As Georg mentioned, on Sunday we tried our hand at Texas style barbecued brisket. We used the Alton Brown method of rigging up a smoker: a hot plate with pie pan of wood chips, inside two big terra cotta pots. But instead of expensive terra cotta pots we used our charcoal grill. Unfortunately the metal grill didn't hold heat as well as terra cotta would have. After 8 hours the meat had a wonderful smoky flavor, but was cooked to medium rare. Let me tell you, medium rare brisket is not something you want to eat. We stuck the brisket in the oven on low heat for another 3-4 hours, and the next night we had a nice tender brisket.
Honestly, I'm not sure if it was worth the effort. The brisket was great, but we can get great brisket from the Q Shack without spending 12 hours smoking and then braising it. I think it might work better if we got a small terra cotta pot and covered the meat inside the grill. That might hold the heat in better. I think it would also work better in summertime -- if the air temperature is 95° then the smoker won't lose as much heat every hour when we open it up to add more wood.
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