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Yes, best to post a question in the forum it belongs to get more replies. Yes to your question...many do, many don't.....that answer will apply to many questions asked here. Doing it in a foil pan allows the juice to accumulate to be separated from the fat later and added back into the meat. Also makes it easier to foil the meat if you intend to do that...just foil over the pan. This can also be accomplished by putting a pan on a rack under the meat so smoke will travel all over that chunk but drips will still be caught. Some also put the meat on a rack in the pan to raise it up outta the liquid that will form. See?? all kinds of ways to skin the same cat. Figure 2 hours per pound to be done for pulling pork which will give you time to ride out stalls and any other quirks that will come up. You want to hit an internal temperature (IT) of 200-205 for good results.....HTH, Willie
Oh, one more thing....brisket is like the Holy Grail of smoked meats and it can be difficult to achieve delicious results even for seasoned smokers. Since you stated you are a 'newbie' I would recommend a butt (more forgiving) as a first smoke after maybe some cheap chicken parts while learning the basics of how your smoker works....again, just my 2 centavos