So I was at Costco the other day planning to pick up some steaks and maybe some ribs for the weekend. As I was getting the steaks the meat guy showed up at the window with a selection of briskets for another customer. He took his and I took this as a sign that I was due to make my first one. So I selected one of the two and brought it home.
This morning I woke at 5:45 to get the grill started (2x1 snake) and trim and rub the meat with just a basic S&P mix to get a baseline for the cook.
I got the brisket on the kettle by about 6:45. With the cooler temps outside it was difficult getting it up to temp in the original configuration so I added some coals to the beginning of the chain so I was at 2x2 for the starting point and by 8 or so I was stable at 275ish the Monaco Grand Prix was taking the green flag.
Around 10:30 I opened the kettle up to see why my temp was rising to 325ish. I realized I was still wide open on the bottom from my earlier attempts to get the temp up. I went down to about 1/2 open after taking this pic and putting the cover back on.
So this pic was about 12:30 or so. Temp had dropped and were holding around 240 for about 30 minutes. So I took time to make the rest of the snake 2x2 and lengthen it a bit.
Now at 1:40 or so the temps are back to 275 and the meat temp is in the stall range of the mid 160s per the Maverick (for both temps). Unless something changes the lid will stay on for a few more hours until its done. I'll have the Indy 500 on for a while and probably nap for a bit on the sofa.