. There are always several slices that are perfectly done. I wish I could get all of them that way. My wife loves BBQ sauce on everything and my biggest compliment she’s ever given me about my cooking was that my brisket didn’t need sauce.

The brisket nachos a couple nights later are always a hit.

Whenever I do any cook, I put the biggest chunks of lump in a separate bag, and use the big chunks when I do a long cook like a brisket or butt. That way I don’t have to worry about ash clogging things up and the temp varying as much.

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ETA: Are you using the fat as a heat deflector? For a ceramic grill that shouldn't matter. Your heat is pretty well evenly dispersed assuming you have the ceramic heat deflector's in place.

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Yes.

I orient the fat side toward the hotter 'layer.' I agree with you that the ceramic dome will radiate some of the heat back towards the grate. However, the only heat being generated is coming from the fire below and will be the hotter region. So even if say it's only a 10F delta, I'd prefer the fat side deal with it.