Peter, I believe you are on the right track in getting your perfect brisket. I would make sure you find a brisket with nice marbling. Sometimes you can find a non-graded or select brisket with decent marbling. Be picky and look for one with a flat that is 1+ inch thick flat on the tail end.
You're so lucky in that regard, John. Sadly, as I've said before, up here in the People's Republik of New Jersey, finding an affordable brisket of *any* grade is extremely difficult if you don't have a Restaurant Depot membership card. Even there (well, at least in the one near me), they don't open a new case until there are only 1 or 2 left from the old case. I've never had more than about a half-dozen to choose from in Angus-Choice and another half-dozen or so regular choice. If I want to pay double, and have zero say in what's sold to me, I can go to a local butcher. Unless you run an actual brick-and-mortar restaurant, you can't buy from the wholesalers here. Period. Costco, BJs and Sam's Club do not sell packer cut briskets in north Jersey. You're lucky to get Boston butts at the ones near me. Remember, the word "barbecue" up here means hamburgers, hot dogs and MAYBE ribs. So being picky for me means finding one of the size that's big enough for a party or small enough for just my wife and me (and a couple of meals of leftovers), and hoping the fat cap is even. I usually look for a thick flat, but I don't recall the last time I was able to buy one when I was out shopping.
The only other choice we have is Western Beef, with one outlet on this side of the Hudson in a somewhat scary area. When I went there before getting my RD card, they had 3 or 4 packers that day, all Select grade, and the one I ended up buying was sliced to hell in the packing process and had almost no fat cap at all. That one was a disaster, needless to say. Even injected, only the point and point/flat junction were edible.
Trim the hard fat off and try to leave around 1/4inch of fat on the bottom. Season both sides moderately. Cook fat side down, 275*, water is optional.. I tend to prefer it lately. After 3 hours, you may want to spritz with some watered down Worcestershire sauce - 50/50. Around the 4-5 hour mark, if the brisket has that right color and the bark has set (doesn't flake off) wrap it up in paper, I like using one layer across the top. If you got a meat probe in the brisket, start probing when it hits 195* IT. I like using a wooden skewer and poke right on top through the paper, right where the flat meets the point. If it's not ready give it another 30-45 min. til it probes tender.. very little resistance. Pull and let it vent for about 15-20min to stop the cooking. Put in cooler still wrapped in paper and put a layer of foil on top, or folded towel on top if you know you got to hold it longer than 4 hours. Burp the cooler every now and then, because you want that brisket IT to come down. A nice long rest is ideal IMO. Shoot for 4+ hours hold time.. it will be fine if not better. Forgot to mention, that I like to rest fat cap up. Maybe.. just maybe the fat in the middle/bottom of the brisket will work it's way down to the leaner portion of the brisket... who knows?
I do a good portion of that process now, though I've never spritzed and I usually hold for about 2 hours, not 4 (hungry guests, hungry wife, hungry me!). My usual cook temp is 225-240ish, but the more I read, the more I think I'm going to play in the 250-275 region. Any hotter/faster and I think the bark will probably suffer.
Again, if I can get the results I'm after without foiling or paper, great. If I can get them with paper but not foil, that's great too. Foil is really the last route I want to use since my few attempts with foil have resulted in almost no bark (this is a BadThing™ in wife-land, and I don't like it either, truthfully). You're absolutely right about needing a fat cap on there, resting in the open after cooking and storing in a cooler to loosen things up. I do all of these and it helps a lot, that's for sure!
Funny thing, the other day, I was letting it rest on my work table outside after taking it off the grill. I went inside for about 5 minutes to get a cold drink. When I came back out, a local kitty was on the table starting to nibble at it. I cut a small piece off and left it for her when I went inside. I think one taste of that black pepper bark and she went zooming off for parts unknown.
