Place the brisket in a large bowl or dish, leaving enough room for it to be covered in the marinade.
Combine all of the marinade ingredients in a medium bowl.
Pour the marinade over the brisket to cover.
Cover with aluminum foil and place in the refrigerator for 8-12 hours.
Flip the brisket 2-3 times so that both sides get marinated.
After the brisket has marinated, remove the meat from the marinade and pat dry.
Brisket Rub
Combine all of the dry rub ingredients in a small mixing bowl, then rub generously over the entire brisket.
Brisket Wet Mop
Prepare the wet mopping sauce by placing the vinegar, oil and wine in a medium saucepan over medium/high heat.
Bring to a slight boil, then add the onion, garlic, lemon, pepper and salt.
Reduce to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes.
Cover the wet mop and take out to the smoker to use throughout the smoking process.
Smoked Brisket
Add hickory, mesquite or apple wood, wood chips or pellets to the smoker.
Heat the smoker to 225°F.
Place two large sheets of foil on top of each other in the smoker. Place the brisket fat side down or up, it doesn't matter, on top of the foil.
Brush with the wet mop. Continue brushing with the wet mop approximately every 30 minutes while the meat is smoking.
Smoke the meat to an internal temperature for 200-205°F. This will take approximately 90 minutes per pound of meat or 60 minutes per pound of meat using the Texas Crutch Technique shown below.
Remove the meat from the smoker, place on a cutting board, loosely wrap with foil and let rest for 60 minutes before slicing.
Slice the meat against the grain.
Texas Crutch Technique - optional
To speed up the smoking process and eliminate the "stall" time (see notes below), tightly double wrap the brisket in foil when it reaches an internal temperature between 150-160°F.
If using the Texas Crutch method, brush liberally with the wet mop before wrapping, then discontinue wet mopping throughout the remainder of the cooking process.
Place a meat thermometer in the meat through the foil until it reaches 203°F.
Remove the brisket from the foil and continue cooking directly on the grill grate for an additional 30 minutes.
Remove the meat from the smoker, place on a cutting board, loosely wrap with foil and let rest for 60 minutes before slicing.
Notes
The "stall" time is when the internal meat temperature hits a plateau. This is due to moisture releasing from the meat and cooling down the brisket. This can be combatted by using the Texas Crutch technique.
If time is not an issue, the Texas Crutch technique does not need to be used, as the meat will eventually start to rise in temperature again, it will just take approximately 30 minutes more per pound of meat.
If your butcher has not already trimmed the brisket, you'll want to trim the brisket, leaving at least 1/4 inch of fat cap on the meat.
I recommend hickory wood or pellets for this recipe, but mesquite and apple also work well.
I recommend 1/2 lb of meat per person, so pick out the brisket size based on how many people you're serving.
If using a smaller brisket, cut the ingredients for the rub in half.
The rub ingredients can also be multiplied by 5 or 10 times and stored in an airtight container, such as a mason jar, in the pantry for up to 2 years.