Your Preferred Brisket Setup?

[MillerTime]

For those of you who have tried cooking brisket multiple ways, I'm curious of your favorite method. I'm using a WSM18 for a 6-lb flat this weekend. Some rib hangers recently arrived, but those were intended for ribs and not necessarily brisket. I've always used the water pan, but recently have been reading about a lot of other options like no pan at all, empty pan/diffuser plate, etc.

I've only done brisket once, so don't have enough trials under the belt for my own experimentation just yet. So leaning on you folks... of the four potential options I have for tomorrow, if you have tried at least two I'd like to know which you prefer. I "think" either 1 or 2 will prevail, but hey, that's why I'm asking!

1) Traditional: brisket laid on rack with full water pan (moist environment, drippings in water)
2) Brisket on rack with empty water pan or diffuser (drippings hit diffuser)
3) Brisket on rack with no water pan (drippings hit coals)
4) Brisket hanging on hooks with no water pan (I'll assume hanging in PBC and hanging in WSM is equivalent)

[Hulagn1971]

Done my fair share of briskets on the WSM 22. Empty water pan. I like to cook them hot and fast. Here is an excerpt from BBQ Brethren that explains the method I like to use.

"8 hrs or less
BluDawgs Brisket

K.I S.S. some of the best brisket you will ever eat! Total cook time including the rest 8 hrs or less. I promise it will be as moist as mornin dew on the lilly, tender as a mothers love, pure beefy smoky goodness.

1 packer 12-15 lb
Trim off the hard fat on each side of the flat thin the fat cap to 1/4"

Mix your Rub
1 part kosher salt 4 parts Med grind Black peppa by volume( this is a true 50/50 BY weight)
apply a coat of rub you need to be able to see the meat through the rub clearly.

Pre heat the pit to 300 deg
place brisket on the pit Fat cap down and point to the firebox unless it is a RF cooker then point to away from FB

Maintain pit between 275-325 cook Brisket 4 hrs
remove from pit wrap in a single layer of Butcher paper Return to pit Fat cap up.
after 1 hr probe the thicket part of the Flat only if it isn't *probe tender it will be within 1 hr.
once it is probe tender remove from the pit and allow it to rest on you counter for two hrs.
Don't ever slice more than you can eat big pieces retain moisture and won't dry up on you like slices will.

*PROBE TENDER>This is the feel that is mimicked by cutting room temperature butter with a hot knife, there should be no drag"

[texastweeter]

Don't use either of those rigs, but working 3 or less, I use water. More that 3 and no water, the drippings keep the environment plenty moist, imo, and there is enough thermal mass no need for a heat sink.

[TripleB]

I don’t hang briskets (just my preference). I spritze after the bark is set. Ive done them with a water pan and no water pan. I have an 18” WSM with the rib hanger and diffuser plate. FOR ME, if I was smoking a brisket on my 18” WSM I’d try it with the diffuser plate with a full water pan and the brisket on the lower shelf. Why - I find that when I hang my ribs on the WSM, with the diffuser plate, that they get a little sooty. I’d want to see if the water pan would shield it from the soot. So that would be my experiment...FWIW.

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