You will want to begin with placing a single line of the pieces of charcoal along the inner wall of your backyard charcoal grill.

However, you don’t want to complete the circle. So, just stop when you’ve formed a sort of semi-circle.

You’ll want to proceed by stacking some more unlit briquettes on top of the existing semi-circle of unlit coal. You can feel free to leave it at two layers, but we usually like to go for three. And you should be left with a border of charcoal that just covers half of the inner circumference of your kettle grill.

Note: If you want you can go in with a layer of lump charcoal if you want a longer burn.

After that, just light around five to ten briquettes in the charcoal basket of your chimney starter. Then dump the hot charcoal at one end of your semi-circle or ‘snake’ and slowly watch as all of them begin to light up.

However, before you set a flame to the curved line of charcoal, you’ll want to place your water pan or tray in the middle. The incomplete ring of coal should sit around your disposable aluminum tray.

While fat will always equal flavor, you will still need to trim the layer of fat that you’ll find on top of your whole packer. The general guide to trimming this fat cap is to just ensure that you leave about a 1/4 inch of fat on top of the meat, if you leave to much the smoke won’t actually be able to penetrate the meat enough.

If you don’t trim the fat cap enough then the fat will actually hinder the cooking process. You can use the brisket trimmings for other recipes or even in candles

Well, you waiting for your charcoal to heat, you can make your rub and apply it to the brisket.

Now place your brisket on the grates over the top of the waterpan. Add some liquid to the water pan. Then place the lid on and open the top vents. Spritz the brisket every 45 minutes.

Monitor the temperature using a temperature probe. Probe the brisket in the thickest part. If the meat stalls at 145°F you may have to wrap the brisket. If you find the brisket is stalling for to long you can finish the brisket in the oven. This is helpful if your guests are ready to eat now!

Use a temperature probe to monitor the internal temperature. Once it reaches 204°f pull the brisket from the grill and cover. Let it rest for at least 1-2 hours.