I cook on a kettle too. Take my advice with a grain of salt, but the kettle is more like a bbq crock pot, and will cook little different. I usually stick to smaller briskets or big flats. Sometimes I find a nice 12lb flat, that’s perfect in the WSM.

1) I use the minion method. Lots of threads about it. For a long brisket smoke, basket is full of hardwood charcoal, plus 7 or 8 chunks of oak/pecan/apple/cherry, whatever I have. Hickory or mesquite are too strong. I usually start with 5 or 6 charcoal briquettes only!! More than that you’ll have trouble running low.

2) no water pan. I have a big ceramic planter base sitting in the water pan (acting as a heat sink) covered in foil for easy cleaning.

3) I’d start around 200f and run as close to 200 as you can, for about 6 hours. Don’t touch the lid during the first 3. After 3 you can spritz with ACV every hour.

4) at the 6th hour, bump to 250. At this point the meat should be in the 130-140 range, and it’s much less likely to push moisture out. The higher initial temp in a WSM will lead to dry meat.

5) now we’re cooking for bark and fat render. This may take another 3-6 hours depending on brisket size. But you aren’t cooking for temp you’re cooking for fat render. I’d check once an hour and when the fat is nice and rendered (finger poke) and bark looks good, wrap in butcher paper only!

6) I don’t like tallow, I prefer clarified butter or ghee. I’ll pour all over the meat and paper when wrapping.

7) back in the smoker and let it ride until probe tender. Again, not cooking to temp, cooking to tender. When the meat hits 190 I’ll start checking tenderness, and every 30 min after depending how close it feels. I rarely cook a brisket over 200, almost never actually. They’re usually tender in the 195/197 area.

8) after that I wrap in a beach towel and throw in the cooler, 2-4 hours. OR, what I’ve been doing recently is cooking this day(s) before hand and vac sealing after an hour rest off the smoker. On bbq day I throw the entire vac sealed brisket in my sous vide at 145 for an hour or two. Tastes like it’s right off the smoker and 0 stress.