I've done brisket a hundred different ways... everything from 225 to 350º+ and pulled at temps from 180 to 220 internal. BGE, Kettles, WSMs, offsets, even a pellet once(shudder)...wrapped, unwrapped, foil, butcher paper, etc etc etc...
I've come to these conclusions.
Wrap it in butcher paper once it gets in the 160ish degree range. I like the bark better with the butcher paper over foil, but both work. Bark should be formed and set by then, this will quicken the cook and make it tender faster and reduce the labor necessary to keep the outside from burning.
The temp you cook at pretty much doesn't matter. I've been able to produce quality, tender, juicy briskets at all temps and times of cooks.
The specific temperature you pull the meat at doesn't matter(for the most part). You want to pull the meat when the probe slides in like 'warm butter'. I usually start probing at 185ish(depends on how the brisket has cooked and is feeling) and I probe every 5 degrees until it probes like warm butter and then I remove it and let it sit wrapped in a cooler till it's time to eat. Let the meat tell you when it's done, they're all different. You don't get to tell it when it's done because it's at some specific arbitrary temperature. Remember, we're not trying to cook to a 'doneness' like steak. We're trying to cook to a tenderness. You can't tell tender by a temperature.
You get the best taste by using real sticks of really dry wood and burning a clean fire, the less smoke you see the better. Manage the size of your fire to manage the temp in your smoker and let the fire get as much o2 as it can handle. Choking down the intakes and starving the fire of oxygen is going to be creating smoke and is a dirty fire, that's not ideal. Will taste like smoke, but bitter and not good.
Also, spring for the USDA Prime if you can, the more fat the more forgiving.
Now, I generally cook briskets in the 250 range and wrap them at 160 internal or whenever the bark is set and hard then crank it up to 300-325 to finish. I pull them when they probe tender. Salt and pepper only.
