All good advice...

My feedback is that with a little Chief you definately need to add insulation i.e. the box or a heavy blanket.

I now have one of the propane fired smokers I bought at Costco- it's almost too hot ! you have to keep a close watch on the heat setting.

If it's mushy you need more time in the smoker and possibly more salt in you brine.

Finally, I like to add some dark molassas to my wet brine in place of the brown sugar- it adds a bit of color as well as the sugar.

Joe