Slow-smoked Beef Brisket

I got an offset smoker a couple of months ago, and I've been loving it. So far the ribs and the brisket that I have made have turned out great. More for memory than anything else, I've been tweaking this recipe from the NYTimes (which sounds about as blasphemous a source as any one could imagine for Texas barbecue.)

Ingredients

• 1 whole beef brisket, both point and flat cuts, 10 to 14 pounds (see note)
• ⅔ cup black peppercorns
• ½ to ⅔ cup coarse salt, preferably Morton’s kosher salt
•  Hardwood charcoal
• 3 cups wood chips, preferably oak, soaked at least 1 hour or overnight

1. Remove brisket from any packaging and dry with paper towels. Place fat side up (with the thicker point cut on top) and use a sharp knife to trim the fat on the top to an even sheath about 1/2-inch thick. (Most of the ones that I have bought have come more or less with this amount of fat. I've also been cooking with smaller briskets if I only have about 4-6 people over. The cooking time is far lower; 3-4 hours.)
2. Put a good amount of pepper and salt on the brisket and then rub it whatever spice mixture you would like. (I have been experimenting, but honestly Weber makes a great one already mixed up.)  Cook immediately, or set on a rack in a sheet pan, cover loosely, and refrigerate for at least 8 or up to 36 hours. This will develop a crustier “bark” on the finished brisket.
3. Remove and clean the grates of a charcoal grill or smoker, preferably one with a temperature gauge. 3/4-fill a chimney starter with charcoal, light it and let burn down until gray with ashes. Dump the charcoal in the offset smoker and close lid. When temperature settles at 225 to 250 degrees, put wood chucks (I have been using mostly hickory and some mesquite) over the coals. Lay brisket on the grate of the smoking drum, fat side up. Cover.
4. Cook at about 225 degrees, maintaining the temperature with additional charcoal and wood chips, for 4 to 6 hours, or until the internal temperature of the meat’s thickest part reaches 170 to 180 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. At this point, you can continue cooking it on the grill, or in a 225-degree oven. In either case, remove brisket from grill and wrap in unwaxed parchment or butcher paper. Then wrap well in foil. Return to grill or place in oven. (Although the internal temperature will remain steady at about 180 degrees during this final cooking, it will take anywhere from 2 to 4 hours more for the meat, fat and collagen to soften completely. Start testing after 1 1/2 hours, prodding brisket with your finger to see how it responds: the meat should become soft and balloon-like, almost jiggly.)
5. When meat is done, set aside for at least 30 minutes to let juices settle. (In a cooler, well wrapped, the meat will stay hot for at least 4 hours.) Remove foil and paper. Separate the point from the flat cut; trim off any remaining fat and membrane, and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices.

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1016755-slow-smoked-brisket

I also used this CharBroil article for some ideas, too:
https://www.charbroil.com/community/smoke-beef-brisket-charcoal-grill/