whole briskets

opod

i have the good fortune of having a butcher that orders whole briskets for me. they weigh 12-13 lbs on average. i've smoked several over the past couple of years and was wondering if anybody has found solutions to my most common problems:
1. the end with the point is thick, the other end where the flat is solo is thin. this thin end tends to dry out during the smoke. it also tends to be a little on the cooler side then the thicker, fattier point when i test the temp with teh thermapen.
2. don't know if it's just me but whole brisket seems to smoke faster than say a butt would assuming weight is the same. specifically it seems that the brisket takes for me an average of 1 hr/pound holding the temp at 225-250 dome vs pork shoulder/butt which is usually 1 1/2 hrs/lb
3. what temp are people taking it off at? 195? 200? and is that from the point end or the tip end? ie this am point measured 202 but flat end was 191. i took it off and let it rest.
4. what are you-all doing with the point? i personally chop it with a cleaver and serve chopped. does anybody put it in bbq sauce or serve it as-is and let people put their own bbq on it? i do the latter.
5. why is brisket so darn EXPENSIVE?

Cactus Doug

I don't have all the answers, but heres what I do. I tend to cook untill the brisket hits 185-190. Then pull it and foil for a rest. As for point vs flat and doness, I try to get the flat done to my liking, because thats where the good slices come from. However this usually means the point is not quite "done" Sometimes the point gets sauced and back on the egg it goes for burnt ends, or like you said I will chop it and into the crockpot w. sauce to finish.

Seidegger

Def. closer to 1 hr/# than 2 hr/#...briskett is $$ because its so much better than a butt!!!