Slow-Roast Brisket Over Almond Wood (part 2)

Back again!
The 9:43 stoking went better as I achieved the more perfect temperature.
Here's my "routine" (if I've done it twice is it a routine?): 

• pull the grill with the beef in a foil pan out and rest it on a ceramic tray,
• cover it with the kettle lid to preserve at least some heat,
• add wood embers and this time a couple of pieces of "fresh" wood for more smoke,
• carefully replace the grill and the lid. Above, you see the brisket ready for to be covered up again,
• watch the thermometer and hope it comes back to something less than 250° but more than 200°.
• start a new batch of wood on the old embers in the staging spot.

Here is a picture of the staging spot.  When the wood catches fire, I turn the flowerpot over on it to slow down the burn.
Our kettle is pretty small. I want to put some fresh wood in for the smoke but when it catches and flames up, the heat really rises and that would totally cook my brisket. So I add mostly embers and little bits of fresh wood. As it is, the embers are just barely off to the sides, hugging - even climbing - the walls of the kettle a little. I put a ceramic bowl on the fire grate with a couple of broken bricks to make an oblong void and over that I have positioned the brisket. I hope the bricks are helping to maintain the 200° and not generating too much heat under the ends of the beef.
It is surprising how few embers it takes to keep the kettle in the correct temperature range. 
By the way, I have some hot links that will go on the grill near the end of the process and linger after the brisket comes off.  So, if I totally incinerate the beef or otherwise end up with a tough slab of gray protein matter, at least we'll have something to go with the sides.

Speaking about sides, here is the menu:

• Texas Style Slow Roasted Brisket
• Grandma Schipper's Tangy BBQ Sauce
• BBQ Beans made out of Joan's Pantry
• Lemon-Caper Potato Salad (a riff on April Bloomfield's genius recipe)
• Diane's Goat Cheese and Tortellini Pasta Salad
• Sliced Tomatoes from Janet's garden
• Grandma Jones's Lime Pickles
• Baguette (because you have to have some white bread with BBQ)
• Phill & Annmarie's Goat Cheesecake with Tequila-Pineapple Jam
• Delia's Choice of Wine
• Margaritas
• Peach Salsa and Tomato Cilantro Salsa with chips