OK, but maybe you have a point. I haven't been able to find anything conclusive about aluminum poisoning and cooking with foil. The "aluminum is deadly" folks mainly seem to come from the alternative medicine crowd (not that there's anything wrong with that), and the skeptics are found more often among the standard, western medicine crowd (not that there's anything wrong with that). I'm sure we could find all find anecdotes about someone's 90+ year old grandmother who cooked with aluminum for decades and remained lucid and physically vigorous till the end, or someone else's poor uncle who went bat-shit crazy after years of cooking beer-can chicken. Meanwhile, we're probably getting cancer sitting in front of our computers.

But maybe there is a point about skills. I've never had to use any 'tricks' for any of my other BBQ feats, why now with brisket? I'm going to try again this weekend, with a mope to get it moist, smoking it low and s l o w l y as possible. If I lose, let me loose. For brisket is a jealous mistress, she requires your undivided time and attention before she yields her tenderness.