I generally use the Grobbel's corned beef and it seems pretty consistent in the saltiness. I will just wash it thoroughly under cold running water until all the liquid "stuff" on it is off, making sure to get into any cracks and folds it may have. I'll leave the fat cap on.
Then I'll put on Garlic Powder, Ground Coriander and Course Ground Pepper and put them all into the MES, with the biggest one in the top right where the vent is since it's a bit hotter there (and this one is fat cap down to protect the bottom of the brisket, all the rest go in with cap up to help with the basting), and 1-2 more of the biggest depending on what "big" is on the top shelf, then put the smallest over the water on the bottom shelf (the coldest area as long as it is over the water- get it off the edge and especially over the element it becomes the hottest area), then the rest split up on the middle two shelves (I have the 40" MES by the way). For ease of clean-up and to save time I have newspaper spread out on the counter with 2 shelves laying on each. When I'm done, I just bring the loaded shelves out and put them into the MES, and then roll up the papers and toss them. No mess from the rubs or leaking juices.
I've preheated the MES the whole time I was getting the meat ready and by then it's usually at my set temp of 210 degrees on the MES, which in actuality on my MES will hang it somewhere between 220 and 235 on my remote thermometers. I'll generally start with hickory chunks and cherry chips for smoke for the first couple of hours and then switch to apple and cherry chips for the rest of the smoke. If it's cold/windy outside I'll also put in a briquette of Kingsford with Hickory as it lasts a pretty good long time. For the wood overall, I'll put in less wood more often rather than more wood less often for the better TBS qualities it gives me. Vent is wide open usually, but as I ramp the wood down toward the end it goes to 3/4 open.
I always slice these, so I'll bring them up until all of them are over 170, which puts some of them at about 180. Then I shut the vent and turn off the MES and let them just hang out in the steam bath for about an hour. After that, I refrigerate them until the next day to make slicing/packing easier and also the next day I'll trim all the fat off of them and split them if they were a point/flat combo and trim that fat too. Then the slicing thin against the grain and into vacuum bags and into the freezer.
If you were going to eat it that night then obviously you wouldn't cool it off too much first and you could slice it with the fat on and let the trimming happen on the plate. Fat in moderation is taste after all, but fat doesn't freeze well long-term. Depending on what you're smoking with, you might not use the chips or whatever, but then at the end instead of letting them sit by themselves in the moist environment a MES can give, I'd take them out and wrap them in foil for 1/2-1 hour to let it rest in its own juices. I would probably wrap it about the 165 degree range in fact so you're capturing those juices.
Good luck with your smoke. I'm sure it will come out great! If you like sweet/salty/spicy combo, try some of it with a mix of ketchup, mayo worchester and horseradish with a dash of salt and pepper. Yum!