Nicely done!

I've seen two references to Oak & Mesquite.

Could y'all tell me why? Mesquite I get, it's a bold flavor and it won't overpower beef. I don't get the Oak, I used Hickory yesterday and flavor wise it came out fantastic. (I ran the smoker too hot, first time cooking brisket at home)

Why do y'all prefer Oak?

As Zhukov pointed out, it's the traditional wood here in central Texas.  We have a lot of it, and it's a solid choice.

I grew up in South Texas, where everything was cooked with mesquite, so I use a lot of that too. A buddy of mine is on a competitive BBQ team - he hates mesquite because he says it's too strong a flavor and judges don't like it.  I personally love it, and always thought weaker men deserved weaker BBQ.

That said, over the years I've gotten tired of hauling mesquite from down South a half ton at a time to satisfy my BBQ habit, and started using oak more. Truth be told, my favorite BBQ wood is actually pecan, but it is a wimpy wood and it takes a ton of it to smoke anything. A 50/50 mix of oak and pecan is nice, though.  That's become my go-to, but my source for unlimited pecan wood has dried up (I need to make some new friends, sigh).  ETA mesquite and pecan are a nice mix too.

I've messed around with fruit woods (apple, peach, cherry mostly) and they're ok, but special purpose only IMO (great for cold smoking bacon or sausage).  The smell of cherry smoke is my second favorite next to pecan. I could damn near take bong hits of pecan smoke...

Hickory is a nice, hard, hot burning wood like mesquite. I like it, but I think mesquite does everything hickory does but better (and I can get it by the truckload for free).  That's just personal preference.

Looks good to me. 

Oh, my

thats look so good

Outstanding!

Thanks guys!

I'm from Tennessee obviously, it's mainly hickory here and it's my favorite by a long shot, it's that classic BBQ taste as far as I'm concerned.

I went with mesquite for the brisket out of tradition and I didn't regret it. Slightly harsher, more pungent smoke flavor, but not bitter or overpowering. I'll use it with hickory for now and I'll see about testing out some oak down the road.

Looks great.

Was it as tender as it looks?

How long and what temp?