First smoked brisket - please help

[sbskor]

Making my first smoked brisket this weekend in a Masterbuilt Electric smoker.  Looking for it to come out good (obviously) but also easy.  One question I have is how large of a brisket I should buy?  There will be 6 of us eating, and I am curious how much they actually shrink while cooking?  I've heard 50% but not sure that is accurate.  If I buy two 5lb briskets (instead of a 10lb) for example, does my cooking time adjust off of the general rule of 1-1.5 hours per pound?  Any other suggestions would be great.  Thanks!

 

[harleysmoker93]

If you buy to 5lbers your most likely going to end up with two brisket flats. They may be a little easies and faster than a whole packer but then you will miss out on all the great juicy meat from the point. Also because flats tend to cost more per lb you will pay more for two 5lb flats than one 10-12lb packer. If it were me I would buy a 10-12lb packer and try to keep your smoker around 275*. You should end up with 6-7lbs of cooked brisket in about 8-10 hrs.