I was told that this is the way many BBQ chefs cook brisket so they don't have to sit up with it all night.  The 4-2-10 plan is to–

• Preheat your pit to 250°F
  
• Season the brisket with your favorite rub
• Smoke it for 4 hours at a low temperature (250°F)
• Put a pan under it to catch the fat drippings
• Bake it for 2 hours (no smoke) at a higher temperature (285°F)
• The brisket IT will be ≈175°F, but it's not a critical temperature
• To prepare the butcher paper for wrapping, soak it with the rendered fat from the brisket
• Before wrapping, pour the rendered fat that wasn't used on the butcher paperer onto the brisket
• Put the wrapped brisket in a pan with ½ cup of water
• Cover the pan with aluminum foil and seal it so it's steam-tight
• Braise the brisket for a minimum of 10 hours at 150°F
• It's ready to eat after the 10-hour braising
• You can probe it or check the IT and braise it longer if you aren't satisfied with either, but it'll be ready to eat after 10 hours

Interesting, I had never heard of this type of cooking one, but then I really don't cook them being the only person that would eat it.

I am curious though, should the 10 hours of cook only be at 150°? Seems like the first 6 hours got it to 175º internal or close but then cooking it at 150° would cool it down.

interesting however I do not cook a lot of brisket as it is not one of my favorites.

I am curious though, should the 10 hours of cook only be at 150°? Seems like the first 6 hours got it to 175º internal or close but then cooking it at 150° would cool it down.

I thought the same thing after studying the note from my friend where he explained this.  I used his timing and temperature just the way he gave them to me, but I "fleshed-out" the text.  I'm wondering if he meant 250°F but wrote 150.  There's a good indication that it should be 250° because he called the last step "steaming."  I changed it to "braising."

EDIT:  It'll be a week or more before I'll be able to clarify the last temperature and make the appropriate changes.

I might consider putting a rack under the wrapped brisket in step 9 so that it's not sitting in water.

I might consider putting a rack under the wrapped brisket in step 9 so that it's not sitting in water.

I would think for the wrap and liquid to do any good it would have to be closer to 200 and to steam above the 212 mark on cook temps.

But no matter it sounds like an interesting and controlled way of doing one.
 

I was on the same vein as far as braising at 150°.  I just don't think it would braise.  But contempt before investigation seems to be my motto!

I haven't heard of this method, but it sounds interesting. I mostly follow the weekday brisket recipe that Meat Church does. I start it the evening before I want to eat it. I get the brisket seasoned and then put it on the smoker at 200F (93.3C for our Celsius friends) and smoke it at that temperature until I get the color I want on the brisket (4-5 hours for me), I then wrap it in butcher paper and put it back on the smoker and let it cook overnight. As long as your pit has stable temperatures you don't really have to worry about it overcooking and then I will raise the temperature to 225F(107.2C) around 4-5 hours before I am ready to eat to take it past the 200 it has been at and when the meat hits around 203 I check it to see if it has the feel I am looking for. If it does I pull it off the smoker and rest it so it is ready to eat when I am ready for it. Works really well since most of the time I am doing it for family meals on Sunday and when I am away for 4 hours before lunch for Sunday school and church and all it basically lets it rest until we are home from church and we can get the sides out, the brisket sliced and away we go.

I like the concept. It's not a lot different than what I currently do. The big difference is the 10 hour stint in the oven. I typically put it into a sealed pan with beef broth  at oven temp. set to 300° until IT reaches 210° for ~one hour. Also, I start smoking at 160° for 1-2 hours and incrementally increase the pit temp. up to 250° until IT is ~160°, then place in pan. So far has always worked well for me.