Serves: 20

Cooking a brisket recalls an elementary law of physics. What happens to water at 212-deg? It boils away. By cooking a brisket at 200-deg. All the inherent juices are saved and the meat is made more tender than you ever imagined. It is important that the cooking sack be completely sealed-a good method is to use what is called a drugstore wrap. Here's what you do.

You'll probably notice that a brisket is too wide to seal in one width of foil, so you will need to seal 4 sides. Here's how:

Tear off 2 large equal lengths of foil. Lay 1 on top of the other. Now fold sheets, and you'll have a good seal on the bottom. Lay the meat on top of the seam. Coat all surfaces with the marinade. Now life the 2 remaining sides of foil up and, holding them even with each other, fold over and over in 1/2-inch folds until you have a tight package. Press fold flat against the meat. This is what should be touching all surfaces of the meat snugly. You just have to be careful not to puncture it during the cooking and handling process.

When I cook this brisket, I do the whole thing after supper. The first night I make the marinade and place meat in the refrigerator; the next night I put it in the oven just before going to bed. By morning it is cooked to a turn. You can eat this for several days without screaming.

1 8- to 10-lb. Brisket 1 Tbl. Salt 1/4 cup dry red wine 5 cloves garlic, pressed 1 Tbl. Molasses 2 onions, minced fine 1/4 cup soy sauce 2 stalks celery, minced fine 1 tsp. Peppercorns Pepper, coarsely ground

Make a marinade of wine, molasses, soy sauce, peppercorns, salt garlic, onions, and celery. (You can put onions and celery in processor until almost pureed.) Lay the boned and trimmed brisket on a large piece of heavy-duty foil and spread the marinade over all surfaces. Wrap the brisket tightly. Place in refrigerator and marinate for 24 hours. Open foil and sprinkle the brisket generously with freshly milled pepper. Reseal, place in a large open roasting pan (or jelly roll pan). Place in a 200-deg oven and cook for 8 hours. Remove from oven. Re wrap the meat in a clean sheet of foil. Reserve pan juices and serve with warm meat. Good hot or cold on sandwiches.