My first brisket on the Excel 20

So not only was this my first brisket, it was also my first cook during a typically cool and rainy November day in Oregon. I moved the Excel to the north side of my house where it could be covered and discovered that there is a fraction of the amount of wind there which made for a much more pleasant smoking experience. I had no idea! I had been replenishing coals at the 3 hour mark because they were burning so fast in the previous location. Now the Excel is shielded from both wind and rain and it is more than twice as efficient. I know you guys love pix so I had the wife take some while I worked.
Start:


During:


And the result:


It was 6 pounds and it took 11 hours at @220 F to get to 190 F internal. I used chunks of mesquite for the smoke wood for authentic? Texas BBQ flavor. Super moist and tender and it was just as good the next day in the brisket burritos I made.

Thanks to all the folks and tips on this forum that made my first brisket a breeze!

Nice one, It looks great, I have never tasted brisket, let alone cook it, I think this might be my next cook if I can find a suitable cut. The weather is grim in the UK at the moment to, so it's hard to get motivated to get the smoker going!

My mouth is watering

THAT'S A FINE lOOKING bRISKET

looks great, my first brisket was on my excel, and im hooked

Great looking piece of beef there!

Yea man fine eats

That's a great looking brisket! I was always afraid of doing a long cook, but now I'm quite motivated!

Thanks all!

I gotta say, in all my research on BBQ and water smokers and everything else around this great hobby, I read precious little about the impact of wind. I mean, I was aware of it... and when I had smokers (first a WSM and then the Excel) on the other side of the house I used sheets of plywood and an old wheelbarrow to help block the wind... but they never really changed the fact that what I was trying to do was, in-fact, a very wind-sensitive operation in a fundamentally windy area. The results from the new location speaks volumes: *double* the efficiency. In this case with the brisket, I added a chimney-full of charcoal at the 6 hour mark (a pain w/ a WSM, easy with the latching ProQ) as opposed to the 3 hr mark in the windy area. Wind is the smoker's enemy! Even though Oregon is probably just as windy and rainy as GB, I think I will now be able to smoke all winter long. Sorry if I am over-stating this point... I just found this to be a major revelation and I hope it helps others. Next experiment will be to cold-smoke some of Oregon's finest (Tillamook) extra-sharp cheddar cheese...

Great job krmdgn! I don't have a great place to block the wind, but I'm still game to give this a try. I go through fuel at a pretty good rate, but the food is worth it. I need to find something to block the wind ALL AROUND my smoker...we'll see. I have a huge hill behind my home. That wind runs down that thing and does terrible things to the longevity of my smoke. I want a very long cook. Something’s gotta give...