This is slightly adapted from Nach Waxman's famous brisket recipe. Nach is the owner of
Kitchen Arts and Letters, one of the world's great cookbook stores, in New York City. It's said that the first place it appeared was in
The Silver Palate New Basics book. (And subsequently in
The Brisket Book: A Love Story with Recipes.)
This makes quite a bit of brisket. Mine was 6 pounds (2,75kg), which barely fit in the pan (and I used a very large pan), but it shrunk down considerably during cooking. My pot has a capacity of at least 8 quarts (7,5l) but you can also use a roasting pan that has a lid, or one that can be covered tightly with foil. This is one of those recipes that's better the second...or even the third... day. Leftovers freeze well, too.
I added a bit of fish sauce, which is undetectable in the finished brisket but adds a savory undernote to the sauce. You can leave it out if you wish. If you live in France, I've given tips on where to find similar cuts of beef at my post:
Homemade corned beef.
Note that brisket is best if you salt the beef the day before.