My opinion....
1. I would start with a grocery store prime brisket. Creekstone is nice but you are probably going to ruin your first few brisket. If you live in a neck of the woods where the local stores dont normally sell brisket, then yeah you gotta do what you gotta do...get the Creekstone.
2. Do NOT separate flat from point. They cook differently. But you ignore the point. Your focus is all on the flat. If the flat is done, the point will be too.
3. I would not inject. Keep it simple. Injection is to enhance a properly cooked brisket. You CAN inject if you want, but injection wont save an poorly cooked brisket.
4. I like to wrap cause it offers some protection from the heat and cooks faster. Its a personal choice.
5. Make sure you know how to properly slice the flat and point once its cooked. Slicing it wrong can kinda ruin the texture. Also resting is important. I would not worry a whole lot about trimming. You can kinda get away with a hack trim job. Watch an Aaron Franklin trim video and give it a shot. There's lots of videos that give terrible trim advice. Watch Aarons. He keeps it simple.
If you simply are confused and unsure about it all. I would simply cook it at 250-275* till the the thick part of the flat (center of the brisket) is 200 and then pull it. Then let it rest at least an hour. It wont be perfect but should at least be a start and edible. Over cooked is better than under cooked. Over cooked will be dry, but still edible. Undercooked will be rubbery and not really edible.
Only way to learn is just go for it. Each one you cook you will learn more.
I agree with all this except wrapping. Even on my woodburning pits I’ve never needed to wrap, but I do cook low and slow. Wrapping ends up braising the brisket and the texture turns out differently. So I suggest you first try it au natural, without wrapping, then on later cooks try wrapping and see which you prefer.
I also agree with Rockinar that cooking to a temp might be helpful the first few times. I know folks on this site are all about cooking to a feel, but I’ve had success cooking low and slow at 225 to an IT of 203, and the certainty of a goal temp might be helpful the first few times.
Finally, Rockinar is correct that slicing against the grain is absolutely critical for brisket. The grain runs in different directions (which is why folks separate the point and flat before slicing). If you search YouTube you’ll find videos on slicing; slicing it wrong can seriously impede the edibility of brisket.
Some additional suggestions specifically about smoking on a pellet smoker. In order to maximize smoke flavour, IMHO you should: 1- put the meat on cold, from the fridge, 2- put the meat on wet, which it will be anyway if you use some sort of binder to hold your rub on the meat (water, hot sauce, mustard, whatever), 3- program your pellet smoker initially at the lowest possible temp for the first 4+ hours (pellets burn more cleanly and generate less smoke at higher temps).
So, for example, my Mak has a “Smoke” setting that is 180-200, so I use that for the first 4 hours of a butt or 6-8 hours of a brisket. Even when I raise the temp later in the cook, I still have it at 225-250 so the pellets are putting out some smoke. If you raise it to 300 or beyond, you’ll seriously diminish the smoke from the pellets.
Just my pov, good luck and I’m sure you’ll do great!
