Do you prefer the top or bottom

If I'm only cooking on one rack I use the top - it's easier.

I have an 18.5 that I run with a brinkman charcoal pan full of water. You don't have to use water but I'd use some type of heat sink/barrier. There have been a handful of recent threads about WSMs, read through them to get the full spectrum of ideas.

When I first got a WSM, I used it like the instructions said until I had mastered it, then I started plying with other configurations like the Piedmont Pan, foil balls and sand. Made it easier because I had a baseline for how a WSM would normally react.

Of course, I did not have the Brethren to lean on.

Use the top rack, but take the lower one out. No need for it to be there gettin dirty.

If you don't have access to sand, or a clay saucer to fit, roll up some baseball sized balls of foil, put them in your water pan, and cover with HD foil to catch the grease. You can use aluminum cans too.

I run my WSMs at about 250-275 on the dome thermo. The stock WSM thermos are notoriously inaccurate (from what I have read) so use an oven thermo on the top grate, shooting for 230-250. Some may advise to go 'hot and fast'. I have never done it so I can't say.

As far as when the brisket is done, use a probe and insert it from the side of the brisket, it's done when the probe slides in like "budda".

I don't inject nor do I foil briskets until they are done and ready to rest, but to each his own.

Good luck on your cook.

^^^What he said. Why have to reach in?

IQ2 said:

I was thinking that there may be some benefit to having the meat closer to the H20 / steam..

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Well, I don't use water, I use sand in my pans, so I guess I have no tips in that regard. I will say that items on the lower rack benefit from flipping them meat more than on the top rack, at least in my setup (with the sand). This is because the lower rack is exposed to more radiant heat than the top rack.

When planning cooks though, the thing I put on the bottom rack is always the last thing to finish, that is for safety reasons. I would not want juices from unfinished food dripping onto the finished food down below. Other than that, it's purely about convenience in what rack i put the food on.

IQ2 said:

What will the balls of foil or aluminum cans in the dry pan do?

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I see a lot of Brethren headed to the woodpile on this post and its contents.

The foil or cans will act as a sort of heat sink for you. many of the brethren don`t use water for personal reasons or it makes it harder if they want to cook hot and fast. As for temp you can go low and slow or hot and fast and have had luck both ways if I have the time I like to cook at around 230, but don`t go on just your probe temp. When you can slide your probe into the brisket flat and it slides in with no resistence it is done just pull it and let it rest. Good luck and let us know how it turns out. Almost forgot when you wrap you might want to put a small amount of broth in the foil when you wrap it found this helps with making a moist brisky

IQ2 said:

What will the balls of foil or aluminum cans in the dry pan do?

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Umm, I'll give this a go I guess..

It's a common trick (and a good one) used in a lot of setups. The bottom of the pan is taking the direct heat from the fire. Anything that drips in it will burn (that's bad). The foil balls/cans/sand act as a spacer between the "hot" bottom of the pan and the HD foil on top. This way you can catch the drippings and they don't burn. IMHO using sand can give you more thermal mass and foil/cans are easier clean up, your choice!

Great way to explain it Boatnbbq. IQ2 don`t forget pics

I prefer it on the bottom (she prefers it on top). The bark seems better to me if cooked lower. Just my opinion, which I like. :-D