In researching recipes for barbecued brisket, we found that cooks could agree on one thing: slow-cooking (for up to 12 hours) to tenderize the meat.
We wanted to figure out a way to make cooking this cut of meat less daunting and less time-consuming, and we wanted to trade in a professional smoker for a backyard grill.
We brined the brisket to season it throughout and to make sure the meat remained juicy even after hours on the grill. In our tests, we had trouble figuring out how to maintain a low temperature in the grill without frequently refueling.
But then we realized that fire can burn down as well as up. We layered unlit briquettes on the bottom of our grill and added hot coals on top for a fire that burned consistently in the optimal 300 F range for about 3 hours. We then transferred the brisket to the oven to finish cooking.