Ah dang just seen this. Kinda rapid fire here:
I recommend dry brining the day before the cook. (Salt or bbq rub that has salt in it on elevated grate in fridge). Trim before doing this.
Definitely recommend a few things on trim;
Save tallow and trimmings to render down during the cook, use to smother during wrap and again before resting in cooler.
If you dont do brisket frequently, id recommend not trimming fat cap too aggressively. Meat side, get rid of silver skin and fat there. Thats what will inhibit bark development. Harry soo has an excellent brisket trim video on the tewbz.
If you want perfect presentation, aggressively trim the flat so its got uniform thickness. Really skinny flat areas will either dry out or overcook.
I recommend cooking fat cap toward the fire source.
Timing is kind of dependent on your cooler or oven. Looking to keep it above 140 during the rest. My Coleman cooler will normally keep a 170* IT 13 lbs brisket above 140 for about 7 hours. Longest ive ever rested a brisket has been 10 hours, there really isnt any penalty to it. I prolonged by sticking it back in the oven and kept it away from going above 170 IT. My oven will do about 170. A lot of bbq restaurants like Franklin rest them for a longer time than that.
I normally wrap with butcher paper, but on a pellet grill i get worried about a fire. Especially if you wrap with tallow. This actually happened to Harry Soo. I would do foil. I think something like the "foil boat method" is something id try to get the best of both worlds.
Id do an overnight cook if you have a reliable alarm or MEATER, and aim for done time around early or mid morning.
Before resting it in cooler, let the brisket IT get somewhere near 170. In my past experiences, if you rest at 190+ you'll get pulled beef and bark will deteriorate. Also, i recommend another round of tallow to be put on.
Ive adopted smoking at 250 and cranking to 300 after wrapping. I think higher temp helps render fat.
I wrap when bark is developed, not at a given internal temp. Ive had them go as high as 180 before ive wrapped. If you drag your finger on it and rub comes off, bark isnt set yet.
I start checking for doneness at 190 IT, I've had them done then but also high as 207. Should have resistance like a prob going through peanut butter.
Hickory is an excellent choice for brisket.
Definitely cut across grain. I like to start by cutting in half. Juiciest and best parts are the slices with point and flat, especially if the vein of fat between is fully rendered down.
Sorry if i threw in some super obvious ones in there.