Brisket Question

From what I have learned and experienced after 160+ KCBS competitions cooking on the EGG, there are so many ways to achieve brisket bliss, from a 20 hour cook at 220 to an 8 hour turbo cook. If I was looking at a 7pm serving time, and taking into consideration all that I have learned since I got my EGG in 1998, I would recommend working backwards with your timing.

First, I have found that long rests (4 hours plus) really benefit a pork butt, but not necessarily a brisket. I would prefer my rest to be an hour. If you will be wrapping your brisket (which I definitely recommend, even though there are many purists out there that insist that wrapping ruins the bark) then it will take close to 2 hours from the time you wrap and return to the EGG to cook to the tender state (at 250 dome).  You may as well allow 3 hours in the foil (or butcher paper if you must) for a safety net for your timing. So assuming you want an hour rest, then your wrapping time could be 3pm. 

If your starting time is 7am, that means you have 8 hours before the 3pm wrap time. I would recommend trying to get your meat temp to 165-175 during the initial cooking stage, and that generally takes me about 10 hours at 235. You could easily do that in 8 hours at 250-260. No need to go higher (with your time frame) unless you are behind. 

But you will want to start your EGG at 6am, to give you time to get it heated up and your smoke burning clean.

Hope that helps, and please report back!
Happy brisketeering.
Chris