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225 is fool-proof which is why I use it.  Going hotter works fine but requires a little more interaction from me, on most of the offsets I've ever used.

3-2-1  method for pork spare ribs:

3 hours on the smoke at 225

2 hours wrapped in heavy duty aluminum foil at 225.  You can keep it on the smoker, but since now it's just a heat source, you can also just move it to the oven for this step.  They should be fall-off-the-bone at this point, which is actually a little loose for my taste (and for most BBQ competitions if you're into that stuff)

1 hour with the wrapping open, to firm them back up.  However, the 1 hour is actually a little too long for me, you'll have to experiment on this step.  For my it's typically closer to 30 minutes for this step.

So my 3-2-1 is really 3-2-0.5 but that doesn't sound as good

Yes, this is my definition too, even down to the not exactly 1.

I always wrap brisket.  Not sure the science behind it other than it helps it go through the stall - but when I've done it unwrapped my results have been mixed.  Wrapped it always comes out amazing, so wrapped it gets.  I don't bother wrapping ribs - they are cheap enough and my family likes them enough I make them a lot.  My all scientific plan on ribs is to light 2/3 of a chimney along with a few unlit briquettes on one side and ribs on the other.  I move them around a bit during their cooking.  If they ain't done once the briquettes are I move them to the oven on a temp dictated by how much complaining from the family on how hungry they are.  They still come out really good.  Rub is typically 4 parts paprika/3 parts brown sugar/2 parts salt, chili powder, cumin, black pepper, sometimes oregano and cayenne.  Cook's Illustrated gave me that one and my wife likes it so that's what I use.

Heh feel the opposite. Oh well that's bbq. A million methods to arrive at more or less the same point.

I may. Do you ever read Meathead Goldwyn and amazingribs.com? He doesn't like it so I haven't given it a go. Also because I'm a firm believer in laziness.

I recommend it - whether you are into the recipes or not, it has lots of good scientific info on bbq and why things come out the way they do (or not). Also good equipment reviews.

I like Meathead, but he's not an unquestionable authority. Especially in cooking where certain textural aspects that one person prefers might not be the same as others.

As with anything, it's something worth giving a try. If you like it, great. If you don't, great. I personally find wrapping the ribs gets the bark texture and doneness level where my family likes it more reliably than not doing so. So I typically do it, although I've had lazy days now and again where I skip it. 

I actually have mostly cooked brisket without foil or butcher paper, but I think I'm going to do the butcher paper thing next time. I find it hard to get it exactly the way I like it, and although some complain that foiling brisket can give it a sort of "pot roast" texture, I think it can help keep the moisture level where I like it. 

I actually have mostly cooked brisket without foil or butcher paper, but I think I'm going to do the butcher paper thing next time. I find it hard to get it exactly the way I like it, and although some complain that foiling brisket can give it a sort of "pot roast" texture, I think it can help keep the moisture level where I like it.

Lots of folks crutch a brisket.  Comp cooks do it all the time, as well as cooking hotter and faster, as you've pointed out.  Some restaurants around here do it too, maybe 50/50, so down here in Texico it's certainly considered an "acceptable" and even a "common" practice.

I don't do it for a couple of reasons, mostly that I prefer the bark and texture of an unwrapped brisket, and it's an extra step that I deem unnecessary.

But the butcher paper is a good compromise, that's how Aaron Franklin does his brisket.  Of course, I actually prefer my own brisket, to his, so there you have it.