It's Smoking Saturday!

We are lucky enough to have a lot of family, on both sides, that live near us.  This Saturday, we decided we would smoke a brisket and invite my husband's family over for dinner.  Smoking a brisket is relatively simple, but very time consuming.  I smoke using my gas grill.  To do this, you need a smoke box for wood chips, hickory wood chips, a full tank of propane, a grill thermometer, a drip pan, and your grill.  Get a whole brisket, (I get mine from Costco) 10 lbs will take about 12 hours to cook.  The night before, trim a good portion of the fat off the top, I like to leave about 1/4 of an inch, to keep the meat nice and moist during the long cooking process.  Then season it liberally with salt and pepper.  It should look sandy, and feel kind of like sand paper.  Then let the brisket sit overnight.
When you wake up (before the sun) take the brisket out, and let it sit at room temp for about an hour.  While it is sitting on your counter, you can begin soaking your wood chips (they need to soak for at least 30 minutes, but not longer than overnight).  I soak about a cup of wood chips at a time, in a small bowl with water.  Then, start preparing your grill.  Position your drip pan under the grates that you'll be using for your brisket.  You should only use one burner of your grill, and try to keep the internal temperature of your grill close to 225 degrees.  Your smoke box should be placed over the burner that is lit.  When your grill is hot, simply place the brisket over the burners that are not on, and let it smoke.  The fat side should be facing up, so that the fat can drizzle down the meat as it cooks.  I check and rotate mine every 2 hours, when you check the meat, check the temperature of the grill, and also replenish your wood chips as needed.  After 12 hours, you'll be done, and it'll be delicious! The internal temperature should be between 195 and 205. This is what mine looks like before the cooking begins.  I got busy with company and forgot to take a pic when it was done.